Arden Motorsport bagged another solid haul of points inthe GB3 Championship at Silverstone, Northamptonshire last weekend (14-15August).
Making the short trip from its Banbury HQ to the 3.6-milecircuit, famous for hosting the Formula 1 ® British Grand Prix, the ‘RedArrows’ arrived in buoyant mood after a recent run of good form.
Polish racer Roman Bilinski arrived having scored two wins,plus a further three podiums, in his first nine race starts, whilst FrederickLubin’s return to action following illness continued to progress nicely atSnetterton last time out, including a hat-trick of points finishes.
Following two strong days of pre-event testing, hopes werehigh for the pair in qualifying. Lubin was duly able to translate that paceacross into a second starting slot in third. Ultimately, traffic preventedteam-mate Bilinski from joining him at the sharp end, but both went into theopening race in optimistic form.
Lubin was oh-so-close to a maiden podium in the category inthe first race, but a move for second resulted in contact from anothercompetitor, losing the Brit valuable time. He brought a damaged car home infifth, with Bilinski moving up through the order to eighth.
Lubin would complete a hat-trick of points finishes onSunday, tenth then ninth, but contact in both contests for Bilinski put him outof the running.
Regardless, Arden remain a solid fourth in the TeamsChampionship, with the pair now turning their attention to the next event atOulton Park, Cheshire on 11-12 September.
Gary Ward, Arden GB3 Team Manager said:
“Both drivers would definitely have wanted more from theweekend, but there are plenty of reasons for us to be positive as a teamleaving Silverstone.
“They both had more than their fair share of bad luck, butthe pace was strong. On a different weekend, both Frederick and Roman wouldhave been celebrating more silverware, so we have to concentrate on thepositives.
“Now we’ll go back, digest this weekend and then startpreparing for Oulton Park next time out.”
Roman Bilinski (#4) said:
“It was a tough weekend for us, but I’m always one fortaking the positives away from a tricky situation.
“Our pace both pre-event and during the races was as good asanyone’s, unfortunately after getting blocked in qualifying, I was justultimately too far back to be able to do anything with it.
“To be hit in consecutive races having made up all thatground is frustrating, but it’s the way the sport goes sometimes. The key thingto focus on here is how much progress we were able to make in the races, notthe end results.
“I’ve already processed and put the weekend behind me, nowit’s full steam ahead to Oulton Park next month. Thanks to the team for alltheir hard work and support.”
Frederick Lubin (#78) said:
“It was another tough weekend for me. I can take so manypositives from it, in only my second weekend back I was already fighting forpodium places again.
“It was just one of those weekends, constantly being in thewrong place at the wrong time. Time for a bit of a break and then it’s fullfocus on Oulton Park in three weeks’ time.”