Jonathan Browne, the 2019 Formula Ford Festival winner, will make his slicks-and-wings debut in GB3 later this year.
The Irishman has recently been testing with Hillspeed in what was the BRDC British Formula 3 car, prior to the series’ rebranding earlier this week, and will race for the team in the final three rounds of the season.
The first of those events will be at Silverstone on August 14/15, followed by Oulton Park on September 11/12 and Donington Park on October 16/17.
“I am extremely proud to be taking the next step in my racing career with such a prestigious team as Hillspeed, with their proven winning record and over 50 years in motorsport,” said the 21-year-old.
“I am also very excited to be entering the last three rounds of the GB3 Championship, world recognised for high quality and competitive racing. I’m very much looking forward to returning to track action following very limited testing, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.”
Browne raced for Cliff Dempsey Racing in FF1600 from 2018 to 2020, incorporating three BRSCC National championship campaigns as well as the end-of-year classics and various other United Kingdom events.
In 2018 he took podiums in a BRSCC Northern FF1600 cameo, then a year later claimed his maiden win in National FF1600 before dominating the FFord Festival at Brands Hatch.
The defence of his Festival crown in 2020 resulted in a second place finish, and he was also Champion of Brands several times. He follows former FF1600 rival and team-mate Bryce Aron into GB3.
“The team has made me feel very welcome already and we are eager to see how we measure-up in this competitive field,” added Browne.
“Nevertheless, I am ready for the challenge and will be giving it my all to achieve the best results and take each race as it comes.”
Hillspeed won two races in BRDC British F3 in the four full seasons it contested in the championship, but did not appear on the grid at the start of 2021. It now returns to the series after a five-round absence.
“We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Jonathan to the team and, of course, to be back on track in the newly named GB3 Championship for the final three events of the 2021 season,” said Hillspeed team principal Richard Ollerenshaw.
“While this is a big step-up from FFord, we’ve been very impressed with Jonathan’s performance during the limited testing he has had.
“We can see he has a lot of natural ability and although Jonathan will be very much in at the deep end when we get to Silverstone, with our support and driver development we’re confident he will make excellent progress.”