Louis Sharp charged from tenth on the grid and into the podium places at Spa-Frandcorchamps before contact from another competitor ended his race.
Having finished third in Saturday’s opening two races, the Kiwi was again on form in the early stages of the reverse-top-12-grid, working his way to as high as third before a pair of Safety Cars halted his progress.
As a result of the field being bunched up for the second restart, Sharp found himself defending his hard-earned third place rather than challenging for second, as he had been before the Safety Car’s deployment.
In the ensuing battle, his car was struck from behind by an overoptimistic Noah Ping, not only ending the Kiwi’s race but also that of his Rodin Motorsport teammate Ugo Ugochukwu.
Ping was subsequently reprimanded by GB3 race officials, but that was of little consolation for Sharp, who drops from the championship lead to third with his first no points finish of the season.
“I know I should be proud of my achievements as a rookie at Spa, but, ultimately, I’m very frustrated as it could – and should – have been even better,” admitted Sharp.
“Sunday was disappointing as the race was going really well, and a win was definitely possible. I already moved up from tenth on the grid to third. I would definitely have had three podiums and have extended my points lead in the championship but for the unfortunate actions of others, firstly bringing out the Safety Cars and, secondly, completely taking me out from behind.
“Looking on the positive side, I loved racing at Spa, and after Saturday, we were on target for what should have been a really cool weekend.
“It goes without saying that I’ll be looking for better luck and to come back even stronger at the Hungaroring, where we will all start on a level playing field as GB3 has never raced there before.”
Tymek Kucharczyk takes the championship lead following two victories and a fourth-placed finish at Spa, with Race 3’s winner Will Macintyre nine points behind in second. Sharp is 13 points off the Championship lead in third.
The GB3 Championship returns to action at the Hungaroring on June 22-23, before a round at Zandvoort on July 13-14.
Rounds at Silverstone, Donington Park and Brands Hatch conclude the season.
Header Image: Supplied
