Teenage racing sensation Louis Sharp has made motor racing history and further endorsed his credentials as one of the sport’s most hottest prospects by winning this year’s GB3 Championship, the UK’s leading single-seater series. Although others including Lando Norris have won the F4 title and others including George Russell have won the GB3 title on their way to the top, no driver in the modern era has ever captured the sensational double in consecutive seasons.
Louis Sharp, 17, effectively cliched the coveted championship with his unrivalled fifth win of the campaign at the Brands Hatch season finale. Points for two further top ten finishes over the weekend were more than enough to help the British-born Kiwi overcome third-year GB3 racer John Bennett, his closest adversary, as the series reached its nerve-racking climax on the venue’s legendary Grand Prix circuit. Intriguingly Sharp was presented with his race-winning trophy by fellow New Zealander Dick Bennetts, the man who masterminded Ayrton Senna’s early career. Like Louis, the Brazilian superstar won back-to-back British junior titles which, in those days, were in Formula Ford and Formula 3, the direct predecessors of the current F4 and GB3 feeder series.
Although there were no South Americans on the 2024 GB3 grid, the impressively international line-up included rising stars from no fewer than 15 different countries including France, Germany, South Africa, Australia, China, Japan, the United States and, of course, New Zealand. As a highly competitive championship established to be the perfect proving ground for the next generation of Grand Prix stars, GB3 rewards consistency as well as speed.
Louis’ remarkable tally of five victories were unrivalled… as were his five pole positions – the latter winning him the Jack Cavill Pole Position Cup plus the £2,000 end of year prize. Sharp’s standout performances also helped Rodin Motorsport capture the Teams’ Championship title in the final race on the 2024 calendar. Louis arrived in the UK at the start of 2022 aged just 14 with the backing of Rodin Cars and its founder David Dicker, and this is the third successive Teams’ title the prodigious talent from Down Under has helped the prominent outfit to secure. Adding to the celebrations, Dicker was at Brands Hatch to see his young protégé triumph, too.
“I’m super happy,” beamed the newly crowned champion. “I’m so grateful to be in this position. To be the first to win back-to-back titles is very special and I have to give a big thank you to David [Dicker] and the whole Rodin Motorsport team. They did a terrific job of getting me up-to-speed in what was my rookie season in GB3 up against some far more experienced rivals at this level – my success is really down to them.”
Sharp will now prepare for an FIA F3 test, his prize for winning the title, but he remained tight-lipped on what the future holds beyond that.
“I can’t give too many secrets away just yet, but we’ll be moving on from GB3 and taking that next step up, so we’ll just have to see what it is,” he teased.
In the meantime, Louis is one of four rising stars nominated for this year’s prestigious Silverstone Autosport BRDC Award. The annual accolade aims to find and assist the best junior British racing driver – Louis qualifies as he was born in the UK. The like-changing prize for this year’s winner includes £200,000 plus a money-can’t-buy F1 test with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team. The winner will be announced at the Autosport Awards in January.
2024 GB3 Championship - Final Positions
1. Louis Sharp (NZ) 478 points
2. John Bennett (GBR) 456
3. Tymek Kucharczyk (POL) 443
4. McKenzy Cresswell (GBR) 376
5. Will Macintyre (GBR) 372
6. Jarrod Waberski (ZA) 286