The GB3 Championship field head to one of the most legendary circuits in the world this weekend (2-4 June), with 25 young chargers gearing up to do battle at Spa-Francorchamps, the home of the Belgian Grand Prix.
The GB3 contests around Spa normally prove to be among the most exciting of the season, with the flat out blast from La Source down through Eau Rouge and up the Kemmel Straight being perfect for slipstreaming action. The event will have a slightly more unusual format with qualifying coming on Friday evening at 18.35 local time (17.35 GMT) following three 45-minute test sessions. Qualifying is extended to 25 minutes for this weekend only.
The first two races then follow on Saturday with race one scheduled for 11.56 local, and then race two at 17.37. The final encounter, the full reverse race, will follow at 11.53 on Sunday.
Joseph Loake heads the pack to Spa for JHR Developments, the 18-year-old having won half of this year’s six races so far. Having won the season opener at Oulton Park, he then claimed the first two contests at Silverstone a month ago too, and holds a handy 31-point lead to Rodin Carlin’s Callum Voisin.
Voisin is the lead driver to return from last year, and should be a strong contender again this weekend, having won on the road at Spa last season, only to lose victory when the results were rolled back to the previous lap. He’s yet to win this season, unlike Arden VRD’s James Hedley, who was victorious in race two at Oulton Park and sits third in the standings.
Loake’s teammate Matthew Rees is next up, having taken two podiums so far and is just four points behind Hedley, and six ahead of Douglas Motorsport’s Tymek Kucharczyk. The Polish driver was one of the stars of the Silverstone event, having gained 40 places across the three races after starting from the back in each, after losing his pole positions due to a technical infringement.
Reigning British F4 champion Alex Dunne is one point further back in sixth for Hitech GP, while Rodin Carlin’s John Bennett twice won on the road at Silverstone for his first GB3 victories, only to lose both after post-race stewards decisions. He’ll hope to make amends this weekend.
McKenzy Cresswell claimed his best GB3 result at Spa last year with third place, and was on the podium again for Elite Motorsport last time out at Silverstone, while Bennett’s teammate Costa Toparis has been a regular top-10 contender so far and is ninth in the standings. The top-10 is completed by Hitech’s Michael Shin, who scored three top-10 finishes at Oulton Park, and almost took another one at Silverstone.
Fortec’s Jarrod Waberski is equal on points with the South Korean, while Arden VRD’s Noah Ping is the most recent race-winner, having triumphed in race three at Silverstone. His fellow North American, Fortec’s Max Esterson, was a podium finisher at Spa last year, and is eyeing a first rostrum of 2023.
Ping’s teammate Nico Christodoulou claimed his first podium in GB3 at Silverstone, and he’s two points clear of Elite’s Ayato Iwasaki, another driver with a podium to his name courtesy of second place at Oulton Park.
Hillspeed’s Daniel Mavlyutov is another race winner on the grid, and is two points ahead of David Morales (JHR). One point covers Chris Dittmann Racing duo Zak Taylor and Arthur Rogeon, and Fortec’s Edward Pearson. All are GB3 podium finishers, with Taylor’s first rostrum coming in Belgium last year.
It’s close between Hillspeed’s Gerrard Xie, Elite’s Oliver Stewart and Hitech’s Souta Arao too, with Douglas Motorsport duo Lucas Staico and Shawn Rashid completing the 25-car entry for Spa.
All three races this weekend will be streamed live on the GB3 Championship website, Facebook feed and the MSV TV YouTube channel.
Championship leader Loake: "I'm really excited to get down to business at Spa this weekend! It's a circuit that offers so many different challenges and therefore I am optimistic and looking forward to seeing what we can do this weekend."
WEEKEND TIMETABLE
Friday 2 June
09.00 – FP1
11.37 – FP2
14.42 – FP3
18.35 – Qualifying
Saturday 3 June
11.56 – Race 1
17.37 – Race 2
Sunday 4 June
11.53 – Race 3
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Spa-Francorchamps entry list:
#2, Nico Christodoulou, Arden VRD
#3, Noah Ping, Arden VRD
#4, James Hedley, Arden VRD
#5, Matthew Rees, JHR Developments
#7. Tymek Kucharczyk, Douglas Motorsport
#9, Zak Taylor, Chris Dittmann Racing
#11, Lucas Staico, Douglas Motorsport
#15, Ayato Iwasaki, Elite Motorsport
#16, McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport
#17, Oliver Stewart, Elite Motorsport
#18, Arthur Rogeon, Chris Dittmann Racing
#20, Jarrod Waberski, Fortec Motorsport
#21, Souta Arao, Hitech Pulse-Eight
#22, Alex Dunne, Hitech Pulse-Eight
#23, Michael Shin, Hitech Pulse-Eight
#27, John Bennett, Rodin Carlin
#32, Shawn Rashid, Douglas Motorsport
#35, Callum Voisin, Rodin Carlin
#39, Gerrard Xie, Hillspeed
#41, Edward Pearson, Fortec Motorsport
#42, Max Esterson, Fortec Motorsport
#43, Costa Toparis, Rodin Carlin
#77, David Morales, JHR Developments
#84, Joseph Loake, JHR Developments
#99, Daniel Mavlyutov, Hillspeed