GB3: Aurelia Nobels gains positions in all three races at Donington after qualifying issues, shows improved pace
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Aurelia Nobels made steady progress through a challenging sixth round of the 2026 GB3 Championship at Donington Park, fighting back from a difficult qualifying session hampered by technical problems to gain positions in all three races.
Aurelia Nobels made steady progress through a challenging sixth round of the 2026 GB3 Championship at Donington Park, fighting back from a difficult qualifying session hampered by technical problems to gain positions in all three races.
Making her first competitive appearance at the Leicestershire circuit, the Hillspeed driver demonstrated increasingly strong race pace throughout the weekend, including top-ten-worthy pace in the closing stages of Races 2 and 3 - but the qualifying issues left her with limited track position at a circuit where overtaking can be particularly difficult. Nobels ultimately recorded finishes of 14th, 15th and 13th, continuing to collect valuable experience in her rookie GB3 campaign.
The weekend had initially offered plenty of encouragement. Nobels quickly adapted to Donington Park during the pre-event testing, making significant progress between Thursday and Friday. She ended the combined practice classification 14th fastest, putting herself within reach of the midfield battles ahead of the races.
However, qualifying proved more difficult and immediately put Nobels on the back foot. In the opening session, she set a 1:21.5 to run 17th and ultimately remained in that position. The second qualifying session brought an even bigger setback when a technical problem forced Nobels to stop and caused a red flag, leaving her without a representative lap and placing further limitations on her starting position.
Nobels started Race 1 from 17th and immediately set about recovering the lost ground. In sunny conditions, she gained two positions on the opening lap to move into 15th, becoming involved in close battles with Taylor, Fu and Baptista.
As she settled into the race, Nobels began finding increasingly competitive pace, lapping in the 1:21s and steadily reducing the gap to Baptista. She was promoted to 14th when Rehm was forced to pit with front-wing damage, while Nobels continued to apply pressure to Fu ahead.
The Brazilian remained consistent in the high 1:21s and continued to close on the cars in front, while also building a significant advantage over Vinci behind. By the latter stages, Nobels had extended her margin over the chasing car to almost five seconds, although she was unable to find a sufficiently clear opportunity to attack Fu.
She nevertheless brought the car home in 14th, gaining three positions from her starting place and providing an encouraging start to the racing weekend despite the qualifying difficulties.
Nobels lined up 18th for Race 2 on Sunday morning and once again made a strong launch. She went wheel-to-wheel with Hillspeed teammate Vinci through Turn 1 and refused to back out of the fight, emerging from the opening sequence up in 16th.
Her progress was soon interrupted by a safety car following a crash involving championship leader Nikita Bedrin, but Nobels retained her position through the neutralization. Once the race resumed with 16 minutes remaining, Jackes moved ahead of her for 16th.
The race then became increasingly chaotic. Gonzalez and Baptista made contact at the chicane, with the incident affecting several cars behind, before Jack Taylor and Baptista were involved in another collision that sent them into the barriers and triggered a second safety car.
Nobels was running 15th under the caution and had another opportunity to attack when racing resumed at the end of lap 10 with only five minutes remaining. She immediately made use of it, passing Rodrigo Gonzalez to move into 14th. The Mexican attempted to fight back at the final corner, but Nobels successfully defended her position.
Jackes subsequently pitted with an issue, promoting Nobels further, although Gonzalez managed to reclaim the position a lap later. Nobels eventually crossed the line in 15th, having gained three places from her original starting position.
The result, however, did not fully reflect the pace she showed in the closing stages. Nobels was seventh-fastest on track in the final two laps, highlighting that she had the speed to run considerably further up the order had she enjoyed a stronger track position.
Starting Race 3 from 17th, Nobels initially slipped back to 18th before beginning another determined recovery. She quickly passed Gonzalez and Fu to return to 16th, and continued to make progress as the race developed.
On lap six, Nobels completed another overtake on Baptista to move into 15th. Her pace remained solid, with the Hillspeed driver regularly lapping around the 1:22.4 mark — again pace that was competitive enough for the top seven.
Nobels found herself in a group of closely battling cars, with three cars running almost three-wide ahead. She waited for an opportunity while maintaining pressure on the group. When championship leader Bedrin was forced to pit with an issue, Nobels inherited another position to move into 14th.
The Brazilian continued to look for opportunities in the closing stages and almost found a gap at the final corner. However, the space closed as she attempted the move, resulting in contact with Leon Wilson. Nobels however emerged from the incident in 13th place and held that position through to the chequered flag.
The 13th-place finish completed another determined recovery drive and ensured that Nobels gained ground from her starting position in all three races.
“Not quite the weekend we were hoping for at Donington Park, but plenty to take away,” Nobels reflected. “Technical problems in qualifying left us on the back foot at a circuit where overtaking is hard. We still made places up in the races and the pace was there, which is a real positive for a first time racing there!”
Nobels leaves Donington with 84 points and sits on course to finish her rookie GB3 campaign strongly, with two rounds remaining on the calendar. The next stop will be Brands Hatch on September 26-27, where she will look to make another step forward in the championship standings.
