Louis Sharp has taken his third victory of the 2024 GB3 Championship season with a hard-fought lights-to-flag win from pole in the Donington Park opener.
The result extends Sharp’s championship lead to 15 points over JHR Development’s John Bennett, with five races remaining in the season.
The British Formula 4 Champion was forced to fend off a race-long challenge in difficult conditions from fellow title contender Tymek Kucharczyk and did so over 14 laps.
Kucharczyk was second until the final lap, when he lost his rear and skated into the gravel at the Old Hairpin, losing places to teammates Gerrard Xie and Bennett.
With the pressure relieved, Sharp crossed the line with a 4.6-second advantage over Xie.
“It was a good race. Obviously, Tymek [Kucharczyk] was pushing quite hard behind; he was definitely fast, but a light to flag win,” said Sharp.
“It wasn’t easy, but I’m really happy to get it done, and obviously, with this point in the year in terms of the championship, it’s a crucial win, and I really can’t ask for a better day one here at Donington.
“Obviously, I need to keep a small eye on what’s going on, but at the end of the day, I just need to do what I can myself, and if I can perform and get good results every time, it’ll kind of come together. Although I need to keep a close eye on them, I’m just focusing on myself.”
The British-born Kiwi began Saturday’s proceedings with a qualifying clean sweep in wet conditions, earning pole position for Races 1 and 2. Kucharczyk’s best effort was only 0.039 seconds off Sharp’s to earn a front row start in the opener, and his second-best time also put him on the front row for Race 2.
Bennett qualified fourth for Race 1 and sixth for Race 2. Kiwi teenager Jacob Douglas, making his second GB3 Championship appearance, qualified 20th for both outings.
Sharp got an excellent launch from the pole and made the most of a growing dry line to quickly put a gap over the field, which grew through the early stages.
Douglas, meanwhile, was caught behind a mid-field spinner exiting Turn 1, which split the field into two groups and made the opportunity for progression difficult.
Kucharczyk responded to Sharp’s pace on Lap 6, eating six-tenths into the leader’s advantage and pulling to within a second.
Despite the pressure, and with damp patches off line, Sharp held firm to lead the entire contest, claiming his first win since Hungary in the process. Douglas avoided trouble to come home 17th.
The GB3 Championship returns for Race 2 at 10.12 pm NZST this evening before the finale at 2.20 am on Monday.
Racing can be watched live and free on MSV TV’s YouTube channel.
Header Image: GB3 Championship
