Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Tymek Kucharczyk smashed the GB3 Championship lap record as he stormed to pole position in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Polish driver's time of 2m14.596s was over three tenths quicker than the previous qualifying lap record, and put him 0.056s clear of JHR’s John Bennett in second. However, the British driver's second fastest lap in the session was just 0.010s away from his best, and ensured he claimed pole for race two.
Having dominated the final test session just an hour before qualifying, the first time the cars had run in the dry all week, Kucharczyk carried the form into the 25-minute session to decide the grid, going top of the times with 10 minutes elapsed.
Bennett took over the spot moments later, before Rodin Motorsport's Louis Sharp became the first driver to break the qualifying lap record (2m14.912s) with a 2m14.879s. But Kucharczyk then destroyed the benchmark with his eventual pole-winning time on his eighth lap. Bennett edged closer with his final tours, and though he missed out on race one pole, his next best time was half a tenth better than Kucharczyk's equivalent.
Championship leader Sharp settled for third ahead of his first race weekend at Spa, 0.170s away from the lead duo and 0.051s clear of teammate Ugo Ugochukwu in fourth.
Series debutant Nikita Johnson was the final driver within the previous qualifying lap record, as the young American instantly impressed ahead of his first GB3 races this weekend. The VRD Racing by Arden driver will be joined on the race one third row by Elite's McKenzy Cresswell, who was two tenths further back.
The second VRD Racing by Arden car of Noah Ping was seventh fastest, 0.045s further back and 0.171s clear of Kucharczyk's teammate Will Macintyre. Jarrod Waberski (Elite Motorsport) and Seb Murray (Chris Dittmann Racing) completed the top-10, which was covered by less than a second.
Johnson's fellow series newcomers Kanato Le (Chris Dittmann Racing) and Marcus Luzio (Hillspeed) were 14th and 21st respectively, with 2.5s covering the 22-car field around the 7 kilometre circuit. The first race of the weekend is due to start at 11.44 am local time on Saturday morning.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Spa-Francorchamps qualifying result (race one grid):
1. Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 2m14.596s
2. John Bennett, JHR Developments, +0.056s
3. Louis Sharp, Rodin Motorsport, +0.226s
4. Ugo Ugochukwu, Rodin Motorsport, +0.277s
5. Nikita Johnson, VRD Racing by Arden, +0.315s
6. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, +0.517s
7. Noah Ping, VRD Racing by Arden, +0.562s
8. Will Macintyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.733s
9. Jarrod Waberski, Elite Motorsport, +0.968s
10. Seb Murray, Chris Dittmann Racing, +0.996s
Click here for full result.
For more championship information visit www.gb-3.net.