After 7 months, we can finally say it… It’s race week! This weekend the GB3 championship returns to Oulton Park for the first of 8 race weekends this year.
Race Rundown
Before the 2022 season starts, if you are new to GB3, the championship runs a little differently from others. So here is a little run down of how a race weekend pans out. The race weekend consists of one qualifying session and three races. Within this qualifying session, the driver’s fastest times set the grid for the first race of the weekend. The grid for the second race is set by the driver’s second-fastest times in the qualifying. As no driver is knocked out in qualifying, everyone has the opportunity to set two fastest laps. The third and final race of the weekend is a reverse grid race from the first race grid, essentially those at the front of the grid are now at the back of the grid. Each race awards drivers in the top 10 points which contributes to their overall championship standings.
At the start of this season, there are currently 21 drivers from all over the world competing with 9 teams. However, drivers throughout the season may change and as not all teams have filled their seats which means drivers can enter the grid later on in the season. The championship runs all over the UK and visits the historic track of Spa-Francorchamps in July.
Return of the Rookies
This year there are 7 drivers from the 2021 season returning to the championship. Roberto Faria has moved to Carlin in hopes of winning the championship with last year’s team championship winners. Javier Sagrera will also return with Carlin, hoping to follow in the footsteps of his previous teammate Zak O’Sullivan who is now competing in FIA Formula 3 with Carlin after winning the 2021 season.
Image credit: @CarlinRacing
Tom Lebbon has also decided to stick with his British team, Elite Motorsport after achieving ninth overall with one podium last season. After spending half of the 2021 season with Arden Motorsport, Alex Connor will return to the championship. Last year he presented himself as a front runner after placing second at Silverstone and gaining two podiums at Donnington Park.
American driver Bryce Aron showed his consistency last year after finishing every race and claiming 10 top-10 finishes and returns to the grid with Hitech GP for hopefully another successful campaign. Mikkel Grundtvig will also stay with his 2021 team, Fortec Motorsports, after a double race win at Donnington Park last season and placing on the podium at Spa-Francorchamps and Oulton Park.
Brandon Oxley is the final driver from last season to return to this grid this year. The Anglo-Thai driver will remain with Chris Dittman Racing for the 2022 season after six top-10 finishes in half a season and narrowly missed out on a podium at Silverstone last August.
Fresh Faced and Ready to Race
This season we see 14 rookie drivers take to the GB3 championship, some for the first time others have competed last season in a few races. Having created the likes of Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stweart, Johnny Herbet, Daniel Ricciardo, George Russel and Lando Norris, it’s a chance for young drivers to start their journey into the top championships.
This year Carlin will only have one rookie driver in the form of Callum Voisin. The Anglo-Swiss driver spent 2021 in the Ginetta Junior Championship, finishing sixth overall and securing seven victories, 11 podiums and two pole positions. He was the joint-highest race winner throughout the season and was the only driver to take a clean sweep in one weekend where he won all races at Brands Hatch. He will partner Roberto Faria and Javier Sagrera this year.
Douglas Motorsport welcomes two new rookie drivers in the form of Max Esterson and Marcos Flack. They will also be joined by Tommy Smith, who drove in selected GB3 races last year. New York City-born driver Max Esterson joins the Douglas team as the Walter Hayes Festival Winner, Formula Ford Festival Runner up and has a very successful sim-racing career which he has competed in since the age of 11 and has been supported by iRacing for the past two years.
He will partner Marcos Flack who is one of Australia’s rising stars. The 16-year-old had a successful 2021 campaign taking part in the British F4 Championship where he gained three podiums and two fastest laps and competed in three races in both Italian F4 and ADAC F4. Tommy Smith will also compete with the Northampton based team where he made a great impression in his first race with the team last season at Snetterton securing 12th overall. He went on to have successful races again at Silverstone and Donnington Park.
Tommy Smith on his 2022 campaign:
“If we can get into the top-five that would be great in the overall scheme of things. It’s a long season of course and we’ll see what happens but as long as we’re there I’ll be happy,” he commented.
“I’ve got the three rounds from last year under my belt, which really helps because I know how the weekend formats are and how the racing is over in the UK.”
Image credit: @JakobEbrey
18-year-old David Morales will race with Arden Motorsport this season alongside Alex Connor. 2021 saw him competing with Arden in British F4 where he gained two podium results in the championship.
After competing in three GB3 races in 2021, Luke Browning will compete with Hitech GP this season. The 20-year-old Cheshire-born driver is one of the UK’s most promising single-seater prospects currently racing in the feeder series. In his second GB3 race last year, he claimed a race win at Oulton Park. He also competed in ADAC F4 where he was third overall and Italian F4 where he claimed one podium in three races. Cian Shields will partner Browning at Hitech this season, the British driver is a highly accredited Karting graduate who will race single-seater cars for the first time in 2022. Both British drivers and Bryce Aron will complete the lineup for Hitech GP this year.
British Formula 4 Race winner Joel Granfors graduates to GB3 this season with Fortec Motorsports after a successful first season in single-seater racing. After finishing fourth overall with Fortec, the Swede will be looking to do the same this year. Mikkel Grundtvig is returning for another season and the trio of drivers will be competed by rookie Zak Taylor. He moves up to the GB3 championship after a promising British F4 campaign last year taking one win and four podiums in his first season in single-seater racing.
Image credit: Oliver Dutton
Mckenzy Cresswell will step up to GB3 with Chris Dittman Racing after also having a successful season in British F4. The 16-year-old won six races last season which was two more than any driver. He also stood on the podium a further five times which gained him third overall in the championship. The Brit will partner Branden Oxley in his second GB3 campaign.
The only Canadian driver on the grid, Nick Gilkes, will compete in the 2022 season with Hillspeed. The 16-year-old became the youngest ever Toto Tires Ontario F1600 Champion in 2021 alongside winning the Canadian F1600 championships. He will graduate to GB3 this season as Hillspeeds only confirmed driver as of yet.
Nick Gilkes on his upcoming season:
“There’s been a lot of learning to do but we’re fairly close to where we want to be.
“I’m always trying to drive as much as possible so Spain was a really good opportunity and I’m so thankful for the team for putting that on.”
Image credit: @JakobEbrey
Another driver that is yet to have teammates is Matthew Rees. JHR Development confirmed that the 2021 British F4 champion will graduate with the team to GB3. The 16-year-old took pole position in the first 5 races last season and took an additional four race wins and seven podiums. Finishing the season 25 points clear of second place. He was also awarded a Rising Star Award from the BRDC and is part of the Elite Cymru Sports Programme for top athletes in Wales. He is yet to have anyone join him for his 2022 campaign.
The final team that will complete our 2022 grid is Elite Motorsports. Starting this season they have one returning driver and two rookie drivers in the form of British drivers John Bennett and James Hedley. John Bennett joins the grid as the Ginetta GT5 Challenge runner up, continuing his third consecutive year with the outfit. James Headley completes the trio and will take on his first full season with the team after competing with the outfit in the last race of the 2021 GB3 season at Donnington Park. The Brit is a BRDC rising star and has been competing in the British Formula 4 Championship for the past two years.
Mark your calendars for this weekend
The season starts on the 16th of April at Oulton Park. You can watch the live streams of every round here and highlights will be shown on Sky F1 which is home to other major single-seater feeder championships such as FIA Formula 3 and FIA Formula 2. There are currently 13 GB3 graduates in FIA Formula 3. To catch up on the last season, read the season review here.
