Hillspeed’s Dante Vinci narrowly missed out on his maiden GB3 Championship podium at Brands Hatch, but still enjoyed his strongest weekend of the 2026 season so far.
The Australian collected 42 points across the event, his highest single-round tally of the campaign, while recording finishes of 11th, sixth and fourth. His result in the weekend finale marked a new career-best in GB3 and left the 18-year-old encouraged by the progress he and Hillspeed have made ahead of the Barcelona season finale.
Vinci builds momentum across opening two races
Vinci began the weekend by coming close to matching his strongest qualifying performances of the season. He secured 10th on the grid for Race 1 before improving to seventh for the second contest, giving himself opportunities to fight inside the points across both races.
He converted his opening grid position into 11th place in Race 1 before making further progress in the second contest. Vinci gained one position to finish sixth, matching the best race results he had previously achieved at the Hungaroring and Red Bull Ring.
Those performances gave Hillspeed a solid platform heading into the final race, where Vinci produced his strongest showing of the weekend.
Maiden podium slips away late in Race 3
Vinci started the event finale from sixth but immediately moved forward, climbing into third during the early stages. He held the final podium position for much of the race and appeared on course to secure his first GB3 silverware.
However, Hitech’s Kanato Le closed in during the second half of the contest and passed Vinci on Lap 13. The Hillspeed driver ultimately crossed the line fourth, narrowly missing the podium but still securing his best result in the championship.
“I expected it to be quite good because I’m quite strong around this track. It’s just a shame how it ended because we were holding P3 for a very long time but we just didn’t have the pace to hold it,” Vinci reflected, while speaking to GB3.
“We still finished P4 which is good points and the most important thing is we finished all three races and took away good points, but I’m still hungry for a bit more in Barcelona.”
Despite the disappointment of losing third late in the race, the result continued an upward trend for Vinci and gave him his most productive GB3 weekend to date.
Hillspeed progress leaves Vinci encouraged
Vinci scored 42 points across the three Brands Hatch races, setting a new personal high for a single event. He also completed all three contests and consistently fought around the top 10, with his fourth-place finish demonstrating the progress Hillspeed has made with its package.
The Australian credited the team for giving him a car capable of fighting near the front throughout the weekend.
“I can’t thank the team enough for putting it all together and creating a good car that can be in the top-six, so I’m still happy about that. But I’m a racing driver and I’m always going to be searching for more!”
That competitive mindset now turns towards Barcelona, where Vinci hopes to convert his improved form into the podium that narrowly escaped him at Brands Hatch.
Prior Barcelona experience boosts podium hopes
Vinci will enter the season finale with previous experience of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. He raced at the Grand Prix venue last season and secured a top-seven finish in Italian F4, giving him valuable knowledge of the circuit before his first GB3 appearance there.
After coming so close at Brands Hatch, Vinci believes that familiarity could give him an advantage as he targets his first podium of the campaign.
“To be honest, I was expecting it [a podium] to come at Brands Hatch because it’s a strong track of mine. But in all honesty there’s still a high chance that it can happen in Barcelona, even in race one or two, because I know the car is strong, especially there, and also that I have the prior experience of Barcelona as well. So hopefully that will be an upper hand for me.”
Brands Hatch therefore leaves Vinci with both his best result and strongest points haul of the season, while his pace across the weekend offers encouragement heading into the final round. With previous experience at Barcelona and Hillspeed showing improved form, the Australian now has one final opportunity to convert that progress into a maiden GB3 podium.
