For Hitech GP’s former championship leader Luke Browning, the Silverstone weekend was a case of what could have been, having qualified on pole position, only to lose it through a post-qualifying disqualification, which left him at the back of the grid for all three races.
He entered the weekend with more than a 30-point lead at the head of the standings following his sensational Spa triumphs a week beforehand. But the penalties, for his car failing post-qualifying scrutineering, gave title rival Joel Granfors an immediate advantage, and the Swede made the most of it by winning the first race and finishing on the podium in the other two contests.
Browning put on one heck of a show though, with a combined gain of 36 places across the three races, including a 15-point gain in the final race alone. That meant he limited the damage, and is only 11.5 points behind Granfors heading into the final two events of the season at Brands Hatch and Donington Park.
“We did the best we could do really, obviously starting at the back for every race is really tough,” said Browning. “We came back stronger and we’ve shown today what we can do. It’s given the team a lot of inspiration. We’ve had to bite our lip and go ‘right, this is it now, we’ll fight back from this.’
“We’ve {Granfors and I] both got a great chance of winning now, and it could come down to qualifying I think. Whoever qualifies on pole for the last two rounds will probably win the championship and we’ll be going out all guns blazing.”
The British driver is optimistic of his chances next time out at Brands Hatch in September, having shown good pace there in testing.
“We’ve done one test day at the Brands GP circuit, we were fastest there and hopefully when we go back there it will be the same. There’s been so much development of the cars through the season though, so everyone has their own philosophy up and down the paddock. Our car suited it quite well last time.”
With the gap between rounds, the 20-year-old is looking forward to a recharge before the intense final two events.
“I think a break is definitely needed, a good mental break to digest what’s happened over the weekend and make sure it never happens again. From my side I’m going to be analysing everything to make sure I’m in top form when we get to Brands in a month’s time.”