GB3: Voisin takes second victory of the year as Browning steals championship lead
Carlin’s Callum Voisin converted pole position into his second victory of the season in the opening GB3 Championship contest at Snetterton.
Voisin claimed pole in qualifying this morning, and then led every lap of the race this afternoon to make it two wins from the last four races. Meanwhile, Hitech GP’s Luke Browning reclaimed the championship lead after finishing second in race one.
Qualifying
A late flying lap from Voisin earned the British-Swiss contender a first single-seater pole position, with a time that was 3.5 seconds faster than last year’s pace and seven tenths of a second better than anything seen in pre-event testing.
An exciting and closely fought session came to a dramatic conclusion as four drivers took turns at the head of the times, with JHR’s Matthew Rees on course for pole until Browning took over the position with 15 seconds remaining. Fortec’s then-championship leader Joel Granfors claimed provisional pole seconds later, only for Voisin to steal it right at the end.
The Carlin driver was less than a tenth of a second clear, with Granfors settling for second and Browning third and just 0.009s further back. Rees and Voisin’s teammate Roberto Faria completed the top-five, which was covered by less than two tenths of a second.
A remarkably close session saw the top-10 separated by less than half a second, with 1.4 seconds covering the fastest 21 drivers.
Race one
Voisin made a strong start to lead the pack down to Riches on the first lap, but behind, Browning blasted past Granfors on the run to the first corner, despite the Swedish driver’s attempt to close the door.
Voisin built a gap of over a second after the first two laps, but Browning and Granfors soon closed the gap, with the trio covered by less than a second for the majority of the contest.
Browning was unable to force a move though, and Voisin took his second victory of his maiden single-seater campaign just half a second clear, with Granfors just four tenths behind Browning.
That result ensured the championship lead was exchanged between the pair, with Browning holding a four-point margin over Granfors at the top of the standings heading into tomorrow’s two contests.
Roberto Faria (Carlin), and Elite pair Tom Lebbon and John Bennett completed the top-six in the first race, with the latter pair separated by just a tenth of a second at the end of the race.
Race one winner Voisin said: “It was quite tricky actually, I know I led the whole race but Luke behind was extremely quick. I was having to look in my mirrors quite a bit because he was so fast. It was all about maintaining that gap, thankfully I did and managed to bring it home.
“It’s always nice to beat your opponents, especially Luke who I think is leading the championship now. It’s definitely a confidence booster. A bigger gap would have been nice, but you can’t have everything!”
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Snetterton qualifying top-six:
1. Callum Voisin, Carlin, 1m41.442s
2. Joel Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, +0.094s
3. Luke Browning, Hitech GP, +0.103s
4. Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, +0.186s
5. Roberto Faria, Carlin, +0.188s
6. Tom Lebbon, Elite Motorsport, +0.296s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Snetterton race one top-six:
1. Callum Voisin, Carlin, 12 laps
2. Luke Browning, Hitech GP, +0.526s
3. Joel Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, +0.942s
4. Roberto Faria, Carlin, +2.265s
5. Tom Lebbon, Elite Motorsport, +8.333s
6. John Bennett, Elite Motorsport, +8.504s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, standings after race ten of 24:
1. Luke Browning, Hitech GP, 196pts
2. Joel Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, 192pts
3. Callum Voisin, Carlin, 167pts
4. Roberto Faria, Carlin, 164pts
5. Max Esterson, Douglas Motorsport, 156pts
6. Tom Lebbon, Elite Motorsport, 146pts
Click here for full standings
GB3 Championship, Teams’ standings after race ten of 24:
1. Carlin, 349pts
2. Hitech GP, 329pts
3. Elite Motorsport, 310pts
4. Fortec Motorsport, 300pts
5. Douglas Motorsport, 244pts
6. Chris Dittmann Racing, 196pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information visit www.gb-3.net.