Fortec Motorsports returned to GB3 Championship action over the weekend (30 May–1 June), with a challenging visit to Spa-Francorchamps for the team and driver Stefan Bostanjiev.
After completing test sessions on the 4.352-mile (7.004-km) venue—home of the Belgian Grand Prix—qualifying took place late on a warm Friday afternoon. With such a long lap to navigate, tyres requiring careful warm-up and only two 15-minute sessions to set times, Stefan needed to be immediately on the pace.
Q1 was further shortened by a red flag with just four minutes remaining, allowing him only two flying laps. In Q2, he was able to complete the session and ultimately recorded the 15th- and 18th-fastest times, securing those positions on the grid for the first and second races of the weekend.
The opening race on Saturday morning was held under brilliant sunshine. Stefan made a clean start and maintained 15th place on the opening lap before the Safety Car was deployed. On the restart, he found himself under pressure and slipped back to 20th, but when the Safety Car returned with six minutes remaining, there was one final racing lap—during which he gained one position to take 19th at the flag.
Heavy rain earlier in the afternoon had reduced grip, although the circuit was fully dry when the lights went out for the second contest. Stefan launched well, gaining two places from his 18th-place grid slot, but then dropped back slightly. He held his own until midway through the 11-lap race, losing a couple more positions. When the race was ended two laps early, he crossed the line in 23rd.
The third race took place on a damp track, with competitors split between slick and wet tyres. Starting on wets, Stefan enjoyed a strong first lap, gaining four positions. However, as the wet tyres quickly degraded, he began to lose time and pitted to switch to slicks. From that point, he had a solitary run to the finish and ultimately took 21st place.
The next three rounds of the GB3 Championship will be held at the Hungaroring—home of the Hungarian Grand Prix—at the beginning of July.
Stefan Bostanjiev #23
Grid 1 – 15, Race 1 – 17
Grid 2 – 18, Race 2 – 23
Grid 3 – 18, Race 3 – 21
Championship: 22 (20 points)
