O’Sullivan completes crowning weekend with another victory
Zak O’Sullivan stormed to his second win of the weekend at Donington Park, as the new champion completed his GB3 Championship in association with the BRDC campaign with great panache. Victory in race two was his seventh of the year, while Fortec’s Mikkel Grundtvig claimed his second triumph of 2021 in the final race of the season this afternoon. Carlin was also crowned as the inaugural Teams’ Champion, while the end of year prizes was handed out after the end of the event.
Race two
Freshly crowned champion O’Sullivan delivered a drive worthy of his title in race two this morning, held in tricky wet conditions. The 16-year-old Carlin driver started third, with the grid formed by each driver’s second quickest qualifying times, and after a safety car start, took the lead after the first lap of racing.
He picked off the Hitech car of Bart Horsten at the Old Hairpin, and then passed pole sitter Reece Ushijima at Goddards moments later. He led by three seconds next time around, and blasted into the distance, winning by over seven seconds.
Ushijima claimed second, while O’Sullivan’s teammate Christian Mansell climbed to third on the final lap, and drew equal on points with Ayrton Simmons in the battle for second place in the Drivers’ Championship. Meanwhile, the points scored by O’Sullivan and Mansell secured Carlin the Teams’ Championship honours.
Race three
The final event of the year was the reverse grid contest, which was shown live on the Sky Sports F1 channel. Grundtvig started on pole, with the grid based on the inverse of the qualifying result, and held the lead down to Redgate, while Chris Dittmann Racing’s Alex Fores blasted into second from fourth on the grid.
Arden’s Frederick Lubin was another to enjoy a strong opening lap and climbed to third. The trio pulled away from the field, with Grundtvig taking a second Donington win after triumphing in July, while Fores took a maiden podium at this level on his comeback weekend. Lubin’s podium was his second of the season after a breakthrough at Oulton Park back in September.
The other talking point was the fight for second place in the drivers’ championship, with Ayrton Simmons, Mansell and Ushijima all in contention. Simmons secured the position by finishing 10th despite wing damage, while Mansell and Ushijima had difficult races and failed to score. O’Sullivan meanwhile climbed from 21st on the grid to take eighth, ending his victorious campaign with a massive 13-place position gain in the final event of the season.
Prizes handed out
Following the final race, a number of prizes were handed out, which included O’Sullivan’s championship trophy and confirmation of his FIA Formula 3 test prize. The new champion will enjoy two days of testing in a Carlin FIA F3 car at Valencia in November, as he looks to follow previous champions Clement Novalak and Kaylen Frederick in graduating to the F1 paddock with the team.
Ayrton Simmons and Christian Mansell picked up their prizes for finishing second and third in the championship, while Carlin were awarded with their Teams’ Championship trophy. O’Sullivan’s trophy haul increased further as he collected the Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup for taking the most pole positions this season, as well as a cheque for £1,000 from award founder John Cavill. Carlin collected the David Poole-Warren Pole Position Cup as the team of the driver with the most pole positions.
Champion O’Sullivan said: “It was awesome to get the championship sealed up in race one, and to celebrate it properly after the last race. It’s been an awesome year with awesome people, so I’ve enjoyed it no end. “Today was my last drive in a GB3 car, and it was good to go out with an exciting race!”
GB3 Championship in association with the BRDC, Donington Park, race two result:
1. Zak O’Sullivan, Carlin, 11 laps
2. Reece Ushijima, Hitech GP, +7.389s
3. Christian Mansell, Carlin, +10.655s
4. Bart Horsten, Hitech GP, +11.769s
5. Ayrton Simmons, Chris Dittmann Racing, +19.568s
6. Bryce Aron, Carlin, +22.562s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship in association with the BRDC, Donington Park, race three result:
1. Mikkel Grundtvig, Fortec Motorsports, 12 laps
2. Alex Fores, Chris Dittmann Racing, +0.958s
3. Frederick Lubin, Arden Motorsport, +2.265s
4. Roberto Faria, Fortec Motorsports, +6.571s
5. Tom Lebbon, Elite Motorsport, +9.299s
6. Jonathan Browne, Hillspeed, +9.576s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, final Drivers' Championship standings
1. Zak O'Sullivan, Carlin, 545pts
2. Ayrton Simmons, Chris Dittmann Racing, 381pts
3. Christian Mansell, Carlin, 371pts
4. Reece Ushijima, Hitech GP, 366pts
5. Roberto Faria, Fortec Motorsports, 360pts
6. Bart Horsten, Hitech GP, 333pts
Click here for full standings
GB3 Championship, final Teams' Championship standings
1. Carlin, 966pts
2. Hitech GP, 842pts
3. Fortec Motorsports, 747pts
4. Arden Motorsport, 714pts
5. Elite Motorsport, 614pts
6. Chris Dittmann Racing, 606pts
7. Douglas Motorsport, 205pts
8. Hillspeed, 89pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information visit www.gb-3.net.