Kucharczyk does the double at Spa to fire up title race
Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Tymek Kucharcyk claimed two wins at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday, to ignite the battle at the top of the GB3 Championship standings. The Polish driver proved unbeatable in both wet and dry conditions, winning the first from pole by 1.8 seconds and then battled past JHR’s John Bennett in improved conditions in the second.
Bennett finished second in both races with Rodin’s championship leader Louis Sharp third across the pair of contests. Just eight points separate Sharp and Kucharczyk at the summit, while Bennett’s strong run means he’s just 22 points further back in fifth place.
Race one
From his third pole position of the year, Kucharczyk enjoyed a strong getaway to put himself out of striking distance from behind on the first lap, and gradually extended his margin to over two seconds across the first half of the race, as conditions steadily improved.
Bennett was able to close the gap down to 1.8 seconds at the chequered flag, but Kucharczyk was relatively untroubled to claim his second win of the year after triumphing at Silverstone.
Sharp secured third after an early battle with teammate Ugo Ugochukwu, with the second Hitech car of Will Macintyre fifth having swooped around the outside of Noah Ping's VRD Racing by Arden car, with the American settling for sixth.
Race two
With Bennett lining up on pole, and the grid formed by each driver’s second-best times in qualifying, Kucharczyk had to fight much harder for his victory this time around. He had a marginally better getaway from the front row, but Bennett held his lead around the first lap despite Kucharczyk and Sharp threatening on the run to Les Combes on lap one. Kucharczyk tried again on lap two but made it stick on lap three, gaining a massive tow out of the Eau Rouge and Raidillon sequence to blast around the outside of Bennett into Les Combes.
The move was perfectly timed, as the first appearance of the safety car was necessitated by a stranded car on the circuit moments later. The race resumed on lap five, and while Kucharczyk broke away at the front, Bennett came under big pressure from Sharp, who went for a move up the inside of La Source.
But contact behind between Elite’s McKenzy Cresswell and Ping, who were in fourth and fifth, brought out the safety car for a second time, and the race ended under neutralised conditions, with Ugochukwu and Macintyre taking fourth and fifth again ahead of series newcomer Kanato Le, who climbed from 14th on the grid to sixth.
The final race of the weekend is due to commence at 13.55 local time (12.55 UK), with Elite Motorsport’s Hugo Schwarze set to start from pole, with the top-12 in qualifying reversed on the grid.
Double race winner Kucharczyk said: “We’ve been so quick this weekend and I'm super happy to have got the move done at the end of the Kemmel Straight to win again.
"It was perfectly timed to be honest, and the move was on the limit. But John gave me a good fight so I'm really happy with that win and racing here is great, so I'm happy. The team has given me an amazing car this weekend and I'm happy to prove the speed."
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Spa-Francorchamps race one top-six:
1. Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 8 laps
2. John Bennett, JHR Developments, +1.811s
3. Louis Sharp, Rodin Motorsport, +3.354s
4. Ugo Ugochukwu, Rodin Motorsport, +5.175s
5. Will Macintyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +15.057s
6. Noah Ping, VRD Racing by Arden, +17.995s
Click here for full results
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Spa-Francorchamps race two top-six:
1. Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 7 laps
2. John Bennett, JHR Developments, +0.452s
3. Louis Sharp, Rodin Motorsport, +0.750s
4. Ugo Ugochukwu, Rodin Motorsport, +0.957s
5. Will Macintyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +1.370s
6. Kanato Le, Chris Dittmann Racing, +2.097s
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GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, driver's standings after race eight of 24
1. Louis Sharp, Rodin Motorsport, 170pts
2. Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 162pts
3. Ugo Ugochukwu, Rodin Motorsport, 155pts
4. Will Macintyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 150pts
5. John Bennett, JHR Developments, 148pts
6. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, 116pts
Click here for full standings
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, team's standings after race eight of 24
1. Hitech Pulse-Eight, 340pts
2. Rodin Motorsport, 325pts
3. Elite Motorsport, 222pts
4. JHR Developments, 208pts
5. VRD Racing by Arden, 129pts
6. Chris Dittmann Racing, 105pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information visit www.gb-3.net.