Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Tymek Kucharczyk was the star of the show at Silverstone today, as the Polish driver claimed his first two GB3 pole positions, and converted the first of those into a dominant maiden win.
He was over half a second clear of the field in a damp qualifying session this morning, and was even quicker in the race, as he led from start to finish, and won by nearly eight seconds to fire him right into championship contention.
Qualifying
Kucharczyk claimed a double pole position at Silverstone last year, but lost them both after a technicality. But there was no repeat this year, as despite challenging conditions, he again demonstrated that he’s a master of the British Grand Prix venue, lapping 0.535s quicker than any other driver. The chasing pack was headed by teammate Will Macintyre, with Elite Motorsport’s McKenzy Cresswell third, at a circuit he always goes well at. The top-six was completed by the third Hitech of Gerrard Xie, and the Rodin Motorsport duo of championship leader Louis Sharp and McLaren junior Ugo Ugochukwu. Kucharczyk headed the second quickest times for the race two grid also, this time with a margin of almost nine tenths, ahead of Cresswell, Macintyre, Xie, Ugochukwu and JHR’s Josh Irfan.
Race one
The Polish driver made no mistake from the front row as he held his lead down to Copse, while Cresswell pounced on Macintyre to snatch second place off the line. Cresswell’s previous Silverstone form, he was a winner here last year, suggested he could challenge Kucharczyk, but the Polish driver was in determined mood, and built a gap of over six tenths of a second after the first lap. After edging away in the first half of the race, he took the race by the scruff of the neck in the final five laps, at times a second quicker than the field as he soared into the distance.
The eventual winning margin of just under eight seconds was a clear statement of his championship intentions, with Cresswell settling for second ahead of Macintyre, who fought off an early challenge from Sharp. Sharp then had to look in his mirrors after a feisty challenge from Ugochukwu at Maggotts/Becketts, eventually holding him off to secure fourth, while Xie found his way past Ugochukwu late on to steal fifth.
Race one winner Kucharczyk said: "I’ve been waiting for this moment for the whole of last year, I’m super grateful to finally achieve this and thanks to my team and all the people supporting me because that’s a big step for me and my career. "They’ve been super supportive, I know I can trust them and they know I’m quick so it works fine for us and that’s the main thing. If you can be confident in the team and they feel good around you then you’re a winner. I’m super grateful I could show this on track.”
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone qualifying top-six:
1. Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 2m05.083s
2. Will MacIntyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.535s
3. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, +0.799s
4. Gerrard Xie, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.860s
5. Louis Sharp, Rodin Motorsport, +0.896s
6. Ugo Ugochukwu, Rodin Motorsport, +0.907s
Click here for full results
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Silverstone race one top-six:
1. Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 10 laps
2. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, +7.855s
3. Will MacIntyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +9.503s
4. Louis Sharp, Rodin Motorsport, +12.222s
5. Gerrard Xie, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +12.879s
6. Ugo Ugochukwu, Rodin Motorsport, +14.776s
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GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, driver's standings after race four of 24
1. Louis Sharp, Rodin Motorsport, 103pts
2. Ugo Ugochukwu, Rodin Motorsport, 84pts
3. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, 80pts
4. Will Macintyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 77pts
5. John Bennett, JHR Developments, 77pts
6. Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 68pts
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GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, team's standings after race four of 24
1. Rodin Motorsport, 187pts
2. Hitech Pulse-Eight, 173pts
3. Elite Motorsport, 139pts
4. JHR Developments, 109pts
5. VRD Racing by Arden, 62pts
6. Chris Dittmann Racing, 52pts
Click here for full standings