Hitech celebrates home victory at Silverstone
Round 5 – Silverstone – Report
Hitech enjoyed a memorable home round as Eurocup-3 visited Silverstone for the first time, with Keanu Al Azhari taking a dominant Race 1 victory before battling through treacherous wet conditions to finish seventh in Race 2.
The result marked a major milestone for Hitech at its home circuit, with Keanu securing double pole position across the weekend and delivering a standout performance after a challenging run of races.
Qualifying
Keanu was the standout driver across both qualifying sessions, securing pole position for both Race 1 and Race 2 to give Hitech a double pole at its home circuit.
Race 1
Keanu started from pole and made a strong getaway to retain the lead, while Santino moved to sixth, Stefan held ninth and Gino dropped to 17th.
An early Safety Car neutralised the race, with racing resuming after around a third of the distance had been completed.
Keanu immediately began to pull away at the front, controlling the race and eventually taking a commanding victory. Behind him, Gino produced an impressive recovery drive to climb from 17th into the top 10, finishing 10th and taking a hard-fought championship point.
Santino finished ninth to score four points, while Stefan crossed the line 16th.
Keanu’s victory earned him 25 championship points, with a further four points secured from qualifying.
Keanu Al Azhari:
“What a fantastic race. We executed everything perfectly, and the team did a great job. I’m really satisfied with what I’ve achieved so far this weekend. It’s been a tough few races, but what a way to come back.”
Race 2
Conditions were very different for Race 2, with heavy rain and spray creating treacherous conditions around Silverstone.
Keanu started from pole but made a slow getaway and lost the lead to Egozi. Despite the difficult conditions, he remained in the fight at the front.
However, with two laps remaining, damage to the front-left endplate left it dragging along the floor and affecting the tyre. Keanu’s pace was severely compromised, but he fought desperately to hold his position and did an exceptional job to bring the damaged car home in seventh.
Gino finished 15th, Santino 16th and Stefan 24th.
Although Race 2 proved frustrating, Keanu’s seventh place salvaged valuable points and completed a standout home weekend.
Bruin Beasley, Hitech Eurocup-3 Team Manager
“Silverstone was a special weekend for the whole team. It was the first time Eurocup-3 has raced at our home circuit, so to put Keanu on pole for both races and then see him win Race 1 was a fantastic result.”
Bruin continued:
“Keanu was incredibly strong all weekend. Race 2 was much more difficult with the conditions and the damage he picked up, but he did a fantastic job to keep the car going and salvage seventh.
“There are plenty of positives for us to take from this weekend. Winning at our home circuit on Eurocup-3’s first visit to Silverstone is something the whole team can be proud of. Now we need to carry that momentum into the final three rounds.”
The championship now heads into its final three rounds, with Jerez, the Hungaroring and Montmeló still to come.
