Testing of the interim technical upgrade package for the 2026 GB3 Championship continued at MSV’s Circuito de Navarra last week, as F2 racer John Bennett returned to the cockpit of the revised car.
The test, held over three days, was designed to test the durability of the new engine package, which passed with distinction.
“It went really well, we had three really productive days, we got a load of running and did around 1000kms” the 2024 GB3 runner-up reported. “The car ran without a problem and great to be in it again and feel the extra power. It’s a lot of fun.”
Compared to his first run in the car at Donington Park a month ago, the Navarra running was on an empty circuit, allowing for clear running without any unscheduled interruptions.
“The test at Donington was a race weekend test day with a lot of red flags, so we only got about four clear laps in the end whereas this time we did about 300 laps” he comments.
“The car is definitely very quick, I think compared to testing at the same circuit last year it’s more than 1.5 seconds quicker now, so really impressive. We were able to run it on new tyres, old tyres, then do race runs and qualifying sims and it all went really smoothly.”
With so much track time available, the car was pushed to its limits, but was hugely durable.
“It was really just endurance testing the car, doing laps and laps and laps until something breaks, but nothing broke! We never had to stop, so they ended up being quite exhausting days for me, but it’s great to get as many laps as possible and the car did very well.”
The circuit in northern Spain has plenty of corner variety, but Bennett was able to make full use of the improved torque from the 2.4 litre engine, which provides much greater acceleration when leaving corners.
“Navarra has quite a few low speed corners and you can really feel it on the exit now, especially as the tyres start to degrade. You can really get some wheel spin going, which is always quite fun, and not something that’s been possible in a GB3 car before.
“The old car had so much traction that you could never really spin up the rears where now you have to be a lot more careful with it. It’ll make the car a lot more fun in the wet too and a lot trickier, which is always good for driver development.”
Bennett also confirms his initial feeling from the Donington test, that the developed car will be a better preparation for drivers moving up to Formula 3 and beyond, while also spicing up the on track action.
“Throttle application and managing the rear tyres are such a big thing when moving up to Formula 3 and Formula 2, but it’s not really been an aspect that you learn a great deal of in GB3. Whereas now with this new change to the engine and the extra power, I think it becomes a lot more important. So it’s a great tool for learning.
“We are seeing a bigger time difference delta compared to the new tyres and old tyres, and that can obviously make the racing more exciting. If someone saves tyres for the reverse grid race the advantage will be bigger than it used to be, which opens up the strategy a bit more and changes how drivers will approach the weekend.”
The 2026 prototype car will continue development testing at Navarra over the coming weeks assessing updated components and performance upgrades.