Hillspeed’s Freddie Slater produced one of the most memorable performances in recent GB3 history to win the final race of the Spa-Francorchamps weekend from 23rd and last on the grid. The 16-year-old Briton, who had been forced to start all three races from the back after stopping in qualifying, rolled the dice on slick tyres in damp conditions and delivered a masterclass in calculated aggression to storm through the field.
Teammate Kanato Le capped an extraordinary weekend for Hillspeed with second place, adding to his earlier win and pole position, while Argenti with Prema’s Reza Seewooruthun sealed his maiden podium in third. Together, the trio turned the finale into a showcase of opportunism and daring.
Grid set-up and weather gamble
With the top 12 from the combined qualifying results reversed, VRD Racing’s Hugo Schwarze started from pole, joined on the front row by JHR Developments’ Kai Daryanani. Behind them, title contender Patrick Heuzenroeder lined up third, while Lisle, Gowda, and Macintyre filled rows two and three.
Slater, forced to line up 23rd once again, appeared to have little chance of glory. However, overnight rain had left the circuit damp, creating a tyre dilemma. While most of the grid opted for wet Pirellis, Slater was one of just five drivers who gambled on slicks. It would prove decisive.
Slater carves through the pack
Even on the damp opening lap, Slater gained seven positions to sit 16th. By the end of lap two he was into 13th, and by lap four he had cracked the top ten. As the dry line emerged, the advantage of slicks became overwhelming.
Lap six became the turning point. Slater surged past Nikita Johnson at La Source, dispatched Alex Ninovic before Eau Rouge, and picked off Will Macintyre exiting Raidillon. By Bruxelles he was third after an inside move on Lisle, and moments later he was second as Daryanani fell back. Into Campus, Slater dived past Al Azhari to seize the lead.
From there, he disappeared. The Hillspeed driver extended his advantage to more than eight seconds, crossing the line with time to spare after a breathtaking recovery drive.
Hillspeed double and Seewooruthun’s breakthrough
While Slater vanished at the front, his teammate Le was also making progress on slicks. Starting 12th, he stayed calm in the slippery opening laps before finding grip as the track dried, climbing steadily to second by the final lap. The result completed a dream weekend for Le, who added second place to his earlier win and pole position.
Behind them, Seewooruthun delivered on a bold pre-race call made with his manager. Starting 15th, he followed Slater through the pack on slicks and eventually claimed a career-first podium in third — a reward for resilience after a tough weekend.
Xcel’s Heuzenroeder and Hitech’s Fairclough also reaped the rewards of slicks, climbing to fourth and fifth respectively after late charges.
Provisional Classification: Spa-Francorchamps: Race 3
- Freddie Slater, Hillspeed, 11 laps
- Kanato Le, Hillspeed, +8.155s
- Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +9.520s
- Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +13.083s
- Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, +14.630s
- Dion Gowda, Xcel Motorsport, +32.166s
- Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, +40.671s
- Lucas Fluxa, Argenti with Prema, +45.087s
- Hugo Schwarze, VRD Racing, +51.816s*
- Will Macintyre, Elite Motorsport, +58.538s
- Nikita Johnson, Hitech TGR, +1m01.486s
- Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, +1m02.174s
- Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +1m06.134s
- Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +1m13.824s
- Yuanpu Cui, Argenti with Prema, +1m14.800s
- Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +1m19.112s
- Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +1m21.042s
- Divy Nandan, JHR Developments, +1m29.017s
- Hiyu Yamakoshi, Hillspeed, +1m38.042s
- Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +1m47.912s
- Stefan Bostandjiev, Fortec Motorsports, +2m21.720s
DNF:
- Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, 8 laps
- Bianca Bustamante, Elite Motorsport, 4 laps
*Includes 10-second penalty
Slater stunned after “insane” victory
Slater could hardly believe his breakthrough victory, admitting the slick tyre call was a gamble but one that paid off spectacularly.
“It’s pretty insane. You actually asked me before the race and asked ‘are you seriously going on slicks’ and we rolled the dice. I think it was a calculated decision once we were out on the outlap to the grid, and then we knew it was going to dry fast. We knew with our cars it was going to dry very quickly and also the wet tyres don’t last very long. So I knew it was the right decision a couple of laps in, and then I just had to be calm with it, I couldn’t just throw it down the inside at some corners because it was still wet on the inside, so I had to make sure I was calculated with the way I overtook the drivers with the wet tyres on. So an insane race, but good fun.”
“It’s a new one for me [to win from so far back]. It’s been nice to hack through, we’ve had three races from last position and we’ve finished eighth and ninth and now P1, which I never would have thought would have happened going into the three races. So honetsly an amazing weekend, Hillspeed has given me an amazing car, they’ve done a top job, especially with the tricky conditions. Mr A, Paul Anderson my engineer has done a fantastic job, so thanks very much.”
Le delighted to take third podium of Spa weekend
Le was delighted to complete his weekend with a podium on all three steps — first, second, and third — a unique achievement that confirmed his consistency.
“It’s really nice to finish the weekend again on the podium, we’ve stood on all three steps so I’m very happy about it. At the start it was a bit difficult, it was damp and I didn’t really have much temperature in the tyres, so I struggled a little bit. But I had confidence that it was going to dry up and I just kept it calm, stayed on track and towards the end it dried up, so I managed to get into second position, and it was good. So far [in my career] this is one of my best weekends, a podium in all three races and pole position, so hopefully I can carry this momentum into my next races and do well.”
Seewooruthun praises manager for career breakthrough
For Seewooruthun, the race marked a career breakthrough, his gamble on slicks delivering a richly deserved first podium.
“A great call by my manager Phil [Glew]! He said ‘you know what, let’s just do it, we’ll go for slicks’. I had nothing to lose, I qualified quite far back, so I had to try something. It definitely boosts the confidence and nice to finish the weekend on a high because it’s been really tough this weekend, but I’m happy to end it how we did. It dried up really quickly, a lot quicker than I was thinking. On the out lap on the slicks I was like ‘agh!’ there were some dry patches and a few in other places but it dried up.”
