Joel fired a serious warning shot at his rivals ahead of his GB3 Championship debut this weekend by topping two of three test sessions as pre-event work got underway at Oulton Park on Thursday.
After going a convincing third fastest in the first session of the day, merely 0.041s off the pace despite refraining from new tyres, Joel then came to the fore emphatically in session two – leading the way by over six tenths of a second in the 21-car field.
He lowered the bar once more in session three, recording a 1:28.729 to edge 2021 British F4 champion Matthew Rees by 0.073s.
Joel’s time in the final session not only marked the quickest lap of the day, but also highlighted the possibility of Oulton Park’s 11-year-old lap record – a 1:28.662 set during a British Formula 3 round in 2011 – finally being toppled this weekend. Official lap records, however, can only be set in race conditions.
Testing continues at Oulton Park on Friday, with a further two sessions scheduled to take place as a final precursor to the first race weekend of the season. Friday’s updated time table can be found below, with live timing available throughout the day by clicking here.
Updated time table – Friday 15 April (all times UK)
Test 4: 09.40-10.15
Test 5: 14.05-14.40