GB3: Abbi Pulling shows front-running pace but denied podium in unfortunate Silverstone opener

Despite podium-worthy speed at Silverstone, Abbi Pulling’s 2026 GB3 season opener was marred by misfortune in the first two races, leaving her with an eighth-place finish as her best result.

Photo credits: JEP

Abbi Pulling endured a dramatic and ultimately unrewarding opening weekend of the 2026 GB3 Championship at Silverstone Circuit, where the Rodin Motorsport driver demonstrated clear podium-contending pace but was denied by an accident from a competitor in the closing stages of race 2 while in third, in a chaotic triple-header season opener.

The British driver returned for her second year in the series as one of the favourites, building on a strong 2025 campaign that already yielded a podium and marked a significant step forward from her earlier single-seater experience in F1 Academy and Formula 4.

Over the winter, the championship introduced an updated car package, featuring aerodynamic upgrades and a more powerful 2.4-litre engine delivering a 25% increase in torque - changes that raised the performance across the grid. Pulling adapted quickly, consistently running at the top in winter testing, as well as inside the top five across Friday’s official practice sessions, where her best lap of 1:50.282 placed her among the frontrunners heading into qualifying.

Saturday morning’s first qualifying session saw Pulling establish herself early near the sharp end of the timesheets. After an initial lap that placed her second, she remained competitive as times tumbled, briefly dropping before responding with a 1:50.3 to climb back to third in the closing stages. Ultimately, a 1:50.361 secured fourth on the grid for Race 1, confirming her podium challenge.

In Q2, she broke into the 1:49s early with a 1:49.8 to again slot into second, setting a purple first sector during the session’s early moments. Despite narrowly missing out on a top-three result by just 0.004 seconds, her 1:49.676 lap eventually secured her fifth, in an extremely tight field.

Race 1 began with Pulling lining up fourth, but a difficult launch saw her lose some ground through the opening sector amid intense midfield battles. Dropping to sixth, she remained however in contention, immediately applying pressure to those ahead while fending off attacks from behind.

The early laps were highly competitive, with multiple position changes and close-racing throughout the pack. After briefly losing momentum and slipping to ninth following overtakes from Jackes, Gonzalez and Lee, Pulling quickly regrouped and began to recover positions, capitalising when Jackes encountered issues to move back into eighth.

Demonstrating strong race pace, Pulling dipped under the 1:52 barrier and closed to within half a second of Lee ahead, positioning herself for another attack. However, her charge was abruptly halted on lap nine when a rear-left suspension failure forced her to pit and retire, ending the first race of the season in disappointment despite the strong pace shown.

Photo credits: JEP

In Race 2, Pulling started from fifth and immediately made amends for the earlier setback with an excellent getaway, diving to the inside at Turn 1 to claim fourth. She remained close to the leading trio of Nikita Bedrin, Deagen Fairclough and Maxim Rehm, running competitive 1:51.3 lap times while opening a small buffer to the cars behind.

A Safety Car early in the race briefly interrupted the flow, but Pulling executed a clean restart and continued to apply pressure at the front.

The race took a turn on lap seven when Fairclough slowed dramatically on the Hangar Straight with a technical issue, promoting Pulling into third place and into a strong podium position.

Another Safety Car followed, setting up a short sprint to the finish with just one minute remaining. At the restart, Pulling found herself under pressure from Gonzalez and Nakamura. Gonzalez initially forced his way through at Maggotts and Becketts, but Pulling responded with an outstanding move around the outside at Stowe to reclaim third in spectacular fashion.

The battle escalated moments later when Gonzalez attempted a late, desperate move, resulting in contact that sent his car airborne and forced Pulling into retirement once again, in another heartbreaking end while clearly fighting for a podium.

For Race 3, the reverse-grid final race of the weekend, Pulling lined up eighth but was boxed in at the start, dropping down the order to 11th and then 12th as the tightly packed field shuffled positions through the opening lap.

Settling into the midfield, she remained within striking distance of the top ten, applying pressure to Martin Molnar ahead while also defending from Kattoulas behind in a tight train of cars.

The Safety Car on lap six, following issues for Bouzinelos and Fairclough, provided a crucial reset.

Restarting just outside the top ten with three laps remaining, Pulling immediately went on the attack. She executed a decisive move on Molnar under braking to climb into tenth before continuing her charge by pressuring Campbell-Pilling ahead. Crossing the line in tenth, she was later promoted to eighth, securing her first top-ten finish of the season.

While the final results did not reflect her full potential, Pulling left Silverstone with clear evidence of front-running pace. Across all three races, she had demonstrated the speed to fight consistently at the front, with misfortune denying her a likely podium finish.

With the championship next heading to Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Abbi Pulling will aim to convert that evident pace into the results her opening weekend deserved.