- Swede takes second win of the season at Silverstone
- Fortec racer completes sensational podium clean-sweep
Joel Granfors completed a near perfect weekend of racing at Silverstone to snatch the GB3 Championship lead, racking up a victory and podium clean-sweep in a critical phase of the season.
The Swede arrived at Silverstone with a 30.5-point deficit to erstwhile championship leader Luke Browning, but nurtured high hopes of turning the tables at the British Grand Prix track – where he scored his first win of the season earlier this year – and duly delivered in style.
After going quickest in both Thursday and Friday testing, Granfors converted a front row grid slot into victory in the first race of the triple-header meeting, scoring his second win of the campaign.
It was in Sunday’s Race 2, however, that Granfors overhauled Browning to snatch the championship lead courtesy of a third-place finish.
The most emphatic drive of all would still lie ahead, though, as Granfors stormed through from 18th in the reversed-grid final race to P3 at the flag, completing a sensational podium clean-sweep.
In making up a massive 15 places, Granfors’ rise through the field is the largest seen in GB3 this season. It also makes him the only driver so far in 2022 to grace the podium in each of the three races that make up a GB3 event.
“It’s been a fantastic weekend,” says Joel Granfors. “Perhaps the best of my career. We really needed to deliver this weekend. Taking a win, a third place and another podium from 18th on the grid in Race 3 is more than we could have asked for. It’s been a big weekend for the entire team, of course, and all the Fortec guys have done a great job.”
Granfors maximised an opportunity handed to him over the weekend when Hitech GP, the team fielding main rival Browning, were disqualified after qualifying for a technical infringement.
With the Hitech cars relegated to the back of the grid, Granfors made the most of the situation to snatch the championship initiative and establish an 11.5-point lead.
“This was an extremely important weekend in championship terms,” Joel Granfors concludes. “I knew that I needed to deliver here at Silverstone, where we know we’re strong, and that’s exactly what we did. It’s an incredible feeling to be honest. It’s game on and we’re going for the title, no doubt.”
The GB3 Championship now enters a six-week summer break, with racing resuming at Brands Hatch for the penultimate round of the season on September 9-11.
RESULTS
GB3 Championship
Rd. 6 | Silverstone
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
GB3 Championship
After 6/8 rounds
1: Joel Granfors (SWE), 369.5 p.
2: Luke Browning (GBR), 358 p.
3: Callum Voisin (GBR), 292 p.
4: Roberto Faria (BRA), 274.5 p.
5: Max Esterson (USA), 255.5 p.