O’SULLIVAN EXTENDS POINTS LEAD IN GB3 CHAMPIONSHIP

British driver Zak O’Sullivan extended his lead of the renamed GB3 Championship, in association with the BRDC, thanks to two podiums at Snetterton last weekend (7-8 August). 

The 16-year-old scored two second places on Sunday to recover from a difficult opening day which saw him collide with his nearest championship rival, resulting in a low score. He now holds a 99-point lead at the top of the standings with nine races remaining.

There were three different race winners across the weekend, as GB3 (formerly known as BRDC British F3) once again demonstrated its credentials as the UK’s most competitive single-seater category. 

Highly-rated Brit Ollie Bearman won his first race in the category on Saturday. The 16-year-old has been dominating Italian and German F4 this season, but races in GB3 when his commitments allow, and he converted a maiden series pole into a lights to flag victory ahead of Fortec teammate Roberto Faria. Polish/British contender Roman Bilinski was third for Arden. 

Mexican Sebastian Alvarez was fourth for Silverstone-based Hitech GP, with Chris Dittmann Racing pair Branden Lee Oxley and Ayrton Simmons completing the top-six. BRDC Rising Star Simmons was particularly impressive as he carved his way up from 16th on the grid after a topsy turvy qualifying session. 

Alvarez then claimed his first GB3 win in race two on Sunday. The Mexican driver started from pole position, with the grid based on each driver’s second fastest time in qualifying. He was beaten off the line by Bearman, but a radiator problem for the British driver scuppered any chance of a double win, and Alvarez blasted back past at the start of the third lap and led every lap thereafter despite big pressure from behind.

He won by just three tenths of a second from O’Sullivan, with Bilinski claiming his second podium of the meeting with third place and just six tenths of a second further back. British drivers Tom Lebbon (Elite Motorsport) and Frederick Lubin (Arden) were fifth and sixth ahead of American driver Bryce Aron (Carlin). 

Bilinski then completed his impressive weekend with victory in the reverse grid race on Sunday afternoon. He started third on the grid, was up to second almost immediately and moved into the lead after passing pole-sitter Mikkel Grundtvig at the start of the second lap.

He was able to extend a lead of over six seconds while Grundtvig battled to keep his position, but the quicker runners were eventually able to move past, with O’Sullivan taking second again ahead of Faria.

Alvarez took fourth to complete his best weekend of the season so far, with Lebbon fifth and Simmons repeating his race one heroics once more, as he again went from 16th to sixth. 

Click here to see full results. 

The GB3 Championship heads to the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit this weekend (14-15 August) for rounds 16/17 and 18.