Kiwi teenager Louis Sharp bounced back from a Thursday testing accident at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to qualify on the second row for this evening’s opening GB3 race.
The Rodin Motorsport driver’s best time of 2:14.822 was the third fastest overall, just over two-tenths short of Hitech’s Tymek Kucharczyk’s pole-setting time.
Sharp was the first driver to break the existing qualifying lap record of 2:14.912, but Kucharczyk improved that again on his way to pole.
JHR’s John Bennett split the pair, falling just 0.056 seconds of holding the record and claiming the pole himself.
Joining Sharp on the second row is his Rodin Motorsport teammate and closest championship rival Ugo Ugochukwu, who also went under the existing benchmark.
The grid for Race 2 is set by a competitor’s second-best lap time of the weekend, whether from qualifying or Race 1.
Provisionally, Sharp will also start third in Sunday morning’s outing, with a 2:14.879, his current second-best effort. Bennett provisionally holds the pole ahead of Kucharczyk. Ugochukwu’s second-fastest lap was only good enough for seventh.
“I think P3 is a good place to start,” said Sharp. “It’s my first time racing here, so I didn’t really know what to expect going into qualifying, and also, it’s been wet the last two days, so we’ve had a very limited amount of dry running.
“So I went into the session a little bit blind, but I think the pace was there. I think we were maybe not able to reach the top two. I think they had a little bit on us today, but I put together a decent lap, and I think I maximised the most I could, really.
“The track conditions have been difficult, but I like these changeable conditions because the drivers that are able to adapt quickly are ultimately the ones that end up fastest, and usually, I’m quite good at being able to adapt.
“It was fun. The dry around here in a GB3 car is pretty cool, and it’s probably my favourite track.
“Although it wasn’t pole position, I was having a great time and really enjoying myself out there. It’s been a good day, and having a good run down the back straight with P3 is probably a good place to start. From the racing I’ve watched here, quite often, P3 or P2 ends up taking the lead, so you never know what is going to happen.”
Race 1 at Spa begins at 9.44 pm on Saturday (NZST), followed by Race 2 at 2.26 am on Sunday and the finale at 11.50 pm that evening.
All races will be broadcast live and free on YouTube.
Header Image: Supplied
