Maltese racing driver Jacob Micallef secured the first single-seater victory of his career after producing a decisive final-lap pass in the third GB3 race at Silverstone.
The 16-year-old Hitech driver passed Rodrigo Gonzalez around the outside of Brooklands and crossed the finish line just 0.176 seconds ahead of his rival.
It was Micallef’s first GB3 victory during only his third event in the championship and his first weekend racing at Silverstone.
As the first driver from Malta to compete in GB3, the victory also makes him the championship’s first Maltese race winner.
Fighting Into Contention From Third
Micallef began race three from the second row of the grid in third place.
He maintained his position when the lights went out before briefly dropping behind Leon Wilson into fourth.
As the race entered its final stages, the Maltese driver began moving forward. He reclaimed third with an outside pass on Wilson at the high-speed Abbey corner.
Micallef then caught the battle between race leader Rodrigo Gonzalez and Edu Robinson.
With fewer than four minutes remaining, he passed Robinson at the entry to Maggotts and moved into second place.
Final-Lap Move Secures Victory
Micallef entered the final lap less than half a second behind Gonzalez.
He stayed close through the final section of the circuit before using the slipstream and DRS along the Wellington Straight.
Micallef moved to the outside at Brooklands and completed the pass at the penultimate corner of the race.
He kept Gonzalez behind through the final turn and won by 0.176 seconds, with Robinson completing the podium in third place.
A Breakthrough On His Silverstone Debut
The result completed a weekend in which Micallef had consistently competed around the top 10.
He qualified ninth for race one and tenth for race two, finishing the opening contest in ninth and the second in 11th before starting race three from third.
His Hitech car carried the Maltese flag on its halo, alongside support from DMMG, Enemed, Schuberth and VisitMalta.
The victory came around 10 months after Micallef first drove a single-seater racing car and during his first full season at this level.
He joined Hitech for selected GB3 rounds while continuing to compete full-time with Campos Racing in the F4 Spanish Championship.
“I Am Truly Lost For Words”
Reflecting on the result, Micallef said he had expected a difficult weekend because many of his rivals already had experience competing at Silverstone.
“I am truly lost for words and completely speechless after this weekend,” he said.
He described the final-lap victory as a major confidence boost and thanked his family, friends, sponsors, management and the Hitech team for supporting his progress.
Jarama Comes Next
Micallef will now return to his main F4 Spanish Championship programme with Campos Racing.
The next round takes place at the Circuito de Madrid Jarama-RACE on 22 and 23 August.
His Silverstone victory marks a major step in a rapid transition from karting to international single-seater racing and gives Maltese motorsport its first GB3 race winner.
