Exiting Turn 7 the cars were in the order 3, 21, 4, 7. Cars 3, 21 and 4 kept to the left of the circuit. It appears that car 4 ran slightly wide onto the exit kerb, whereas car 7 had a better exit and was able to move substantially, if not completely ahead of car 4 upon turning to take Turn 8 ahead of car 4. Unfortunately, as this manoeuvre was taking place, there was contact between cars 21 and 3 ahead. Mid-corner, car 21 rode up over the rear of car 3 and, both unable to take the corner, the cars momentum carried them off the circuit to the right, impeding car 7 in the process. We have seen footage showing an example of car 7 negotiating Turns 8 and 9 without traffic and it is clear that whether attributable to car 4 on his inside or avoiding the collision ahead, the result was that car 7 lost momentum due to braking deeper into Turn 8 and being forced to take a significantly narrower line, or tighter radius, into Turn 9.
13. The GB3 2026 Driving Standards Guidelines V1 provide, as relevant, that overtaking on the outside will always be viewed as a more difficult manoeuvre to accomplish. To be entitled to be given room, including at the exit, when overtaking on the outside, the overtaking car must;
i. Have its front axle ahead of the front axle of the other car at the apex. ii. Be driven in a controlled manner from entry, to apex, to exit. iii. Be able to make the corner within track limits.
14. Mr Bonner argued that, contrary to what the Stewards recorded, when exiting Turn 8, it was car 4 that was attempting an overtake on car 7 to regain the place that was lost. He submitted that car 4 was not entitled to be given room on the exit of Turn 9 because it had never drawn sufficiently ahead.
15. However, as the Guidelines state, they are guidelines, not regulations. Their application must depend on the circumstances. This was a highly dynamic situation in which, as the Guidelines state,“ many incidents require subjective judgment.”
( forward facing) it is arguable that car 4’ s front axle was marginally ahead of car 7’ s.
17. Of greater significance, in our judgment, is the fact that when car 7 might have been able to retain its advantage over car 4, it had instead been compromised by the collision of cars 3 and 21 ahead. We note that as the cars exit Turn 9 from the“ apex” we identified, car 4 moves further ahead on the track just before Mr Nakamura steered off the circuit to the left and behind the raised kerb. As car 7 exited Turn 9, the front offside( left) tyre crossed the left-hand white line immediately before the raised kerb. Clearly, whatever racing room had existed, it was rapidly disappearing.
18. Both drivers were racing highly competitively and adapting to sudden developments around them. To their credit, despite such close-quarter racing in those circumstances, there was no contact between them. However, we conclude that in the circumstances, Mr Fluxa could and should have left more racing room to Mr Nakamura and was in breach of FIA ISC Appendix L, Chapter IV, Art. 2 b.
19. It follows that we agree with and uphold the decision of the Stewards that Mr Fluxa was in breach of FIA ISC Appendix L, Chapter IV, Art. 2b. We also uphold the penalty of a 1-position race result penalty which, like the Stewards, we too consider was appropriate, remains in force.
CONCLUSION 20. The Appeal is dismissed.
FURTHER ORDERS
21. The appeal fee is forfeit and the appellants are to pay £ 1,000 towards the costs of the hearing.
Mark Heywood KC, Chair 24th May 2026
16. Clearly, the application of the guidelines is dependent on the location of the apex, but that will vary according to the trajectory of the driver. Understandably, Mr Bonner was not able to point to a definitive location, but in the course of discussion we considered the point at which the asphalt inside Turn 9 meets the grass, which is where, on a conventional lap, Mr Fluxa placed his inside( right) front tyre, which is later than where the inside front tyre of car 7 was on the particular lap of the incident. At that point, from the in-car footage of cars 4( both forward and rear facing) 7( forward facing) and car 8 behind them
Revolution Magazine 29