Whilst Callum Voisin clinched the 2023 GB3 title at Donington Park, his teammate John Bennett ended the season 10th in the standings. Equally as experienced as Voisin in GB3, Bennett too entered the 2023 season as a championship favourite but finished with less than half the points tally of his Rodin Carlin compatriot. Bennett opened up to Feeder Series about why his sophomore campaign didn’t unfold as he had envisioned.

By George Brabner

Departing Elite Motorsport for the better-established Rodin Carlin team at the end of 2022, Bennett set himself up for success in his second GB3 season over the winter. But the Briton’s performances in 2023 haven’t been up to the standard of a championship challenger or even as strong as those in his rookie season.

“It’s been super tough,” Bennett told Feeder Series. “I think everyone expected more, especially coming off the back of last year. We’ve just struggled a lot this year for whatever reason. Some things are out of our control… it’s just been tough, really.

“Obviously, being further back on the grid than last year is never a nice feeling. Winter was super strong, and then we went into round one wanting to win, really, and then we qualified eighteenth or something. You know, my worst quali I’ve ever had in my life to start off the season.” 

The season started on a low note, but Bennett bounced back in round two, taking a double pole position and scoring two on-track race victories. But neither win would stand following two post-race penalties, and so Bennett left Silverstone with just one podium, his only of the entire season.

“Hopefully I’ll never have to do a season as hard as this again, in a way! But I guess it’s made me stronger as a driver. It has been very tough this year, like I said. If I can move on from this and get out the other side, back up the top of the grid, I think it will put me in good shape for the rest of my career.

“The training hasn’t dropped off because of the results. If anything, it has just gotten more intense. I’ve always wanted to win, and with the results being as poor as they have been, I’ve been really trying everything to get back up the top. I think once it does connect, the results start coming in again, I think it will help me out in the future.”

Pre-season hopes fall away

There or thereabouts on the pace of Voisin, pre-season testing was encouraging for Bennett, where he followed on from a strong conclusion to his rookie GB3 season where he scored a podium finish.

“Looking at my results last year, I don’t think I was outside the top ten once in qualifying. I suddenly moved up the grid in the last couple of rounds, and I qualified in P5, P4 and then P3 or something around that,” Bennett said.

“And over the winter, we were very strong, just once the season started we had some issues.”

The aforementioned penalties at Silverstone in May, a collision with Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Souta Arao in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps and setup and engine issues at Silverstone in July are just some of the troubles that affected the Rodin Carlin driver during the first half of the season. Overall, Bennett often suffered from issues he simply had no influence over.

“[We’ve had] a couple of engine issues. Red flags have thrown us off a couple of times this year, but that’s the same for everyone, so you can’t really use that as an excuse. But it’s just stuff like penalties. Last year, I was in the stewards’ office one time for the whole year, and that was for someone hitting me, and this year, I’ve been in there just about every weekend. Most of the time, I don’t even know why I’m going there!

“Over the past two seasons, I don’t think I’ve seen a single result of a race win change other than mine, and to have that happen twice in a row… I mean, even this weekend [at Donington Park] in quali, it’s a drying track and I took the flag first like a second after Callum passed it.”

But Bennett doesn’t want to void himself of all responsibility for a win-less 2023. 

“There have been some unlucky situations, but obviously, you can’t just blame everything on that. A lot of things happen to everyone.” 

A team jump doesn’t produce the results

On paper, Bennett’s switch from Elite Motorsport, whose stable he had been a part of since 2020, to Rodin Carlin should have yielded the desirable results of a second-year driver. Elite finished the 2022 season third in the standings with Bennett’s teammate Tom Lebbon leaving a four-time race-winner, but a shift to one of the typical ‘big-three’ in British motorsport — Carlin, Hitech and Fortec Motorsport — was a sensible move.

Yet, the status quo amongst teams has changed in 2023. Less-established team JHR Developments took the team’s title, whilst Fortec Motorsport finished sixth in the championship standings this season and, of course, moving to Rodin Carlin has not been a success for Bennett.

“I think I gelled with the team pretty quickly,” Bennett said. “We’ve gotten on really well this season. Over the winter, we were all really happy. I’ve really enjoyed working with the team this year. But for whatever reason, it hasn’t really worked. You know, I really liked working with Elite, but I think we were very confident in the move to Carlin.”

Coincidentally, Bennett isn’t the only driver to abruptly struggle in GB3 after moving to a historically more successful outfit. Fortec’s fallen championship favourite Max Esterson has suffered a similar fate this season, scoring fewer wins and podiums after switching from Douglas Motorsport, a situation Bennett can draw parallels to.

“I kind of feel for him [Esterson] because I do feel like he’s in the same situation as me. You know, both of us had very strong rookie years. He even won a race last year, was on the podium a couple of times, and then this year he was going into the season as a championship contender, and for whatever reason, it just hasn’t worked out for him,” he explained.

“You know, to come away lower in the championship than in your rookie year is a bit strange. People sort of know it’s not all – I don’t know. This year has just been a struggle for the both of us, and I think a lot of things have just been out of our control. I mean, it’s pretty weird to think a driver has gotten worse over the course of a year. And as I said, you know, I’ve shown when everything’s right the pace is still there, two poles at Silverstone.”

The peak

A ray of sunshine in an otherwise dim season populated by only two top-five finishes, Bennett’s performances during round two at Silverstone are important when looking back on the quality of his 2023 campaign. 

Progression to the front of the field after his rookie season was to be expected, and whilst Bennett couldn’t reproduce the front-running results he put in at the home of the British Grand Prix year-round, it was a key weekend where he proved that he had made the expected steps forward to the front.

“I think Silverstone is more indicative of the pace that we’ve had. People always say about how the wet sort of evens out issues like that, and, yeah, we were at the front,” Bennett said. 

“I think Silverstone shows that we do definitely have the pace. I mean, it’s one of the most competitive grids in Europe, really, in young single-seaters. So to get double pole, you know, it doesn’t just happen by fluke. There is a lot of pace, it’s just on a lot of occasions it hasn’t shown.” 

“In motorsport, there’s always going to be a lot of lows. It’s a sport that’s like that. You get hit down a lot more than you win, in a way. So, yeah, it’s just trying to manage that and keep pushing on.” 

As the Briton evaluates his options for next season, it’s safe to say that round two kept his name in the mouths of team personnel across the GB3 paddock.

Winter competition

Many drivers choose to spend the off-season in a winter series and Bennett is no different. He will be teaming up with Evans GP in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship at the beginning of next year for his first taste of the Tatuus F3 Regional car and the Yas Marina and Dubai Autodrome venues.

Being in a series that saw huge popularity and growth earlier this season, Bennett is set to compete against a highly talented grid that frequently attracts drivers from higher-tier competition such as FIA Formula 3.

“I think it would be good just to get back in a race car and almost move past the season as quickly as possible, really.

“The pressure’s off a bit over there, just learning the tracks and a good way to warm up for the season ahead. So I’m really looking forward to that. Obviously, it’d be a bit of a challenge being in the regional car that I’ve never driven, and then you have FRECA drivers that drive it all the time,” he said.

Despite the potential challenge, learning the F3 regional car is a significant positive for Bennett, as it offers a driving experience similar to the cars used in the rest of the single-seater ladder, unlike GB3’s more popular Tatuus MSV-022.

“Everyone says the FRECA cars are kind of awful to drive, and these GB3s are really nice. I think a lot of people think we’re in the best single-seater in the world almost, it’s like a Euroformula car because it’s just so light and nimble. But that’s nothing [like] what the FIA is like anymore. The F3, F2, F1, they’re all pretty big, heavy cars, especially for a single-seater. And the regional cars are like that.” 

Looking towards 2024

Bennett has been actively testing GB3 machinery since the 2023 finale with JHR Developments, a third season in the series a definite possibility after falling short of impressing enough to claim a seat in FIA F3. Feeder Series understands that he has multiple options in GB3 for 2024, but where he goes after FRMEC is undecided

“There might be another year in GB3… In an ideal world, it would have been F3 next year, but the results this year haven’t really been strong enough to justify that sort of thing. We’re trying to stay in single-seaters and keep climbing the ladder,” Bennett said.

“[GB3 is] an awesome championship to be in… I think, also, just globally, the series is getting more credibility as it develops as a championship. And, you know, it opens a lot of doors. The last two champions, O’Sullivan and Browning, have both gone on to be Williams Academy members. And also with the All Sport Young Driver of the Year awards, that’s a huge, huge opportunity. 

“So doing well in it can definitely open a lot of doors, and I think internationally, it’s being recognised. If you’re quick on one of these, you can be quick in anything, really. And then the more international rounds, the better, because, obviously, Spa, Zandvoort and Silverstone are all F1 tracks, so good to learn if you’re moving into F3. So I’m a big fan of the international rounds. That’s one thing people say FRECA has over GB3 for moving forward, obviously, with all the tracks.”

If a third season in GB3 does materialise, Bennett’s winter running in the Middle East could be vital for his own development, which he openly acknowledges.

“Obviously, that’s a danger of doing GB3 for another year, it might stall your landing a bit if I already know how to drive this car. So in the regional and in the winter, it would be good to drive,” he explained.

“It’s not as nice to drive as the GB3s, but that’s what you’ve got to get used to, really. It is good experience in that way, good to learn the regional car before I try and make a step to F3.”

Header photo credit: Artie C Photo