Browning enjoys home advantage at Oulton Park as GB3s new era blasts into life
Hitech GP’s Luke Browning enjoyed a perfect start to the new GB3 season, as the local man took a double pole in qualifying and a dominant race win. He made the most of his front-row start and pulled out a big advantage to win over 10 seconds clear of the squabbling Roberto Faria (Carlin) and Matthew Rees (JHR Developments), to take an early lead in the standings.
Qualifying
Browning secured a double pole after a series of quick laps at the Cheshire venue. His best time of 1m28.929s was over two seconds faster than last year’s pole time, demonstrating the improved pace of the new Tatuus MSV-022 car.
Browning was just 0.041s quicker than Fortec’s Joel Granfors after a session long battle between the pair, who were over four tenths of a second clear of Faria who qualified third after encountering traffic on his fastest lap. Rees, Callum Voisin (Carlin) and Tom Lebbon (Elite) completed the qualifying top-six, with five different teams represented. Each driver's second quickest times form the grid for race two which is due to start at 13.05 on Monday, with Browning on pole again ahead of Granfors and Faria.
Race one
Browning blasted into an instant lead and didn’t look back from there, as he constantly extended his advantage with successive fastest laps. While the Cheshire resident blasted away at the front, all eyes focused on an intense battle for second place between Faria and Rees. The Brazilian and Welshman were never more than half a second apart, but Faria held firm to take second ahead of the JHR driver.
McKenzy Cresswell finished just outside the podium positions for Chris Dittmann Racing, finishing ahead of Elite’s John Bennett, who impressed in his first single-seater contest in fifth. Granfors, who picked up a five place grid penalty for a collision in qualifying, finished sixth despite a troubled final lap.
Browning commented: “The car felt absolutely phenomenal today. The engineers did a smashing job. I was just piecing laps together and it honestly felt easy in that car, so a big thanks to Hitech.
“It’s a tight championship and it’s never easy to win at any level so it just shows you how much hard work we’ve put in over the winter. It was important to keep my head level, it’s the first race of the season, so it’s nice to have the points in the bag but we’ve got to do it again on Monday.”
The GB3 field returns to action on Easter Monday (18 April), with two further races and both set to be streamed live online with full build-up and post-race interviews.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Oulton Park qualifying top-six:
1. Luke Browning, Hitech GP, 1m28.929s
2. Joel Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, +0.041s
3. Roberto Faria, Carlin, +0.521s
4. Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, +0.579s
5. Callum Voisin, Carlin, +0.641s
6. Tom Lebbon, Elite Motorsport, +0.699s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Oulton Park race one top-six:
1. Luke Browning, Hitech GP, 14 laps
2. Roberto Faria, Carlin, +10.258s
3. Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, +10.719s
4. McKenzy Cresswell, Chris Dittmann Racing, +13.414s
5. John Bennett, Elite Motorsport, +20.988s
6. Joel Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, +22.243s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, drivers' standings after race one of 24:
1. Luke Browning, Hitech GP, 35pts
2. Roberto Faria, Carlin, 29pts
3. Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, 24pts
4. McKenzy Cresswell, Chris Dittmann Racing, 21pts
5. John Bennett, Elite Motorsport, 19pts
6. Joel Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, 17pts
Click here for full result
For more championship information visit www.gb-3.net.