GB3: Kucharczyk and Johnson win at Zandvoort, as Kucharczyk regains championship lead
Hitech Pulse Eight’s Tymek Kucharczyk and VRD Racing by Arden’s Nikita Johnson were the winners in Sunday’s races at Zandvoort. Kucharczyk regained the championship lead with his fourth win of the year in race two this morning, while Johnson celebrated his first-ever win in Europe with his race three triumph.
Race two
Kucharczyk emerged on top in a dramatic second race of the weekend, making two good starts to take the lead from second on the grid, with the second coming after the first start had been red flagged after a multi car collision.
He made the most again at the restart, and soared into the lead, winning with a margin of over seven seconds to Rodin’s James Hedley after nine laps of racing in a shortened contest. Elite’s McKenzy Cresswell was third ahead of Fortec’s Colin Queen, who surged up the order to fourth ahead of JHR’s Patrick Heuzenroeder and Johnson, who started his day with sixth place.
Kucharczyk’s win allied to a non-score for Rodin’s Louis Sharp meant he regained the championship lead he lost in Hungary, while JHR’s John Bennett could only manage 15th after picking up damage, while fellow Hitech runner Will Macintyre was one of four drivers wiped out at the original start.
Race three
Johnson started second on the grid, and while he held that position off the line, he was passed by Heuzenroeder, who put his brightly re-liveried car at the head of the field momentarily on the first lap.
Both passed pole-sitter Josh Irfan, but Heuzenroeder’s lead was short-lived as Johnson moved past seconds later, and built a lead of over four seconds before the safety car was deployed to recover a stranded car. Johnson mastered the restart though and took his first GB3 win with a 1.6 margin to Elite’s McKenzy Cresswell, who found his way into second ahead of Heuzenroeder, who earned his first podium of the year.
Hugo Schwarze (Elite), Macintyre and VRD Racing by Arden’s Noah Ping completed the top-six, ahead of championship challenger Sharp. Kucharczyk rounded off his weekend with an eventful drive to 10th. The GB3 field return to action at the end of the month on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.
Race two winner Kucharczyk said: "Wow, what a race! The pace has been mega and we knew we'd be super quick. I'm happy to deliver it, I had two great starts and made it stick. It's good for my championship fight. Louis [Sharp] crashed out, Will [Macintyre] crashed out and John [Bennett] had to pit. It's really good, I'm really happy, the pace has been awesome and I'm super happy to deliver. Super thankful to the Hitech GP team for making the car super quick today.”
Race three winner Johnson said: "Very good. It’s a reverse-grid race but still happy with it. We had an amazing pace all weekend and we missed out in qualifying but with the reverse grid we ended up second and I just got to first and ran away with it. We had a super-fast car and it was on rails. It’s always amazing to have [supporters and sponsors] and have people around me but my family is back in the States watching and to go win here is very great and special."
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Zandvoort race two top-six result:
1. Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 9 laps
2. James Hedley, Rodin Motorsport, +7.474s
3. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, +8.222s
4. Colin Queen, Fortec Motorsport, +8.626s
5. Patrick Heuzenroeder, JHR Developments, +9.623s
6. Nikita Johnson, VRD Racing by Arden, +11.704s
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GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Zandvoort race three provisional top-six result:
1. Nikita Johnson, VRD Racing by Arden, 16 laps
2. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, +1.644s
3. Patrick Heuzenroeder, JHR Developments, +2.176s
4. Hugo Schwarze, Elite Motorsport, +2.579s
5. Will Macintyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +3.052s
6. Noah Ping, VRD Racing by Arden, +3.412s
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GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, driver's standings after race 15 of 24
1. Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 283pts
2. Louis Sharp, Rodin Motorsport, 265pts
3. Will Macintyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 263pts
4. John Bennett, JHR Developments, 253pts
5. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, 219pts
6. Jarrod Waberski, Elite Motorsport, 164pts
Click here for full standings
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, team's standings after race 15 of 24
1. Hitech Pulse-Eight, 592pts
2. Rodin Motorsport, 553pts
3. Elite Motorsport, 434pts
4. JHR Developments, 414pts
5. VRD Racing by Arden, 290pts
6. Fortec Motorsports, 231pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information visit www.gb-3.net.