Sharp closes in on title with fifth GB3 win of the year

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Louis Sharp took a lights-to-flag victory in GB3’s second contest at Brands Hatch, but he will have to wait until Sunday’s final race to clinch the crown.

The Rodin Motorsport driver led home closest rival John Bennett following an early safety car period, while Tymek Kucharczyk’s own title hopes came to an end in third.

Sharp led away from pole at the start, while Saturday’s race one winner McKenzy Cresswell suffered wheelspin from the outside of the front row and slipped to fourth behind JHR’s Bennett and Hitech GP’s Kucharczyk.

The safety car was deployed at the end of the second lap after a three-car tangle at Druids. Chris Dittmann Racing’s James Hedley lost out in a battle Hitech Gerrard Xie and Will Macintyre into Paddock Hill Bend, but an optimistic lunge from Macintyre at the next corner resulted in contact with Xie, who spun and collected Hedley – putting both drivers out.

Sharp controlled the race following the restart to score his fifth win of the season by 0.476 seconds from Bennett, with Kucharczyk a further one second behind.

Cresswell took a lonely fourth ahead of his Elite Motorsport team-mate Jarrod Waberski, while Rodin’s Arthur Rogeon made an opening lap pass on Hugo Schwarze before coming home sixth.

 Velocity Racing Development’s Noah Ping also made up ground from 13th to finish ahead of Schwarze in seventh, while his team-mate Nikita Johnson started and finished ninth.

Rodin’s GB3 returnee Callum Voisin passed JHR’s Partick Heuzenroeder before the safety car period en-route to 10th, with VRD’s Shawn Rashid 12th. CDR’s Tom Mills resisted pressure from JHR’s Josh Irfan and Macintyre to take 13th in his second GB3 race.

Race results (14 laps)