By RaceScene Publisher on Saturday, 23 July 2022
Category: The Checkered Flag

Browning wins from GB3 pole again at Spa

Luke Browning made it two wins from two races at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday to further extend his GB3 Championship lead.

He started, as he did in Race 1, from pole, this time with Branden Oxley separating him from title rival Joel Granfors on the grid.

Oxley made a storming start and took the lead into La Source, as everyone kept it clean behind.

Granfors took advantage of the tow to get down the inside of the Chris Dittmann Racing driver into Les Combes. Oxley ran over the sausage kerb and back on track, clipping Granfors.

Tom Lebbon also lost his front wing as the field closed up trying to avoid the incident through Malmedy.

Championship leader Browning got past Granfors in the same place Granfors had taken the lead a lap earlier, but both kept their noses clean and continued without incident.

Behind them, Javier Sagrera and Bryce Aron came together at Jacky Ickx corner on Lap 2, the former Carlin driver spinning while his replacement went dirt-tracking but continued in seventh.

Replays showed Sagrera and Cian Shields making contact at Bruxelles and Sagrera running wide onto the run-off area, before being clipped by Shields’ Hitech team-mate.

McKenzy Cresswell surprised Matthew Rees at Les Combes on Lap 6 to jump up to P4, but the podium runners of Browning, Granfors and Esterson had broken away.

Those three also filled the top three spots in the Championship in the same order going into Race 2, Esterson having moved ahead of Roberto Faria courtesy of his fourth place in Race 1.

John Bennett and Sagrera had got too close for comfort exiting the Bus Stop chicane on Lap 5, and niceties resumed two laps later as Bennett moved out of the slipstream to take seventh from Sagrera at Les Combes.

Bennett then got past Rees as a train began to form behind Marcos Flack who sat sixth on Lap 8.

Browning came home to win his second race of the weekend, 1.5 seconds from Granfors, who led Max Esterson by another 8.5s.

GB3 Spa-Francorchamps Race 2 Results:

Pos.No.NameNat.TeamLaps/Gap
15Luke BrowningGBRHitech GP9 laps
250Joel GranforsSWEFortec Motorsport+1.531s
342Max EstersonUSADouglas Motorsport+10.105s
48McKenzy CresswellGBRChris Dittmann Racing+11.441s
511Marcos FlackAUSDouglas Motorsport+14.973s
627John BennettGBRElite Motorsport+15.604s
753Matthew ReesGBRJHR Developments+16.930s
831Javier SagreraSPACarlin+17.506s
96Cian ShieldsGBRHitech GP+17.856s
1035Callum VoisinGBRCarlin+18.676s
1164Nick GilkesCANHillspeed+20.279s
1232Alex ConnorGBRArden Motorsport+22.958s
1367James HedleyGBRJHR Developments+23.489s
144Bryce AronUSAHitech GP+24.854s
1522Nico ChristodoulouCANArden Motorsport+29.670s
1677David MoralesUSAArden Motorsport+30.197s
1743Mikkel GrundtvigDENFortec Motorsport+34.233s
1821Zak TaylorGBRFortec Motorsport+34.699s
1916Tommy SmithAUSDouglas Motorsport+35.799s
207Roberto FariaBRACarlinDNF
2134Tom LebbonGBRElite MotorsportDNF (damage)
2268Branden OxleyGBRChris Dittmann RacingDNF (damage)
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