Elite Motorsport’s Oliver Stewart steered clear of the field in an action-packed final GB3 Championship race of the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Scottish driver started from pole, but lost the lead at the first turn only to regain it moments later. From there he led every lap, but behind there was plenty of drama as Joseph Loake claimed second for JHR, having started 12th on the grid, with Fortec’s Jarrod Waberski third to take his first GB3 podium.
Arden VRD’s James Hedley went from 10th on the grid to fourth ahead of Douglas Motorsport’s Lucas Staico, who gained two spots, while one of the stars of the race was Hitech Pulse-Eight’s double Spa winner Alex Dunne, who blasted from 24th on the grid to sixth, and earning the maximum 15 points for positions gained.
Douglas Motorsport’s Tymek Kucharczyk was another to make huge progress as he took seventh from 22nd on the grid, with Elite’s Ayato Iwasaki finishing eighth having also started there.
Rodin Carlin’s John Bennett went from 14th to ninth, ahead of Rodin Carlin’s Callum Voisin, who completed the top-10 from 25th and last on the grid.
At the start, Hillspeed’s Daniel Mavlyutov from second got the jump on Stewart on the run to Las Source, but the Elite driver fought back with the tow down the Kemmel Straight to retake the lead.
However drama struck moments later, with Mavlyutov hampered in the second section of Les Combes, and further round, Matthew Rees struck the car of Shawn Rashid, sending the American cannoning into the barriers with CDR’s Zak Taylor, bringing out the safety car, with all drivers involved emerging unscathed.
The safety car completed two full laps of the circuit, with the race resuming at the end of lap three. Loake tried to move past Stewart at the end of the Kemmel Straight, but the Scotsman resisted and held the lead with the inside line.
Already, the top-three at this point had broken away from the pack, but Stewart was able to steadily build a margin to Loake, ultimately taking his first GB3 victory by 2.5 seconds. However it was a crucial race for the championship battle, with Loake’s second place and 10 place gain earning him more points that Voisin’s 10th place with a 15 position gain, resulting in Loake regaining the championship lead with a slender two point margin.
The results of the race remain provisional until further investigation.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Spa-Francorchamps race three provisional result:
1. Oliver Stewart, Elite Motorsport, 10 laps
2. Joseph Loake, JHR Developments, +2.524s
3. Jarrod Waberski, Fortec Motorsport, +3.257s
4. James Hedley, Arden VRD, +4.276s
5. Lucas Staico, Douglas Motorsport, +4.932s
6. Alex Dunne, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +7.068s
7. Tymek Kucharczyk, Douglas Motorsport, +9.143s
8. Ayato Iwasaki, Elite Motorsport, +10.310s
9. John Bennett, Rodin Carlin, +10.824s
10. Callum Voisin, Rodin Carlin, +11.915s
11. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, +12.807s
12. Costa Toparis, Rodin Carlin, +13.147s
13. Souta Arao, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +13.453s
14. Gerrard Xie, Hillspeed, +13.602s
15. David Morales, JHR Developments, +14.559s
16. Nico Christodoulou, Arden VRD, +15.602s
17. Daniel Mavlyutov, Hillspeed, +17.700s
18. Edward Pearson, Fortec Motorsport, +20.270s
19. Noah Ping, Arden VRD, +1m17.544s
20. Arthur Rogeon, Chris Dittmann Racing, +1m23.551s
21. Max Esterson, Fortec Motorsport, +2m04.610s
DNF. Michael Shin, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 4 laps completed
DNF. Shawn Rashid, Douglas Motorsport, 0 laps
DNF. Zak Taylor, Chris Dittmann Racing, 0 laps
DNF. Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, 0 laps