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The 2022 GB3 Championship begins at Oulton Park in its conventional Easter Financial institution Vacation weekend slot for the primary time since 2019, with over half the grid competing within the collection for the primary time.
The Checkered Flag takes a glance again ultimately 12 months’s operating in Cheshire, and forward to the curtain-raiser to return.
Final time at Oulton Park
Oulton Park hosted the penultimate spherical of the 2021 season, with blended situations all through the weekend making for 3 characteristically unpredictable races.
Eventual champion Zak O’Sullivan gained Saturday’s race, considered one of seven victories from 24 begins, with Luke Browning taking high honours in Race 2 after a tangle with O’Sullivan and Roman Bilinski profitable Race 3 in full-wet situations.
O’Sullivan has since moved onto the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Carlin, whereas Bilinski will compete in Method Regional European Championship by Alpine this 12 months with Trident.
Browning returns for a full GB3 season with Hitech GP after his 2021 wildcard efficiency at his dwelling circuit with Fortec Motorsport, having gained the 2020 F4 British Championship with the group.
Circuit
Oulton Park is 2.692 miles lengthy, with 17 undulating corners within the Cheshire countryside making for an exciting expertise the drivers at all times communicate extremely of.
Outdated Corridor Nook presents the drivers with a tough braking zone and a runoff space of grass and astroturf which loads of drivers discovered themselves on final 12 months, presenting one more problem within the moist.
There’s then a plunge down the Avenue into Cascades, the place the circuit forks off to the correct for the Foster’s circuit. The GB3 circuit takes the sphere down the Lakeside Straight into Island Bend, one of many trickiest corners on the calendar.
The Shell Oils Hairpin is unlikely to current an overtaking alternative, however the Britten’s and Hislop’s chicanes afterwards often is the web site of some dangerous strikes all through the weekend.
Zak O’Sullivan took himself out of the race at Hislop’s in Race 2 final 12 months by making an attempt to overhaul Luke Browning across the outdoors, operating out of street and skidding throughout the moist grass, again throughout the observe and discovering the boundaries simply earlier than Knickerbrook.
Knickerbrook was once a a lot sooner, way more intimidating nook nevertheless it nonetheless leads the drivers underneath the bridge, up Clay Hill and into Druids.
That’s more likely to be the opposite most tough braking zone on the circuit, as drivers pull the automobile from left to proper, experience over the uneven observe floor on entry and set the automobile up on the exit for a lunge into Lodge.
This author remembers Lodge as the positioning of Tommy Hill‘s two crashes in as many laps within the closing weekend of the 2010 MCE British Superbike Championship, as he outbraked himself on the bump on entry and took out himself and James Ellison.
Andrew Gordon-Colebrooke additionally got here a cropper there in a considerably related incident within the Intelligent Money British GT Championship final 12 months, taking out Jack Brown in an ill-judged transfer down the within.
What to look out for this weekend
The GB3 Championship welcomes an upgraded, bespoke automobile for 2022 within the type of the Tatuus MSV-022, with a halo, 25 per cent extra downforce, a 20bhp enhance to its Mountune-prepared engine and a side-mounted airbox bringing it nearer to extra conventional Method 3-spec vehicles round Europe.
Comparatively few drivers on the grid will be capable to make a direct comparability between, or touch upon the upgrades, as solely 5 of the 21 drivers at present introduced competed within the full 2021 season.
Branden Oxley, Tommy Smith, James Hedley, Alex Connor and Luke Browning all competed in at the least one spherical final 12 months, however dipped out and in of the Championship for numerous causes.
Cian Shields, McKenzy Cresswell, Marcos Flack, Zak Taylor, John Bennett, Callum Voisin, Max Esterson, Joel Granfors, Matthew Rees, Nick Gilkes and David Morales have but to show a wheel in anger in a GB3 automobile, having solely partaken in testing to this point.
That diploma of upheaval throughout the grid comes with the territory in junior single-seater racing, however all 21 drivers convey a variety of expertise ranges into the season, making for an enchanting opening spherical at Oulton Park as 2022 will get off the road.
Schedule
Thursday 14 April – Testing
Friday 15 April – Testing
Saturday 16 April
11:05am – Qualifying
2:45pm – Race 1
Monday 18 April
1:05pm – Race 2
3:25pm – Race 3
The way to observe
The Checkered Flag might be bringing you reviews, information and interviews from each session on Saturday and Easter Monday.
Reside timing is supplied by TSL Timing from Thursday morning by way of to Monday afternoon, with official live-streams of all three races on the MSV TV YouTube channel and the GB3 Championship website.
Try our full season preview to get absolutely up-to-speed with the line-ups, calendar and extra forward of the 2022 season.
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