Sharp sets the pace in GB3 test on Brands Hatch’s GP layout

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

GB3 points leader Louis Sharp was fastest in Tuesday’s test day on Brands Hatch’s Grand Prix layout.

The Rodin Motorsport driver topped two out of four sesssions and ended the day 0.180 seconds clear of Hitech GP’s Will Macintyre, while Freddie Slater was a close third in his second GB3 testing appearance for Rodin.

Macintyre led the early stages of the opening session before Elite Motorsport’s Jarrod Waberski posted a 1m20.345s to top the timesheet at the halfway mark. John Bennett produced two quicker laps to hold first place for JHR Developments heading into the final 10 minutes, but it was Hitech’s Gerrard Xie who ended fastest after setting a 1m19.936s with six minutes to go. Bennett improved to within 0.133s of the Chinese racer late on, with Sharp edging Slater to third by 0.006s.

Sharp led proceedings halfway into session two and improved further to a 1m20.011s before Elite’s McKenzy Cresswell inched ahead by 0.008s. Bennett was the first driver to beat Xie’s session one benchmark inside the final 10 minutes but he was soon pipped by Sharp who was quickest at the conclusion of the morning’s running with a 1m19.675s. Macintyre also moved ahead of Bennett and was 0.032s off Sharp’s pace.

Cresswell set a new testing best of 1m19.606s in session three only for Macintyre to lower the pace by 0.3s and then a further 0.2s to finish at the top with a 1m19.063s. Sharp was second and 0.2s behind Macintyre, while Waberski and Cresswell were half a second adrift in third and fourth.

Sharp led the final session with a 1m19.846s before eventually being beaten by Bennett and Slater. Hitech’s Tymek Kucharczyk also enjoyed a brief spell at the top before Slater registered a 1m19.064s to move within 0.001s of Macintyre’s session three benchmark.

In the final few minutes Sharp lowered the pace to 1m18.997s and then went quicker still with a 1m18.883s to finish ahead of Slater and Cresswell, but it was Macintyre who was second in the day’s overall classification thanks his session three effort.

Kucharczyk was fifth ahead of Waberski, Colin Queen, Bennett and Xie – all five posting personal bests in session four. Noah Ping and Hugo Schwarze were two of three other drivers to record their best laps in the third session and were 10th and 11th overall.  USF Pro 2000 points leader Nikita Johnson was 12th for VRD as he continued preparations for his GB3 debut in June.

Testing results