Phinsys by Argenti’s Matias Zagazeta claimed his third win of 2021 to move into third in the championship and just 23 points behind new leader Matthew Rees, with James Hedley leaving the Knockhill weekend pointless after three disappointing results.
Zagazeta got the whole shot at the start to lead Granfors away and managed to maintain a healthy gap to the Swede to lead commandingly, albeit with the fastest lap from Granfors and sustaining some mid race pressure from the Fortec first year driver.
Matthew Rees came home in third place and secured enough points to take the overall championship lead and further bolster his rookie cup lead for JHR Developments. Abbi Pulling finished fourth after chasing Bolger all the way through the race, eventually managing to pass the Japanese rookie on the final lap, but Bolger managing to take another rookie podium in what is becoming an ever improving debut season at Carlin.
Aiden Neate equalled his best overall finish of 2021 in sixth, and most importantly scored his first rookie podium in what has been an outstanding introduction to single seater racing for the promising Argenti driver.
Eduardo Coseteng fended off Kai Askey for seventh in the other Argenti car, with Mckenzy Cresswell creeping into the points in ninth and building on a race two win earlier in the day.
Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak scored the final point in tenth for Carlin, holding off a frustrated James Hedley in eleventh who couldn’t manage to haul himself up from the back of the grid, even after a small off earlier in the race.
Marcos Flack finished in twelfth spot ahead of American David Morales, with Zak Taylor coming home in fourteenth ahead of Oliver Gray after early contact with JHR Developments’ Joseph Loake, with the latter taking multiple trips through pit lane to fix damage and finishing six laps down.
The championship heads back down south to Thruxton for the next three rounds on 28-29 August.
Race 3 Classification
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matias Zagazeta | Phinsys by Argenti | 25 Laps |
| 2 | Joel Granfors | Fortec Motorsport | + 0.526 |
| 3 | Matthew Rees (R) | JHR Developments | + 4.527 |
| 4 | Abbi Pulling | JHR Developments | + 9.516 |
| 5 | Dougie Bolger (R) | Carlin | + 10.705 |
| 6 | Aiden Neate (R) | Phinsys by Argenti | + 11.090 |
| 7 | Eduardo Coseteng (R) | Phinsys by Argenti | + 12.741 |
| 8 | Kai Askey (R) | Carlin | + 13.231 |
| 9 | Mckenzy Cresswell (R) | JHR Developments | + 18.447 |
| 10 | Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak | Carlin | + 18.699 |
| 11 | James Hedley | Fortec Motorsport | + 21.261 |
| 12 | Marcos Flack (R) | Phinsys by Argenti | + 22.753 |
| 13 | David Morales | Arden Motorsport | + 28.620 |
| 14 | Zak Taylor | Arden Motorsport | + 29.808 |
| 15 | Oliver Gray (R) | Fortec Motorsport | + 2 Laps |
| 16 | Joseph Loake | JHR Developments | + 6 Laps |
Championship Standings after Round 15 (Top 10)
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Rees (R) | JHR Developments | 167 |
| 2 | James Hedley | Fortec Motorsport | 162 |
| 3 | Matias Zagazeta | Phinsys by Argenti | 144 |
| 4 | Mckenzy Cresswell (R) | JHR Developments | 131 |
| 5 | Joel Granfors | Fortec Motorsport | 108 |
| 6 | Joseph Loake | JHR Developments | 103 |
| 7 | Abbi Pulling | JHR Developments | 84 |
| 8 | Oliver Gray (R) | Fortec Motorsport | 72 |
| 9 | Zak Taylor | Arden Motorsport | 69 |
| 10 | Kai Askey (R) | Carlin | 64 |