Home Formula 3GB3 Fonseca wins from 15th on the grid at wet Silverstone

Fonseca wins from 15th on the grid at wet Silverstone

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
Photo: BRDC F4

Photo: BRDC F4

Lanan Racing’s Rodrigo Fonseca took his second victory of BRDC F4’s regular season in the reverse-grid race at Silverstone.

While the Mexican’s first win at Rockingham was from fifth on the grid, this time around Fonseca triumphed from 15th under wet conditions.

The front row of Hernan Fallas and Omar Ismail both kept their positions off the start, albeit the latter was soon passed by HHC’s Sisa Ngebulana.

And it took the 17-year-old South African four laps to depose Fallas as well, taking the lead.

Behind them, Fonseca was making lighting-fast progress and followed race one winner Will Palmer and Tom Jackson past the fighting duo of Ismail and Jordan Albert.

He then picked off both Palmer and Jackson on lap five, before working his way around Fallas and Ngebulana on lap six to take the lead.

The fight for the win was virtually over, but the rest of the podium positions were all to play for, with Fallas holding up a number of drivers.

After passing Palmer, CDR’s Jackson finally worked his way around the Argentinian, who then spun on the final lap.

Jackson then caught up with Ngebulana but ended up a tenth the first-time podium finisher, the duo taking the flag three seconds and a half behind race winner Fonseca.

Palmer scored good points in fourth, ahead of Albert and Harri Newey, who made it three HHC cars in the top six.

Fernando Urrutia took seventh, with Jack Bartholomew recovering to eighth after a poor opening lap.

Series guest Riki Christodoulou took ninth despite a last-lap spin, while Michael O’Brien completed the top ten.

Race results
Pos. Driver Team Time/Gap
1 Rodrigo Fonseca Lanan Racing 8 laps in 19:23.627
2 Sisa Ngebulana HHC Motorsport +3.560
3 Tom Jackson Chris Dittmann Racing +3.692
4 Will Palmer HHC Motorsport +5.117
5 Jordan Albert Sean Walkinshaw Racing +6.412
6 Harrison Newey HHC Motorsport +8.197
7 Fernando Urrutia Douglas Motorsport +9.896
8 Jack Bartholomew Lanan Racing +11.211
9 Riki Christodoulou Hillspeed +11.873
10 Michael O’Brien MGR +13.549
11 Akhil Rabindra Douglas Motorsport +15.446
12 Zubair Hoque Sean Walkinshaw Racing +17.520
13 Sebastian Lanzetti Hillspeed +18.398
14 Ciaran Haggerty GBR/Ecurie Ecosse +19.267
15 Jack Lang Lang Sport +24.521
16 Chris Mealin Lanan Racing +25.825
17 Ameya Vaidyanathan Hillspeed +30.200
18 James Reveler 23 Racing +46.420
Not classified
Hernan Fallas MGR +1 lap
Omar Ismail Chris Dittmann Racing +1 lap