Hillspeed’s Kanato Le produced a determined fightback drive to win the second 2025 GB3 Championship race of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. The Japanese racer overcame a poor getaway from pole position to recover brilliantly, reclaiming the lead with a bold move on the Kemmel Straight before holding firm to secure his first series win.
Hitech TGR’s Nikita Johnson stormed through from sixth on the grid to finish second, delivering one of the most eye-catching recovery drives of the season so far. Race one winner Alex Ninovic continued his strong form by claiming third for Rodin Motorsport, ensuring another valuable haul of points in the title battle.
Setting the grid
The second race grid was based on each driver’s fastest lap in Qualifying 2, with Le’s 2m13.740s setting a new Spa-Francorchamps qualifying lap record. That effort put him on pole, alongside Pradel, with Ninovic third and Le’s Hillspeed teammate Yamakoshi fourth.
Keanu Al Azhari started fifth, while Johnson lined up sixth after a grid penalty for his collision in race one. Macintyre, Gowda, Lisle and Heuzenroeder completed the top ten, leaving big movers from race one — Fairclough and Slater — buried at the back once again in 22nd and 23rd.
Le’s slow start creates early drama
When the lights went out, Le’s start was disastrous. Both Rodin cars surged past immediately, with Ninovic blasting through from third to seize the lead and Pradel holding onto second. Le initially dropped as far back as fifth after also losing out to Al Azhari and Yamakoshi.
However, by the time the field thundered up Eau Rouge, Le had steadied himself. Four-wide into Les Combes saw Yamakoshi grab second, but Le muscled back into third. By the end of the first lap, Ninovic had edged almost a second clear at the front, but Le was already climbing back into contention.
The fight for the lead
On lap two, Le used the long Kemmel Straight to sweep past Yamakoshi and into second. The gap to Ninovic stood at 0.7s, and the Hillspeed driver steadily reeled in the Rodin leader. For a couple of laps the pair ran nose-to-tail, with Ninovic defending stoutly, but Le’s slipstream run on lap four proved decisive. Blasting through Eau Rouge and up Kemmel, he drew alongside and surged past into Les Combes, taking the lead with authority.
Once ahead, Le immediately opened a cushion of over a second, neutralising the threat of a counter-attack. From there, he controlled the race at the front, showing the same pace that had made him the star of qualifying.
While Le stretched clear, Johnson was busy carving his way forward. Starting from sixth, the American attacked decisively, passing car after car to move into third by lap seven. His confidence grew with every lap, and on lap eight he dispatched Ninovic on the Kemmel Straight to grab second.
Johnson looked capable of mounting a late challenge for victory, but the race was cut short two laps early due to circuit time constraints, halting his charge. Even so, his climb to second was a major statement after the disappointment of race one.
The battle behind
Ninovic, unable to hold Johnson back, had to settle for third, but the Australian ended Saturday with a victory and a podium — an excellent return for his championship campaign. Al Azhari delivered one of his best drives of the season to finish fourth, ahead of Yamakoshi in fifth.
Macintyre was sixth for Elite, while Pradel — who had run second at La Source on lap one — slipped to seventh after fading in the mid-race exchanges. Slater again lit up the field with a storming drive from 23rd to eighth, confirming his raw pace despite his qualifying struggles.
The top ten was completed by Xcel’s Dion Gowda and JHR’s Kai Daryanani. Fairclough, another big mover, came from 22nd to finish 11th, narrowly missing out on points.
Provisional Classification: Race 2: Spa-Francorchamps
- Kanato Le, Hillspeed, 9 laps
- Nikita Johnson, Hitech TGR, +1.222s
- Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, +2.286s
- Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, +4.220s
- Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +4.964s
- Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +6.002s
- Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +6.693s
- Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, +8.157s
- Dion Gowda, Xcel Motorsport, +8.664s
- Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +13.446s
- Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, +13.514s
- Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +15.775s
- Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +18.332s
- Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +19.239s
- Yuanpu Cui, Argenti with Prema, +21.256s
- Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +22.385s
- Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +22.725s
- Lucas Fluxa, Argenti with Prema, +23.466s
- Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, +30.900s
- Bianca Bustamante, Elite Motorsport, +32.247s
- Divy Nandan, JHR Developments, +34.337s
- Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +34.886s
- Stefan Bostandjiev, Fortec Motorsports, +38.769s
Results remain provisional due to time constraints shortening the race by two laps.
Le happy to recover after poor start
After a frustrating start, Le fought back with determination and skill to claim his maiden GB3 win. The Japanese driver admitted his launch was poor but said he relied on composure and consistency to recover and convert his pace into victory.
“It really feels nice to finally win. We’ve had the pace all weekend and finally we managed to put it together and win. So, yeah, I’m feeling good. Honestly the start wasn’t the best. I had a really terrible start, to be honest, but I just managed to settle down, stay calm and get the position back. I was just staying calm and driving how I was doing the whole weekend, and I managed to win. A podium [in race three] will be nice, but I’m definitely going for the win again.”
Johnson notes pace and potential
For Johnson, the drive to second was a powerful recovery after the disappointment of race one. The American credited his Hitech team for providing a fast car, and while frustrated the race ended early, he remains focused on a strong finish to the weekend.
“We had a lot of pace in our car, we’re very fast. I passed all those guys and I could stay with them for sector one, two and three. So Hitech gave me an amazing car. We were running down Kanato a bit, but something happened in the end, but I think we might have been able to go for the win. But it’s what a would have, should have, could have. Maybe tomorrow we’ll have a good race and come from wherever I’m starting up front.”
“It was pretty difficult, especially when I was like fifth or sixth and everybody was in a DRS train. I just had to time it right and kind of choose my battles. But fortunately with the DRS train, I could kind of pass a car and get right back in DRS, so I didn’t have to worry about defending. So that was a bit nice.”
“In race three I’d like to get on the podium, maybe get a win? That would be great to get a lot of passing points and get a podium because we need a few points. We’ve haven’t had the best of luck and I made a mistake in race one, so we’re lacking points. So if we can get a good race three, then I’m really happy for this weekend.”
Ninovic happy with significant points haul
Ninovic added another podium to his tally, building on his race one win earlier in the day. He explained how adjustments to his starting technique allowed him to lead early, but acknowledged that Le and Johnson ultimately had the stronger pace.
“I’m really happy with today to finish P1 and P3 scoring really good points for the championship and a lot better than what we were in testing. We made a really good jump in qualifying and obviously showed it in the race to qualify P1 in Quali One and get the win was really nice. And then today to and this afternoon to get P3, so yeah, a really good day.
“My start was really good. This morning I made a little mistake and it didn’t give us much of advantage. But then for this afternoon, I fixed up a few things with my start technique and we managed to get into P1 by turn two. I got a really good exit at turn one and then managed to stay in the lead for about five laps before Kanato and Nikita came past. I managed a few things in that race but did my best to come away with P3.
“It’s been really good to get a really good jump in the championship with points. It definitely could pay off in the long haul. I did my best today and it obviously showed that we can do good things. So yeah, I’m super happy with how I’ve performed today.”
