The GB3 Championship’s first overseas round of 2023 took place at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, and with it came a change in the championship dynamic. JHR Developments’ Joseph Loake had taken three victories from six races, but Rodin Carlin’s Callum Voisin closed down Loake’s 31-point lead to two by the end of the third round of the season.

By George Brabner

For Voisin, there was one big eyesore in the championship standings before Spa: his deficit to Loake. However, his weekend in Belgium did much to change that. With a double pole position converted into a pair of second-place finishes, Voisin almost completely wiped out the lead of his rookie rival.

“It’s exactly what we needed,” he told Feeder Series after the round. “We closed down the championship lead by 30-odd points, and [we’re] now right in the title hunt again. For us, it was really perfect. Double pole, double podium, fifteen places gained in the reverse-grid race.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what [race one and two winner] Alex Dunne was able to do, but considering all other circumstances, it was basically the best we could have done.”

Double pole a strong start to the round

Keen to halt Loake’s momentum in its tracks and establish an advantage over the rest of the field, Voisin kicked off his weekend in style. The British-Swiss racer scored his first two pole position of the season by setting the fastest and the second-fastest times in the extended 25-minute qualifying session.

“It was great to get my first two poles of the year. Obviously, I’ve got to keep the [Jack Cavill] Pole Position Cup that I got last year! It was nice to start that off well. Otherwise, it was a good result. We weren’t really expecting it,” Voisin said.

Despite his pace, a late red flag at the end of qualifying caused by a stopped Arthur Rogeon affected the final results. A faster time set by McKenzy Cresswell was cancelled, and many other drivers on course for improvements had to return to their garages.

“Either way, I probably would have been in the top three or so, but I think we knew the Hitechs – even Cresswell of Elite – [were] very quick,” Voisin said. “[It was] unexpected. A little bit of luck on my side helped with the red flags. I just got my laps in quite early and got on it straight away. That was good, but overall, [I’m] really happy with it.

“It’s always something you want to tick off during the year. I’m still yet to get my first win of the year, but I’m sure that will come at some point when it all clicks. Unfortunately for me, those two poles were at the circuit where it’s easiest to overtake.”

Pair of P2s puts Voisin back in the fight

Loake only managed 14th and ninth in qualifying, which put him on the back foot for the entirety of the weekend. This, however, played into Voisin’s hands, who gained 29 points on his current title rival following two intense battles with Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Dunne in the first two races.

“It was important at Spa for us to close the gap. We knew that even if we qualified a little bit behind [Loake], we could probably race our way up to the front. In the end, that didn’t really matter because I was on pole anyway. He struggled a little bit in qualifying, so it was a little bit different.

“We knew we had to take points out of him, and that’s what we did thankfully. A bit of a shame not to quite get the championship lead after being so close, but it’s a lot better than what it was after Silverstone,” Voisin said.

There was a good amount of respect with each other and it was good to race [Dunne]

Voisin on racing Dunne at Spa-Francorchamps

Dunne prevailed at the front in a record-breaking weekend. By collecting 95 points at Spa, he achieved the greatest tally from one round since the introduction of the current points system. For Voisin, it was going to be tough to defend right from lights out.

“It’s a long way down to Les Combes at the end of the Kemmel Straight, so it is usually quite difficult to win from pole. But we gave it our best shot.

“I think, in the end, we didn’t quite have the pace of the Hitech to really keep up with him. As soon as he got past me, it was very difficult to keep up, but we gave it our best and we got the second-best result,” Voisin said.

“I didn’t quite beat him in the end, but there was a good amount of respect with each other. It was good to race him.”

Consistency is key

Voisin’s season thus far has been characterised by consistency. Despite being slightly off the pace at Silverstone, two top-six finishes and a podium kept him in the game. Two trips to the podium each at Oulton Park and Spa have played to his advantage. Race victory has evaded Voisin in 2023, but he has never been too distant.

“So far, touch wood not to jinx anything, I’ve been on the podium more often than not!

“As long as you’re always up there, always banging in those podiums, always banging in those results, naturally the points tally favours you. You don’t have to win every single race to win this championship. You just need to keep picking up points where you can and staying out of trouble,” he said.

“This year, it’s a bit different because your mentality changes a little bit when you’re, let’s say, going into the year looking for a championship instead of going in with zero expectations and going all out. I had a few wins last year, but at the same time, I had quite a few lows last year. I think trying to minimise those lows, sometimes you’ve got to sacrifice,” Voisin explained.

“The win will come at some point. I’m not too worried when because I know it’s only a matter of time. For me, it’s the championship I’m focused on and not really race wins.”

Header photo credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography