Kucharczyk tops Donington GB3 pre-event test as Friday’s schedule cancelled

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Tymek Kucharczyk was fastest in GB3’s pre-event test for its Donington Park finale, but persistent rain led to the cancellation of the test’s second day.

Douglas Motorsport driver Kucharczyk made use of dry conditions in the afternoon on Thursday to set a 1m23.545s in the third and final session. Rodin Carlin’s points leader Callum Voisin was second, with three of his title rivals also finishing in the top five.

The morning session took place on a wet track. Title contenders Joseph Loake and Alex Dunne traded fastest lap times early on before Fortec Motorsports’ Max Esterson moved ahead with a 1m34.152s at the halfway stage.

Kucharczyk took over at the top three minutes later, but Esterson swiftly reclaimed the advantage before improving by a further 0.1 seconds with five minutes remaining. Dunne ended up fastest, a late 1m33.340s putting him 0.3s clear of Esterson, with Arden VRD’s Nico Christodoulou third.

Drivers switched to slick tyres for session two, with a dry line quickly forming on the damp track surface. Dunne and Christodoulou both had early excursions through the gravel at Redgate but continued.

James Hedley, Dunne and McKenzy Cresswell all enjoyed spells at the top as laptimes tumbled, before Christodoulou recorded a 1m24.909s just before the halfway mark to lead by 0.078s.

Matthew Rees then posted a 1m24.903s to top the times ahead of Souta Arao and John Bennett, with Hedley bringing the session to a premature end with a spin at Coppice.

Loake posted a new benchmark of 1m24.334s five minutes into session three. Dunne and then Kucharczyk lapped quicker still, with Loake improving to retake second from Dunne before a stoppage when Bennett slid into the Coppice gravel.

Kucharczyk improved by 0.1s at the resumption, with Voisin climbing to second ahead of Dunne, Rees and Loake, with Bennett the only driver to not better his session two pace. British Formula 4 race-winner Josh Irfan was 22nd on his GB3 test debut for Chris Dittmann Racing, but the 15-year-old is not old enough to race this weekend.

With newly-crowned champion Tom Mills sitting out the final GB4 round, others have a chance to shine this weekend. And it was Evans GP’s Cooper Webster who ended Thursday fastest before Friday’s total washout.

Fox Motorsport’s Liam McNeilly, who has an outside chance of overhauling Webster for runner-up in the standings, was fastest over his rival by 0.7s in the morning session, but was edged in a battle for top spot in a dry session two by Colin Queen.

All but three drivers recorded their best laps in session three, with McNeilly setting a new benchmark of 1m28.937s before Webster snatched top spot by 0.010s late on. Queen was third ahead of Lucas Blakeley, who finished in the top four in every session. Finn Harrison was the fastest of the GB4 debutants in fifth.

Test results