- Swede displays rapid pace as season gets underway at Oulton Park
- On-debut podium lays promising foundation for remainder of campaign
Joel Granfors enjoyed a strong start to the 2022 GB3 Championship at Oulton Park, picking up a podium at this weekend’s season-opener.
The Swede opened proceedings on Easter weekend with sixth place in the first race of the triple-header meeting on Saturday, despite getting stuck in fifth gear on the final lap, and was on form again as action resumed on Monday.
Granfors came home in third place in the first race of the day, finishing as the top GB3 first-timer behind Britain’s Luke Browning and Brazilian Roberto Faria, who both competed in the series in 2021.
“It’s good to be on the podium on my first weekend in GB3, I’m pleased with that,” says Joel Granfors. “I started second but got away poorly from the dirty side of the grid and dropped to third, which was a bit of a shame, but P3 is a solid foundation to build on for the rest of the season.”
Granfors later went on to complete a mature climb from 18th to 15th in the reverse-grid final race of the weekend, the Fortec Motorsports youngster pulling off a pair of committed moves at a track otherwise infamous for its lack of overtaking opportunities.
The score across the opening round of the season leaves Granfors a tied fourth in the early GB3 Championship standings.
Granfors demonstrated frontrunning pace throughout the weekend, leading the way in pre-event testing on Thursday and qualifying second fastest – just fractions off pole position – for both the first and second races.
“The most important part of this weekend was getting confirmation of our pace,” Granfors concludes. “It has looked good throughout the winter in testing, but racing is racing and it’s now clear to see that we’re definitely in the game. We didn’t have a perfect weekend, but we still go away from here with plenty of points and solid results, so we are confident going forward.”
The next round of the GB3 Championship takes place at Silverstone on May 7-8.
RESULTS
GB3 Championship
Rd. 1 | Oulton Park
STANDINGS
GB3 Championship
After 1/8 rounds
1: Luke Browning (GBR), 70 p.
2: Roberto Faria (BRA), 63 p.
3: John Bennett (GBR), 47 p.
4: Matthew Rees (GBR), 45 p.
5: Joel Granfors (SWE), 45 p.