Luke Browning took a dominant win in the opening GB3 Championship race of the season at Oulton Park. The Hitech driver finished over 10 seconds clear of Carlin’s Roberto Faria, with JHR’s Matthew Rees challenging the Brazilian all race. Here’s how each reacted after the opening contest of the year.
Winner, Luke Browning – Hitech GP
“The car felt absolutely phenomenal today. The engineers did a smashing job. I was just piecing laps together and it honestly felt easy in that car, so a big thanks to Hitech.
“It’s a tight championship and it’s never easy to win at any level so it just shows you how much hard work we’ve put in over the winter. It was important to keep my head level, it’s the first race of the season, so it’s nice to have the points in the bag but we’ve got to do it again on Monday.”
Second, Roberto Faria – Carlin
“We were a bit slow with used tyres so I couldn’t really keep with Browning. I had to make a race with no mistakes because Rees was behind me all the time, so I just did the homework and brought it home in second place.
“Behind me I saw the yellow flags and pieces in the middle of the track [on lap one] – Browning went over one. But apart from that I didn’t see anything, I just focused ahead, looked forward and tried to do my best. At the end I was just managing my tyres for the next races. We carry over tyres so I’m going to try to improve the car with old tyres and try to put more pressure on Browning.
Third, Matthew Rees – JHR Developments
“I got a good start. Maybe I lost out a bit but I think just staying behind these cars is really hard at Oulton because there’s a lot of aero. It was about keeping with Roberto [Faria] and maybe trying to make a challenge but I don’t think we ever got close enough for that.
“But honestly, to even get the car out for today I have to thank the boys because yesterday there were no bits on the car at all. Both front suspension had gone so, I’m really happy for them. It’s just a miracle to even be here.”