Douglas Motorsport’s Max Esterson set a searing pace in the final GB3 Championship test session of the week at Donington Park.
A lap of 1m22.705s, set with just over five minutes remaining, was easily the fastest seen in all six sessions this week, and the fastest ever lap officially recorded by a Tatuus MSV-022 car at the circuit, eclipsing the previous benchmark set in pre-season testing by nearly three tenths of a second.
Such was Esterson’s pace, that he was over four tenths of a second ahead of any other driver in the session, with JHR’s Matthew Rees setting a time that was also faster than in any previous session, but still 0.444s away from Esterson’s time.
With Esterson clear, it was much closer behind as the same four tenth margin covered the next eight cars. Carlin’s Roberto Faria was just 0.022s away from Rees, and 0.029s ahead of Arden’s Alex Connor.
Connor’s teammate Nico Christodoulou edged ever closer to the pace on his series debut, 0.024s away from Connor and only half a second away from the outright pace.
Elite’s Tom Lebbon was next up in sixth, three thousandths of a second away from the Arden debutant and 0.054s clear of Fortec’s championship leader Joel Granfors.
Callum Voisin (Carlin), James Hedley (Elite) and Marcos Flack (Douglas Motorsport) completed the top-10, which was covered by 0.930s.
Carlin’s Javier Sagrera in 11th was also within a second of Esterson’s pace. Despite sustaining front end damage after his session two accident, Hitech GP worked wonders to get Luke Browning’s car back on track, with the multiple race winner completing five laps with a time good enough for 19th place.
The GB3 Championship runners are next on track for qualifying at 11.40am tomorrow (Saturday), with live timing available on the official championship website.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Donington Park, Friday test three result:
1. Max Esterson, Douglas Motorsport, 1m22.705s
2. Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, +0.444s
3. Roberto Faria, Carlin, +0.466s
4. Alex Connor, Arden Motorsport, +0.495s
5. Nico Christodoulou, Arden Motorsport, +0.519s
6. Tom Lebbon, Elite Motorsport, +0.522s
7. Joel Granfors, Fortec Motorsport, +0.576s
8. Callum Voisin, Carlin, +0.663s
9. James Hedley, Elite Motorsport, +0.833s
10. Marcos Flack, Douglas Motorsport, +0.930s
11. Javier Sagrera, Carlin, +0.947s
12. John Bennett, Elite Motorsport, +1.002s
13. Tommy Smith, Douglas Motorsport, +1.205s
14. McKenzy Cresswell, Chris Dittmann Racing, +1.213s
15. Zak Taylor, Fortec Motorsport, +1.221s
16. Nick Gilkes, Hillspeed, +1.375s
17. Cian Shields, Hitech GP, +1.481s
18. Branden Oxley, Chris Dittmann Racing, +1.587s
19. Luke Browning, Hitech GP, +1.608s
20. Bryce Aron, Hitech GP, +1.810s
21. Mikkel Grundtvig, Fortec Motorsport, +1.922s
22. David Morales, Arden Motorsport, +8.735s