It was a historic weekend in British motorsport, with history being made in multiple ways.
While circuits such as Donington Park and Brands Hatch celebrated motorsport’s heritage through historic car displays and racing, GB3 and British F4 created new milestones of their own.
Abbi Pulling makes history at Spa
The GB3 Championship hosted its first European round of the season at the Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.
The opening qualifying session on Friday saw 2024 F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling qualify on pole position, making her the first female driver to claim the top spot in qualifying in the series’ history. Championship leader Nikita Bedrin topped the second qualifying session.
The rain poured on Saturday, but that did not stop Pulling from making more history as she became the first woman to win a race in the GB3 Championship.
After finishing runner-up to Pulling in the opening race, Bedrin converted his pole position into victory in race two. The result extended his lead in the drivers’ standings to 27 points over Maxim Rehm.
George Proudford-Nalder claims historic trophy at Silverstone
The British F4 Championship headlined a historic weekend at Silverstone, with drivers competing for the prestigious BRDC International Trophy in the final race of the weekend.
George Proudford-Nalder qualified on pole position, but after struggling to get off the line in race one, he dropped down the order. As a result, Lewis Wherrell took victory from second on the grid ahead of Adam Al Azhari and Jarrett Clark.
Joseph Smith took victory in race two, with Ethan Carney and Chiara Bättig completing the podium.
The main event on Sunday saw the two fastest drivers of the weekend battle it out for the prestigious trophy. Proudford-Nalder spent much of the race defending from race one winner Wherrell, but held on to claim the coveted BRDC International Trophy.
Historic racing at Donington and Brands
British motorsport fans across the country got to witness some of the very best historic racing machinery at Donington Park and Brands Hatch.
In Kent, Brands Hatch hosted the Masters Historic Festival, which featured 1966-1985 Formula One cars, the Masters Gentlemen Drivers and Pre-66 Touring Cars, the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association, the F2 and F3 Classic Interseries and more.
A photo gallery from the weekend will be available later in the week.
Further north in Leicestershire, Donington Park hosted the Historic Sports Car Club, featuring sports cars, GT cars and touring cars that competed in the World Endurance Championship, FIA GT Championship, FIA 2 Litre Sports Car Championship and other international categories up to the end of 1979.
