- Swede stays in front in GB3 championship standings
- Mixed fortunes include pole position, retirement from lead and podium visit
Joel Granfors picked up a podium to mark the highlight of a weekend of ups and downs in round three of the GB3 Championship campaign at Donington Park.
The Swedish teenager entered the meeting on top of the championship standings after winning last time out at Silverstone, and duly continued to feature at the sharp end of the 22-car field – notably storming to his third pole position of the season in qualifying.
Granfors’ bid for another win were quickly dashed in the first race of the weekend, however, as the Fortec racer tangled with reigning British F4 champion Matthew Rees while battling for the lead on the first lap.
The front-row pair ran spectacularly side by side through the first couple of corners, but eventually made contact as Rees attempted a bold move around the outside at McLean’s, clattering the left rear wheel of Granfors’ Fortec machine.
Spun around at high speed, Granfors retired on the spot with broken suspension, while Rees managed to continue to a points-paying finish.
”It was a frustrating situation, to be honest,” says Joel Granfors. “He went for a move that was never going to happen, hit my rear tyre, and it ended up costing me the most. I wasn’t very happy with how that played out, especially having started from pole, but I guess that’s part of racing and you always learn something along the way.”
Granfors didn’t have to wait long to make amends, however, scoring a podium finish for P3 in the subsequent Race 2. He then capped off the event with a strong rise from 21st to 11th in the final, reverse-grid encounter.
Through all the events of the weekend, Granfors maintains his lead in the GB3 Championship standings. Crucially, a series initiative will net the points leader at this particular stage of the season a prize visit to the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team premises later this summer.
”It’s been up and down this weekend, but in the end we’ve shown that we had the pace and I think we recovered quite well from what happened in Race 1,” Joel Granfors concludes. “I’m very happy that we managed to maintain the lead of the championship; I really can’t wait to visit Red Bull Racing and see an F1 team operating up close.”
The next GB3 Championship round takes place at Snetterton on June 25-26.
RESULTS
GB3 Championship
Rd. 3 | Donington Park
STANDINGS
GB3 Championship
After 3/8 rounds
1: Joel Granfors (SWE), 168 p.
2: Luke Browning (GBR), 167 p.
3: Max Esterson (USA), 145 p.
4: Roberto Faria (BRA), 143 p.
5: Callum Voisin (GBR), 132 p.