Carlin’s Callum Voisin claimed a maiden single-seater victory in the opening GB3 Championship race of the weekend at Donington Park, after a wild opening lap in the East Midlands.
Voisin started third but a collision between the front row duo of Joel Granfors and Matthew Rees allowed Voisin and teammate Roberto Faria to squeeze through to take a 1-2 finish, while Douglas Motorsport’s Max Esterson stood on a GB3 podium for the first time.
Qualifying
Fortec’s championship leader Joel Granfors claimed his third pole position of the season in qualifying, just 0.019s faster than JHR’s Rees who looked on course to take his first pole until the dying moments of the session.
Voisin was third fastest, his best qualifying result of the season so far, and 0.005s ahead of Esterson who had set the pace in testing. Arden’s Alex Connor was fifth ahead of Hitech’s Luke Browning, with just two tenths of a second covering the top-six in an extremely close session.
The top-17 drivers were within 1.073s of the outright pace, while for the race two grid, based on each driver’s second fastest times, Esterson claimed a maiden pole ahead of Voisin.
Race one
Granfors and Rees were equally matched away from the line, with the pair going wheel to wheel at Redgate, with Rees holding the outside line and almost edging onto the grass. The pair continued their fight down the Craners, with Rees controlling a lurid slide and somehow remaining in the battle.
Reigning British F4 champion Rees was with the Swede again at McLeans, attempting another move around the outside only to interlock wheels on the exit. Granfors’ suspension was broken in the collision, sending him spinning in front of the pack, delaying Rees substantially while Browning attempted to avoid the drama but caught some air as he went across the grass on the inside and also had to retire, while several other cars suffered damage.
Through all that Voisin had claimed the lead ahead of Faria who started seventh, with the British driver building a gap of over two seconds over his teammate, and maintaining it to the end, while Faria had to fend off the race-long attentions of Esterson, who finished seven tenths further behind.
Arden’s Alex Connor was fourth ahead of Elite’s Tom Lebbon, with his teammate James Hedley completing the top-six.
With the top-two in the championship standings (Granfors and Browning) both retiring, Faria’s podium means he has closed to within three points of the championship lead. The driver leading the standings at the end of race three tomorrow will receive a prize tour of the Red Bull Racing F1 factory.
Race one winner Voisin said: "I’m pretty speechless right now. I got a decent start, but the other two in front – Rees managed to get just alongside Granfors - but then they collided at McLeans and I managed to slip through without any problems. "From then on it was just managing the tyres and managing that gap. I’m over the moon.”
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Donington Park qualifying top-six:
1. Joel Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, 1m22.745s
2. Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, +0.019s
3. Callum Voisin, Carlin, +0.142s
4. Max Esterson, Douglas Motorsport, +0.147s
5. Alex Connor, Arden Motorsport, +0.168s
6. Luke Browning, Hitech GP, +0.204s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Donington Park race one top-six:
1. Callum Voisin, Carlin, 12 laps
2. Roberto Faria, Carlin, +2.262s
3. Max Esterson, Douglas Motorsport, +2.964s
4. Alex Connor, Arden Motorsport, +5.217s
5. Tom Lebbon, Elite Motorsport, +8.569s
6. James Hedley, Elite Motorsport, +9.520s
Click here for full result
GB3 Championship, standings after race seven of 24:
1. Joel Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, 127pts
2. Luke Browning, Hitech GP, 124pts
=. Roberto Faria, Carlin, 124pts
4. Tom Lebbon, Elite Motorsport, 111pts
5. Max Esterson, Douglas Motorsport, 98pts
6. Callum Voisin, Carlin, 94pts
Click here for full standings
GB3 Championship, Teams’ standings after race seven of 24:
1. Carlin, 236pts
2. Hitech GP, 221pts
=. Elite Motorsport, 221pts
4. Fortec Motorsport, 212pts
5. Douglas Motorsport, 162pts
6. Chris Dittmann Racing, 147pts
Click here for full standings
For more championship information visit www.gb-3.net.