GB3 Aces set for duel in the dunes
The GB3 Championship makes its return to Zandvoort this weekend (13/14 July), as the second half of the 2024 season commences at the Dutch Grand Prix venue.
Following his scintillating turnaround last time out at the Hungaroring, Rodin Motorsport’s Louis Sharp heads the pack heading to Zandvoort. The New Zealander proved overtaking is possible at the Hungarian Grand Prix venue by going from fifth on the grid to victory in race two, earning his second triumph of the year and leaving the event with a slender two-point buffer to Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Will Macintyre.
The British driver is a three-time winner already in 2024, though the Hungary trip was his first win-less event of the campaign. But Hitech won two races at Zandvoort last year, and have won at each international venue so far this season.
Teammate Tymek Kucharczyk led the standings heading to Hungary, but endured his most difficult day of the season so far to close the event 21 points in arrears after luck deserted the Polish charger. With three wins of his own in 2024, expect him to fight back in the Netherlands.
John Bennett is the lead JHR Developments contender, having taken his first victory at Oulton Park and regular podiums thereafter. The top-four have begun to break away from the chasing pack, though Elite’s McKenzy Cresswell will be aiming to join the leaders having taken two podiums at Zandvoort last year. His teammate Jarrod Waberski earned his second rostrum of the year at the Hungaroring, and tends to go well overseas. With circuit knowledge, could his first victory come this weekend?
Hitech’s Gerrard Xie became the fifth driver to win a race in 2024 with his race one triumph in Hungary, while Rodin’s Arthur Rogeon dominated the concluding contest to become the sixth winner of 2024. JHR’s Patrick Heuzenroeder meanwhile enjoyed his best weekend so far in GB3 with two top five finishes to propel the Aussie into the top-10 in the standings.
Elite’s Hugo Schwarze continues to show promise in his first single-seater campaign and was again a top-10 challenger at the Hungaroring, while VRD Racing by Arden’s Noah Ping is looking to turn around his fortunes in his sophomore GB3 season.
Colin Queen heads Fortec’s line-up heading to Zandvoort, two points behind Ping and a single point ahead of James Hedley, who is back again with Rodin Motorsport, and looking to build on his strongest showing of the year last time out. Josh Irfan took his first GB3 podium for JHR in the final Hungaroring race to move up the order, with the second Fortec machine of Edward Pearson next up.
VRD Racing by Arden’s Shawn Rashid enjoyed his best GB3 weekend three weeks ago with a maiden top-10 in qualifying, and will look to repeat the feet, especially with previous circuit knowledge. The American is three points clear of Chris Dittmann Racing’s Seb Murray, who continues to develop his speed in his first GB3 campaign.
The Scottish driver’s teammate Flynn Jackes is next up, equal on points with Hillspeed’s GB4 graduate Aditya Kulkarni, with VRD Racing by Arden’s Nikita Johnson completing the 20-car entry. The American starlet heads into the event buoyed by his fifth and sixth wins of the year in the USF Pro 2000 Championship, where he is mounting a strong championship challenge.
The GB3 field will commence track activity with testing on Thursday and Friday, before qualifying at 8am local time (7am UK), and the first race of the weekend at 12.55. Two further contests on Sunday at 10.10 and 16.25 will conclude the event, with all the racing action again set to be streamed live and in full via the GB3 Championship website, Facebook page and the MSV TV YouTube channel.
Zandvoort entry list
#3 Noah Ping, VRD Racing by Arden
#7 Louis Sharp, Rodin Motorsport
#10 Patrick Heuzenroeder, JHR Developments
#11 John Bennett, JHR Developments
#12 Josh Irfan, JHR Developments
#15 Aditya Kulkarni, Hillspeed
#16 McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport
#17 Nikita Johnson, VRD Racing by Arden
#18 Arthur Rogeon, Rodin Motorsport
#20 Jarrod Waberski, Elite Motorsport
#21 Will Macintyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight
#22 Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight
#23 Gerrard Xie, Hitech Pulse-Eight
#32 Shawn Rashid, VRD Racing by Arden
#33 Hugo Schwarze, Elite Motorsport
#41 Edward Pearson, Fortec Motorsport
#55 Flynn Jackes, Chris Dittmann Racing
#62 Colin Queen, Fortec Motorsport
#67 James Hedley, Rodin Motorsport
#91 Seb Murray, Chris Dittmann Racing