Bianca Bustamante battles setback at GB3 Silverstone debut
Photo from racerbia/Instagram
Bounce back, Bia!
Filipino American racing prodigy Bianca Bustamante made her long-awaited GB3 Championship debut at the Silverstone Circuit, but her weekend was anything but smooth.
Driving for Elite Motorsport, the first Filipina McLaren Development driver qualified 22nd for all three races but suffered a high-speed accident at Turn 1 on the final lap of qualifying.
The crash left her with a bruised hand and arm and forced her to sit out Race 1 due to extensive car damage.
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In a post on Instagram, the 20-year-old reflected on the incident and her performance.
“My main struggle has honestly been building confidence in the high-speed sections, to truly trust the aero,” she admitted.
Despite the setback, she was encouraged by the gains she made in every session. “We made real progress each session and took a personal step forward in qualifying,” she said.
The crash, caused by a slight misjudgment on the exit curb, resulted in what she described as “an unsavable oversteer snap” that sent her into the barrier.
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“Really disappointed knowing a small mistake on my side led to a big crash on the track, essentially ruining our race weekend,” she said.
Thanks to the quick work of her team, Bustamante returned to action for Races 2 and 3. However, she revealed that lingering mechanical issues stemming from the crash affected her pace.
“At no fault of the team, the car still had some underlying issues that was not fixable in both races,” she noted.
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Despite the challenges, Bustamante remained optimistic about the road ahead. “There truly were so many positives to take from my first weekend in GB3 and I really can’t wait to get back in the car in Zandvoort,” she said.
Bustamante is expected to continue her GB3 campaign in the upcoming round at Zandvoort, where she hopes to bounce back stronger.
In the meantime, she’ll make an appearance at the Miami Grand Prix, shifting gears briefly before returning to competitive action.
