2022 GB3 Champion Luke Browning secured pole position for Saturday’s Macau Grand Prix qualifying race with a scintillating performance in the Far East.
On his debut appearance at the legendary Guia Circuit, the Williams F1 Academy driver has been among the front-runners throughout the running so far, having shown top-two pace in practice despite a faulty DRS system.
He then built on that speed to set the fastest lap of the week so far in the second qualifying session, earning him pole position for Saturday’s Qualifying Race, with the finishing order of that contest deciding the grid for the main race, the FIA F3 World Cup, on Sunday.
“In Q1, we didn’t have DRS working, so this was more or less the deficit to P1” said Browning.
“I thought it was going to be close when we got to Q2, and having saved a set of tyres, I knew we were going to be in a good place if I really put it together.
“The lap was special, it really was, and I’m glad to be on pole.”
Another graduate to impress was Browning’s Hitech Pulse-Eight teammate Alex Dunne. The Irishman won more GB3 races than any other driver in 2023, and lapped the six kilometre circuit just three tenths of a second slower, enough to put him sixth on the grid.
Other former GB3 contenders in action include Max Esterson, who put his Jenzer car in 21st position, with Christian Mansell (ART) and Tommy Smith (Van Amersfoort Racing) 24th and 26th respectively.