The 2022 GB3 Championship saw the introduction of a new car, the Tatuus MSV-022, but more of the usual superb racing action up and down the UK, and of course, at Spa-Francorchamps.
The season produced numerous different winners, podium finishers, big wins and tight finishes. Here are just some of the key numbers that produced a sensational season of racing.
Most wins: Luke Browning – 5
The Hitech GP driver was the man to beat for most of the season, and he started the year with two utterly dominant drives on home turf at Oulton Park to make his intentions absolutely clear. It took longer than expected, two months in fact, for the next one to follow after a tense battle with Joel Granfors at Snetterton (see below), but when he demolished the opposition with another double at Spa, it took him to five wins, which no other driver would match in 2022. Elite’s Tom Lebbon came closest with four wins, while Carlin’s Callum Voisin claimed three.
Most podiums: Luke Browning – 13
It says a lot about Browning’s season, that he was on the podium in the opening two races of each weekend at six events in 2022. The only ones he missed were at Donington Park when he was wiped out in a first lap incident, and at Silverstone where all three Hitech cars were sent to the back of the grid for all the races that weekend after a qualifying technical transgression. In all, Browning took five wins plus seven second places and a third. He scored two more podiums than any other contender, with main title rival Granfors the only other driver with double figures.
Most laps led: Luke Browning – 54
Browning’s five race wins saw him lead a total of 54 racing laps this season, nine clear of any other driver. Lebbon’s late season form which saw him win three races in the final three weekends means he’s next up with 45 laps led, with Voisin leading 38.
Most pole positions: Callum Voisin/Luke Browning – 5
Voisin and Browning both took five pole positions, but it was Voisin who tops this particular honour based on having more race one poles (three versus two). Voisin’s poles came at Snetterton and then with doubles at Silverstone and Donington Park. Browning’s top qualifying performances came at Oulton Park (double), Snetterton (race two) and Spa with another double.
Biggest pole position margin – 0.475s, Luke Browning v Joel Granfors at Spa
Qualifying gave the first indicator that the Spa-Francorchamps would be a special one for Luke Browning. He was almost half a second faster than any other driver in the session, as he stormed to a sensational double pole position. With a margin like that, no wonder he was able to drive away into the distance! Especially dominant when you consider that six of the eight sessions had pole margins of less than a tenth of a second, five of those being less than 0.050s! The smallest of the lot? Just 0.019 seconds as Granfors pipped Matthew Rees to pole at Donington Park in May.
Biggest winning margin – 10.258s, Luke Browning v Roberto Faria at Oulton Park
It was a sensational opening to the season for Browning on home turf, as he stormed to victory in the first race of GB3’s new era, 10.258 seconds clear of Carlin’s Roberto Faria. A second clear after the first lap, and 5.1 ahead at mid-race distance, it was a truly dominant display from the Cheshire resident which made the whole paddock take notice. The watching crowd did too, with one Autosport reader even comparing Browning’s drive with legendary performances by none other than Ayrton Senna!
Smallest winning margin – 0.253s, Luke Browning v Joel Granfors at Snetterton
In contrast to his biggest win, Browning really had to work for this one, as Swedish star Granfors pushed him all the way, almost literally! The pair were nose-to-tail for pretty much all of the 12-lap contest, even making contact at top speed on the start/finish straight, splitting Granfors’ front wing endplate clean in half. In a tense encounter, Browning showed that as well as domination, he could defend like a champion too, taking victory by just 0.253 seconds.
Most points in a race weekend – Joel Granfors, 89
Joel Granfors proved himself a master of Silverstone, with both his race wins coming at the home of the British Grand Prix. But it was the second visit to the circuit in July which proved the most productive of the season. With main title rival Browning at the back of the grid for all three races, Granfors needed to reclaim lost ground in the championship and he did so in style by becoming the only driver to finish on the podium in all three races of a weekend. He won the first, took third in race two and then carved through the field in the reverse encounter, taking third from 18th on the grid. Granfors’ performances earned him a massive 89 points, and his tally of 82 from the first Silverstone event was one of only two other occasions that a driver scored more than 80 in a single weekend, with Voisin taking 86, also during the second Silverstone visit.
Most fastest laps – Luke Browning/Callum Voisin – 5
Another stat shared by Browning and Voisin, with both drivers earning five fastest laps each. That race speed confirmed Browning’s championship credentials, while also showing Voisin was a single-seater natural, having made the jump from Ginetta Juniors.
Most points gained across all reverse grid races – Joel Granfors, 56.5
Granfors was an ace in the final race of each weekend, earning 56.5 points from places gained in the reverse grid contests across the season, the half point coming from the red-flagged Spa contest. Granfors earned a double figure gain in three of the eight reverse contests, his biggest haul coming at Silverstone, where two other drivers also gained 15 places (Browning & Voisin)! Browning was next up with 48 points gained across the year.