Hitech TGR’s Keanu Al Azhari set the pace in Thursday GB3 testing at Donington Park, topping the combined times with two rapid laps in the closing minutes of session three. With five minutes left on the clock, the Emirati produced a 1m22.521s before immediately lowering the benchmark to 1m22.379s at the chequered flag.
His effort left him just under two-tenths clear of Rodin Motorsport’s championship leader Alex Ninovic, who had previously set the pace in session two. Ninovic’s best of the day left him 0.186s adrift.
Tight battle behind the leaders
As the track improved late in the day, most of the field set their fastest times in session three. Al Azhari’s teammate Deagen Fairclough secured third place overall, 0.301s back and only 0.027s quicker than Xcel Motorsport’s Patrick Heuzenroeder, who had been fastest in session one.
VRD Racing’s Enzo Tarnvanichkul climbed to fifth with a late surge, finishing just a tenth clear of Argenti with Prema’s Reza Seewooruthun. The Mauritian driver rounded out a top six covered by just over half a second.
Lucas Fluxa impressed on his first official outing with Hillspeed, posting the seventh-fastest time, narrowly ahead of Rodin’s Gianmarco Pradel. JHR Developments duo Noah Lisle and Kai Daryanani completed the top ten, which was spread by only 0.720s.
Rodin’s Abbi Pulling finished 11th, with Xcel’s Jack Sherwood in 12th and Elite Motorsport’s Flynn Jackes in 13th. RACE LAB’s Max Taylor ended the day 14th and also earned the accolade of fastest newcomer.
The day ended with the top 14 drivers within one second of Al Azhari’s benchmark, demonstrating just how competitive the grid remains heading into the weekend. Behind them, JHR’s Bart Harrison placed 16th, Fortec’s Liam McNeilly 17th, and Xcel’s Kabir Anurag 19th. Elite Motorsport’s Bianca Bustamante completed the top 20.
Combined classification: Donington Park: Testing
- Keanu Al Azhari, Hitech TGR, 1m22.379s
- Alex Ninovic, Rodin Motorsport, +0.186s
- Deagen Fairclough, Hitech TGR, +0.301s
- Patrick Heuzenroeder, Xcel Motorsport, +0.328s
- Enzo Tarnvanichkul, VRD Racing, +0.407s
- Reza Seewooruthun, Argenti with Prema, +0.522s
- Lucas Fluxa, Hillspeed, +0.549s
- Gianmarco Pradel, Rodin Motorsport, +0.623s
- Noah Lisle, JHR Developments, +0.706s
- Kai Daryanani, JHR Developments, +0.720s
- Abbi Pulling, Rodin Motorsport, +0.764s
- Jack Sherwood, Xcel Motorsport, +0.782s
- Flynn Jackes, Elite Motorsport, +0.894s
- Max Taylor, RACE LAB, +0.912s
- Patricio Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +1.315s
- Bart Harrison, JHR Developments, +1.385s
- Liam McNeilly, Fortec Motorsports, +1.410s
- Rodrigo Gonzalez, VRD Racing, +1.437s
- Kabir Anurag, Xcel Motorsport, +1.523s
- Bianca Bustamante, Elite Motorsport, +2.637s
With three more sessions scheduled for Friday, the field will have further opportunities to prepare ahead of the penultimate rounds of the GB3 season. Based on Thursday’s pace, the margins remain razor thin, setting up another competitive weekend at Donington Park.
