Rashid stars at Silverstone with first GB3 podium on breakthrough weekend

• Rising American open-wheel racer reaches the rostrum around Formula 1 track
• VRD Racing by Arden ace on the pace all weekend at legendary circuit
• Atlanta native now ‘motivated to push even more’ over remainder of campaign

Shawn Rashid celebrated his maiden podium finish in the GB3 Championship at Silverstone last weekend (27-28 July), producing a fast and mature performance to comfortably hold his own up at the sharp end of the order – and he is already targeting a repeat.

On the pace throughout free practice at the legendary British Grand Prix venue – twice placing inside the top five on the timesheets in the fiercely-disputed single-seater series – Rashid went on to qualify tenth for race one and ninth for race two amongst the 23 high-calibre protagonists, based upon his quickest two lap times from the session.

The Atlanta, GA native found himself in the thick of the midfield fight early on in the curtain-raising contest, but following an extended safety car intervention to deal with an incident, contact as the pack was tightly bunched-up at the re-start caused damage to Rashid’s front wing and suspension, obliging him to return to the pits where he unfortunately had to retire.

Race two the next morning was more successful. Having gained a spot to eighth early on, the VRD Racing by Arden ace snatched seventh from Hugo Schwarze and thereafter shadowed McLaren Driver Development Programme member Ugo Ugochukwu right to the chequered flag to equal his best finish of the campaign to-date – but better still was to come.

Lining up third for the partially-reversed grid finale, Rashid again made a bright start and displaced pole-sitter Patrick Heuzenroeder on the opening tour to climb to second. After another safety car neutralisation, the Purdue University Industrial Engineering graduate briefly piled the pressure on race leader Arthur Rogeon, holding fastest lap for a while and putting some breathing space between himself and his pursuers on his way to securing the runner-up spoils.

It was by any measure a milestone result, as everything finally came together and Rashid was able to showcase his pace and potential all weekend. Buoyed by his success, with two events left on the 2024 GB3 schedule – at Donington Park and Brands Hatch GP in September – the 28-year-old Oxford-based racer is determined to sign off his sophomore season in the series in style.

“This has been a long time coming, but good things come to those who wait,” Rashid reflected. “It was a strong weekend all-round; right from the outset in free practice, we had good speed and we started out pretty much where we wanted to be in terms of the car’s set-up. 
 
“I was a little concerned at the beginning of qualifying because we struggled on our first set of tyres, but we made a mid-session set-up adjustment and found six or seven tenths-of-a-second from just that one small tweak. That left me with only enough time to complete two more ‘flying’ laps, so the pressure was certainly on to deliver but we got the job done – and qualifying well makes your whole weekend so much easier!
 
“I got a good start in race one, but as I arrived at the Maggotts/Becketts complex on the first lap, I got checked-up behind some other drivers, which cost me my momentum and several positions going down the Hangar Straight. Then going into Vale and Club following the safety car re-start, another driver clipped my front wing, causing it to get lodged in the suspension and bending one of the wishbones. 
 
“I was super-upset about that after qualifying had gone so well, but also because qualifying had gone so well, I knew we would get another opportunity on Sunday so I reset and refocussed on that. I got a really good start again in race two to gain some ground and I was catching Ugo [Ugochukwu] later on, but by that stage, the tyre degradation was just too high to be able to do anything about it so while I could get close to him, I couldn’t stay quite close enough through the high-speed sections.
 
“The car was super-fast, and that set the tone for the final race too, when I got a good run out of Becketts on the first lap and went round the outside of Patrick [Heuzenroeder] at Stowe. Unfortunately, at the safety car re-start, I switched up to second gear at the wrong moment, which allowed Arthur [Rogeon] to get a decent jump on me, so after that I concentrated on trying to pump in qualifying laps and to finish second was a massive confidence boost.

“It’s funny – when I went to bed on Saturday night, I remember saying to myself, ‘I’m going to get my first GB3 podium tomorrow’. In Formula Ford before this, I’d kind of got used to competing up at the front and finishing on the podium. Last year was then really difficult – there are so many ups-and-downs in this sport and sometimes you wonder when it’s going to work out, but I’ve been working harder than ever and have tried to be patient and stay positive throughout.
 
“Big thanks to the team for giving me such a wicked car. It’s great to head into the summer break after achieving my first podium in the series. It’s a little bit of a monkey off my back and I couldn’t be happier. So much of this sport is about mental strength, and now I’ll have a different mindset going into the remaining races and am motivated to push even more. I’ve had a lot of success at both Donington Park and Brands Hatch in the past, so the target has to be more podiums to finish the season with a flourish…”
 
“Shawn is the hardest-working driver on the grid, so it’s no surprise to see him achieve his first GB3 podium,” added Rashid’s manager, former British Touring Car Championship Independents’ title-winner, Rory Butcher. 
 
“He’s had to be very patient this season, but he has never stopped pushing and hitting a milestone like this is really positive mentally and I know will give him an extra boost of belief. Now, it’s time for a short break before the work re-starts, and we will be digging deep to finish the final two events off strongly.”

Photos by Alex Langley.