This weekend was the third race weekend of the GB3 season! The grid travelled to one of the most famous tracks in the world, Spa-Francorchamps.
In case you missed it, here is a short rundown of the last round at Silverstone:
It was a weekend to remember for championship leader Joseph Loake, who took a double win at the home of the BRDC. However for the Polish Driver, Tymek Kucharczyk, it was a weekend to forget as after placing P1 in races 1 and 2, he lost both due to technical infringements. But instead of letting this affect his weekend, he delivered three incredible recovery races, and made up a total of 40 places over the three races, putting him 62 points away from the championship lead.
The weekend also brought new faces to the podium. Arden VRD’s Noah Ping and Nico Christodoulou and Chris Dittmann Racing’s, Arthur Rogeon, took home silverware for the first time this season. So far, over two race weekends, it means that 11 of the 25 drivers on the grid have had their moment on the podium!
Qualifying results:
It was a Friday of celebrations for Rodin Carlin after Callum Voisin took pole in both races. His best time of 2m14.912s was seven-tenths of a second faster than last year’s pole position time and was 0.127s faster than Alex Dunne in P2.
Elite Motorsports McKenzy Cresswell also had a stellar weekend taking P3 in both races, he was just 0.020s away from Dunne when the red flags came out for Arthur Rogeon who had gone off on the Kemmel Straight and finished the session early.
Race 1:
- Callum Voisin, Rodin Carlin, 2m14.912s
- Alex Dunne, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.127s
- McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, +0.147s
- Tymek Kucharczyk, Douglas Motorsport, +0.364s
- David Morales, JHR Developments, +0.507s
- Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, +0.513s
- Nico Christodoulou, Arden VRD, +0.533s
- Max Esterson, Fortec Motorsport, +0.558s
- Gerrard Xie, Hillspeed, +0.571s
- Michael Shin, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.745s
- Souta Arao, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.785s
- John Bennett, Rodin Carlin, +0.870s
- Edward Pearson, Fortec Motorsport, +0.903s
- Joseph Loake, JHR Developments, +0.988s
- Costa Toparis, Rodin Carlin, +1.019s
- James Hedley, Arden VRD, +1.044s
- Jarrod WaberskI, Fortec Motorsport, +1.206s
- Ayato Iwasaki, Elite Motorsport, +1.453s
- Lucas Staico, Douglas Motorsport, +1.473s
- Noah Ping, Arden VRD, +1.805s
- Arthur Rogeon, Chris Dittmann Racing, +2.002s
- Zak Taylor, Chris Dittmann Racing, +2.047s
- Daniel Mavlyutov, Hillspeed, +2.156s
- Oliver Stewart, Elite Motorsport, +2.183s
- Shawn Rashid, Douglas Motorsport, +2.193s
Race 2:
- Callum Voisin, Rodin Carlin, 2m15.027s
- Alex Dunne, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.038s
- McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, +0.197s
- Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, +0.456s
- Nico Christodoulou, Arden VRD, +0.456s
- Max Esterson, Fortec Motorsport, +0.457s
- Tymek Kucharczyk, Douglas Motorsport, +0.462s
- Gerrard Xie, Hillspeed, +0.555s
- Joseph Loake, JHR Developments, +0.909s
- Edward Pearson, Fortec Motorsport, +1.067s
- Costa Toparis, Rodin Carlin, +1.092s
- Jarrod Waberski, Fortec Motorsport, +1.096s
- John Bennett, Rodin Carlin, +1.124s
- James Hedley, Arden VRD, +1.125s
- David Morales, JHR Developments, +1.193s
- Lucas Staico, Douglas Motorsport, +1.465s
- Ayato Iwasaki, Elite Motorsport, +1.585s
- Michael Shin, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +1.638s
- Souta Arao, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +1.819s
- Arthur Rogeon, Chris Dittmann Racing, +2.095s
- Daniel Mavlyutov, Hillspeed, +2.102s
- Oliver Stewart, Elite Motorsport, +2.221s
- Shawn Rashid, Douglas Motorsport, +2.570s
- Noah Ping, Arden VRD, +2.985s
- Zak Taylor, Chris Dittmann Racing, +4.571s
Race 1 Rundown:
The grid was in for a dramatic start to Race 1 with Voisin initially taking the lead of the race. Dunne saw an opening to overtake Voisin for the lead, which cost Cresswell behind to spin. At the same time further back in the field, Daniel Mavlyutov, Arthur Rogeon, Noah Ping and Lucas Staico were off the track with the first three drivers finishing their race on the first lap and deploying the safety car.
As soon as the safety car went in, Voisin was off trying to gain an advantage over the rest of the field. However, onto the Kemmel straight Dunne saw a gap and tried to overtake Voisin for the lead. He was so close but could not make a move stick with both drivers side by side going into Eau Rouge. Dunne finally took the lead going into Les Combes.
With the safety car at the start of the race, we only saw 7 laps of racing which played in Dunne’s favour as he crossed the finish line to take P1. Voisin had to settle for P2 and after nearly losing out Kucharczyk, who took P3, in the closing stages of the race.
Image credit: @JakobEbrey
Race 2 Rundown:
The second race of the weekend unusually took place on a Sunny Saturday afternoon, which for avid followers of the series will know that this race would normally take place on a Sunday morning.
As soon as the lights went out Voisin lost his lead to Cresswell at La Source, with Voisin then retaking the lead after getting a tow on the Kemmel Straight with Dunne following. This put Creswell down to P3.
It didn’t stop here however, Cresswell took the fastest lap on lap 2. Voisin and Dunne then showed spectacular racing as they went down the Kemmel Straight side by side. It didn’t take long for Dunne to seize the moment as he pressed copy and paste to take the lead of the race at Les Combes, just as he did in race 1. Lap 4 also saw Xie pass Kucharczyk for P4, and the Hillspeed driver went on to take the fastest lap of the grid by lap 6.
As the checkered flag was waved, Dunne took a second win of the weekend with a 1.9s lead. Voisin had to settle for P2 with Cresswell taking the final place on the podium.
Image credit: @JakobEbrey
Race 3 Rundown:
The final race of the weekend was a total reverse grid, as all 25 drivers were within 103% of the fastest qualifying time. Elite Motorsport’s Oliver Stewart started on pole alongside Hillspeed’s Daniel Mavlyutov. As soon as the lights went out Mavlyutov, overtook Stweart at La Source, but down the Kemmel straight Stweart retook his lead.
It wasn’t long before there were cars off the track, bringing out a safety car. Rees had hit the car of Rashid, which sent the Douglas car into the barriers, taking CDR’s Zak Taylor in its path, ending the race early for all three drivers who jumped out of their respective cars unharmed.
The collisions didn’t stop there with Rogeon and Shin coming together at the Bus Stop, which meant that Rogeon damaged his front wing. Ping and Esterson also make contact down at Les Combes just before Rogeon lost his front wing completely.
As the race finished, Oliver Stewart took his first ever in GB3 with Joseph Loake in P2 and Jarrod Waberski in P3.
There were a few honourable mentions of drivers with an impressive amount of overtakes. Race 1 and 2 winner, Alex Dunne, made up a total of 15 places throughout the race. Tymek Kucharczyk was another driver to storm through the grid as he finished in 7th after starting 22nd.
It was also a crucial race for Loarke who took P2 and regained the championship lead after Voisin only took 15 points in 10th place. As we go into Snetterton in a few weeks, The results of the race remain provisional until further investigation.
Image credit: @JakobEbrey
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