Home Formula 3GB3 Lebbon wins Brands Hatch race two as Browning claims GB3 lead

Lebbon wins Brands Hatch race two as Browning claims GB3 lead

by Steve Whitfield

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Elite Motorsport’s Tom Lebbon took this third GB3 victory in race two at Brands Hatch, as Luke Browning moved to the top of the championship standings.

Lebbon led away from pole at the start, resisting pressure from race one victor Matthew Rees through the first couple of corners.

Behind them, Hitech GP’s Browning took third away from title rival Joel Granfors, setting the move up through Paddock Hill Bend and Druids before completing it into Graham Hill Bend.

At the same time, Rees made slight contact with Lebbon and lost momentum, allowing both Browning and Granfors to draw alongside. Browning snatched second through Surtees, with Granfors following him through into third, but the Fortec Motorsports driver made a slow exit from Westfield, enabling JHR Developments’ Rees to reclaim the place into Sheen Curve.

Lebbon pulled out an early one-second lead before Browning almost halved the gap, but the positions remained the same until the finish, with the top two separated by 0.718s.

Rees finished a further 0.5s adrift to take the final podium spot, while Granfors came home a distant fourth, conceding the points lead to Browning in the process.

Arden’s Alex Connor finished within 0.6s of Granfors, with Elite’s John Bennett and Hitech’s Bryce Aron coming home close behind. Javier Sagrera came out on top in a feisty early battle with Roberto Faria to edge his Carlin team-mate to eighth.

Arden’s Nico Christodoulou rounded out the top 10, but his team-mate David Morales ended up off the road at Graham Hill Bend while running eighth and finished 14th.

Callum Voisin profited from the incident to finish 13th, having recovered from the back row of the grid.

Race result (14 laps)
Pos Driver Team Time
1 Tom Lebbon Elite Motorsport 18m44.047s
2 Luke Browning Hitech GP +0.718s
3 Matthew Rees JHR Developments +1.252s
4 Joel Granfors Fortec Motorsports +6.955s
5 Alex Connor Arden +7.628s
6 John Bennett Elite Motorsport +8.076s
7 Bryce Aron Hitech GP +8.721s
8 Javier Sagrera Carlin +9.296s
9 Roberto Faria Carlin +12.362s
10 Nico Christodoulou Arden +14.000s
11 Tommy Smith Douglas Motorsport +15.901s
12 McKenzy Cresswell Chris Dittmann Racing +16.267s
13 Callum Voisin Carlin +16.656s
14 David Morales Arden +23.361s
15 Zak Taylor Chris Dittmann Racing +24.051s
16 James Hedley JHR Developments +24.271s
17 Nick Gilkes Hillspeed +25.929s
18 Max Esterson Douglas Motorsport +26.449s
19 Cian Shields Hitech GP +28.195s
20 Marcos Flack Douglas Motorsport +29.074s
21 Mikkel Grundtvig Fortec Motorsports +30.003s
22 Branden Lee Oxley Chris Dittmann Racing +30.723s
Fastest lap: Rees, 1m29.231s

Championship standings
1
Browning 416   Granfors 414.5   3 Voisin 312   4 Lebbon 294.5   5 Faria 289.5   6 Rees 271.5   7 Esterson 269.5   8 Bennett 233.5   9 Sagrera 212.5   10 Connor 208.5