Behind first-time victor Alex Dunne and second-place finisher Callum Voisin, Tymek Kucharczyk made his way onto the GB3 podium for the first time this year in the first race at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. After a heartbreaking disqualification from pole at Silverstone, the Douglas Motorsport driver bounced back in Belgium. Ahead of the fourth round at Snetterton, Feeder Series spoke to Kucharczyk to get his thoughts on the 2023 GB3 season so far.

By George Brabner

Three rounds in, Kucharczyk’s 2023 GB3 campaign has been a rollercoaster of emotions.

The Polish racer performed well considering his rookie status at the rain-dominated Oulton Park season opener – leaving with two top-eight finishes – before, much like Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Dunne, he had an upturn in pace at Silverstone.

Pole position marked an important milestone for Kucharczyk, but disqualification from qualifying for technical non-compliance meant he couldn’t capitalise on the speed he and Douglas Motorsport had unlocked.

After the disappointment of round two, Spa was the stage for Kucharczyk’s rebound as he took his first podium finish of 2023 in the first race of the weekend.

“I think it’s the first step for a bigger success,” Kucharczyk told Feeder Series. “We all want to win, but you’ve got to start from something. We got the pole at Silverstone, now we got the first podium, so now we aim for the first win. Then after the first win, we would like to win the championship, but we will see!

“For sure, it’s a huge step for me. Finally, we got what we deserved.”

Settling in to GB3

Kucharczyk jumped up to GB3 after a successful Spanish F4 campaign in which he finished third in the championship standings. The Polish driver’s next step could have been the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, the newly established Eurocup-3 or even FIA Formula 3, to which Spanish F4 rivals Nikola Tsolov and Hugh Barter eventually moved.

Shifting focus to the UK and the GB3 Championship instead, 17-year-old Kucharczyk faced a different set of challenges to many around him who started their careers within the British junior ranks, but he has found his feet quickly both on and off the track.

“We haven’t tested that much, I think, as the other drivers because our announcement was pretty late, but I think I adapt pretty quickly. It’s great so far. We are learning the car pretty quickly. The team is working really hard to find the best setup,” Kucharczyk said.

“The community is so big [in the UK]. The tracks are so great there as well. They are more challenging, for example, than the Spanish tracks, so I think it’s good. You can feel the spirit of motorsport there and I do enjoy it very much.”

You can feel the spirit of motorsport there and I do enjoy it very much.

Tymek Kucharczyk on racing in the United Kingdom

That racing spirit also comes with a taste of home for the Łodygowice-born driver.

“I think the support so far I have is huge. There’s a lot of Polish [people] in the UK! They come to visit me, watch races and it’s awesome. It’s the first thing that comes to mind when I’m racing here in the UK. You know, I have never experienced that before.”

F4 and GB3 at Spa compared

Spanish F4 brought Kucharczyk crucial racing experience at Spa-Francorchamps. However, the difference between the Tatuus F4-T421 and Tatuus MSV-022 on the Belgian circuit is stark, as he explained to Feeder Series.

“F4 felt pretty much too small, too slow, for such a big circuit, you know? There’s so [many] long straights. I wouldn’t say it’s boring because the circuit itself is fantastic, but it just took so long! For sure GB3 was more interesting,” Kucharczyk said.

“This car is a huge step from F4 – the first bit of downforce for me as a driver. I think I’m getting adapted to the downforce in the fast corners. I think it’s all a learning curve, the jump from F4 to GB3, and then hopefully, maybe, FIA F3 next year if we have the budget for it.

“It’s the best possible way to learn. The downforce, a bit more power, and I think it’s the best car so far to race and prepare for a bigger step.”

Overtaking prowess on display

Kucharczyk shows he is not afraid to engage in wheel-to-wheel combat, and it’s a characteristic that’s paid dividends so far this season.

He gained 40 positions over the course of the three races at Silverstone – vital damage control considering the race-winning pace he showed in qualifying – and raced with similar prowess at Spa-Francorchamps to make up 15 places in race three.

In a contest in which each position gained equates to an extra point, clean on-track fights are a must. They have been a key reason Kucharczyk sits fourth in the championship standings heading into the fourth round at Snetterton this weekend.

“It’s been fun so far. Also at Silverstone, coming through the field, the reverse-grid races are very fun because you can fight with the other guys wheel to wheel. In a circuit such as Silverstone or Spa, it allows you to fight. There are two or three long straights. You can take the draft and then overtake after the long straight.

“I think it’s been great. I feel very good with the cars next to me, around me. I think our racecraft is pretty strong this year as well,” he explained.

I stick my elbows out and then have a run on them, overtaking at every opportunity I have. Like Ayrton Senna did or Robert Kubica back then!

Tymek Kucharczyk

“That’s I think one of my good points so far this year – that I stick my elbows out and then have a run on them, overtaking at every opportunity I have. Like Ayrton Senna did or Robert Kubica back then!

“I have a lot of comments under my posts that are ‘Nice overtake!’, like ‘divebomb like Daniel Ricciardo!’ or stuff like this, so I think it’s been great! I do enjoy fighting against the other drivers, and if I make it stick, it’s even better!”

Tying it all together at Spa

Kucharczyk had shown every component needed for success in GB3 prior to the third round, but all at different times in the season. At Spa-Francorchamps, third-, fifth- and seventh-place finishes signified that his speed, consistency and racecraft had started to come together.

“We were struggling a bit at Oulton to find the right setup, and then our pace was lacking there a bit there. It was not what we were hoping for,” Kucharczyk said.

“The weekend itself was a bit crazy with the weather, but at Silverstone, when we found that we had super pace either in the dry or wet, I think it gave us a big boost – an energy boost and also a happiness boost – for my team and for myself to keep pushing, that we can still be up there, fight for the championship,” he explained.

“Spa was, I think, the first weekend that we showed it, that we can be very constant all the weekend long. In quali and then in the races, we were pretty fast as well, so I think the speed is there. We’ve just got to capitalise on it and then make the most of it.”

And above all? “I will just keep enjoying it, have a go, have fun, fight against the other drivers, against the odds. I think this is one of the most important things: if you have fun, then you’ll just keep on driving. You need to have fun to be a driver!”

Header photo credit: Jakob Ebrey / GB3 Championship