There are four drivers with a mathematical chance of winning the GB3 title as the championship reaches its final round of 2024.

By George Sanderson

Rodin Motorsport’s Louis Sharp holds a 33-point lead in the drivers’ standings heading into the Brands Hatch finale this weekend. JHR Developments driver John Bennett and Hitech GP’s Tymek Kucharczyk and William Macintyre are all looking to overhaul the margin and stop Sharp from claiming the title in his debut season in GB3. 

Of the three drivers in the chasing pack, it is Bennett and Kucharczyk who stand the best chance of doing this, with the Brit and the Pole 33 and 36 points behind Sharp respectively. Feeder Series sat down with both of them to discuss their chances before the weekend kicks off.

Bennett: “I’ll just be going in and going all out”

In his third season in the championship, John Bennett has had his strongest season to date. He currently sits second in the drivers’ standings, having won three races and six further podiums. He is also the only driver on the grid who has stood on the podium at every circuit GB3 has raced at this season, showing the consistency he has found this campaign.

“The pace has always been there, and I think in the dry and the wet too because obviously last year I had that double pole in the wet [at Silverstone] but then not really any results in the dry. Whereas this year, we’ve had pole in the dry, pole in the wet, wins in all conditions,” he said.

Bennett has been consistently on the pace this season but has been left to rue a couple of “small mistakes throughout the year” that could ultimately cost him in his goal to fight for the championship heading into the final round.

“It’s so tight in the championship. You’re only talking one or two mistakes that puts you out. [The result] at Zandvoort really hurt us,” he told Feeder Series. Having taken the victory in race one in the Netherlands, Bennett would then misjudge his braking in race two and run into the back of his championship rival, Louis Sharp. 

The contact would see Sharp end his race in the barrier at the banked turn three, whilst Bennett would be shown a black and orange flag and have to pit to repair a damaged front wing. He eventually finished 15th and was handed a five-place grid penalty for the final race of the weekend.

Running in third place at the time of the collision, and with at least a podium on the cards, it proved a very costly mistake from Bennett. However, Zandvoort seems to have been a solitary stain on an otherwise clean and consistent season.

“On the whole, I’m very pleased with my performance,” he said. “I’m learning loads and at the level of GB3 everything is to improve yourself as a driver and learn to move forward. As you go up the ladder [in motorsport], everything gets more important. So, you know, this is still very much a development phase of my career, so I think we’ve improved a lot throughout the year and a lot of lessons to take into the future.”

Bennett’s consistency has been even more impressive given the competitive nature of the GB3 field this season. A number of high-profile drivers have made cameo appearances in the championship with mixed results, and the Brit believes this to show that 2024 is “the most competitive it’s ever been” in GB3.

“You can see with the names coming in, like you say [Freddie] Slater, Ugo [Ugochukwu], and then also we’ve had James Wharton, Martinius Stenshorne. You know, like front-runners in FRECA [and] F3, and they’re almost struggling to get results!”

Heading into Brands Hatch, Bennett is aware of what he needs to do if he is to stand a chance of winning the championship. He told Feeder Series that whilst he will “go in like any other weekend” in terms of his approach, “there is less pressure” because he has less to lose than Sharp.

“You know, it’s kind of like I need to win, or I might as well DNF in a sense! So, I’ll just be going in and going all out. Whereas I think Louis will definitely be feeling some pressure. You know, Brands is such a difficult track, it’s very easy to crash in qualifying or whatever.”

Bennett recalled Callum Voisin, who returns for a GB3 cameo appearance himself this weekend, crashing in qualifying two years and having to start at the back of the field for all the races. Having past experience at the circuit in GB3 is something that he hopes will work in his favour this weekend.

“I think Louis has raced [at Brands Hatch] in the past couple years with F4, similarly to me with GB3, but obviously it’s the same car for me which is definitely an advantage.” Bennett’s team, JHR Developments, also have a very positive record at the circuit.

“We’ve been really strong the past couple of years. They’ve won both years I’ve been in the championship. In my first year it was [Matthew] Rees, he won, and then last year Joseph Loake won a race. So, you know, I’m feeling good going into the weekend and I think we should be able to fight for the win.”

Kucharczyk: “I know what job I have to do”

Sitting just three points behind Bennett in third place is Hitech GP’s Tymek Kucharczyk. The Polish driver has had a strong season with four victories, but has been victim to “a few of my mistakes and unlucky disqualifications.” Despite being more than a race victory behind Sharp in terms of points, Kucharczyk believes he is still in the fight.

“The championship so far this season, it was unpredictable really. Everyone has had their better and worse weekends and it’s just really one race that can change anything. So, we’ll see what will happen.”

The drivers will take to the Brands Hatch GP layout this weekend, which heads down Pilgrim’s Drop before rising up Hawthorn Hill and heading back through the forest. It is a layout not regularly used, and a challenge which may catch out some drivers, which only adds to a circuit that Kucharczyk described as already “so unpredictable.”

“The GP circuit is not used often,” he explained. “It’s dirty, it’s green, it might be really tricky and the track bites really hard on you when you do [any] slight mistake.” This “old-style” circuit is something he enjoys though, comparing Brands Hatch to Oulton Park for both having very little margin for error.

“The adrenaline there is somehow getting bigger. You have that feeling of that one little mistake and you’re in the wall, which is quite special at Brands [Hatch], especially in the second sector and third sector [which] are super tricky. But yeah, I love Brands, I really enjoy driving around this track. It’s tricky, it’s bumpy, it’s challenging, but I think this is what you expect a real racing track to be as a driver.”

Kucharczyk also recognised the potential influence of the weather, saying it may be “a big factor this weekend.” However, he remained assured in his own adaptability to any changing conditions.

“I’m really confident to be fair. I don’t care if it’s either wet or dry because I think I have proven this year so many times that we are quick on both conditions.” This was demonstrated with his strong results at Donington Park, where he secured fourth in the damp conditions of race one and second place on the wet tyres in race two.

In terms of his task heading into the weekend, Kucharczyk hopes to take advantage of a hunter mentality, saying he believes that “at this point there is nothing really to lose” in the championship.

“I don’t have a different approach to this weekend considering that I am P3 [in the championship]. I am the chasing one, not the leading one, so the pressure is more on Louis’s shoulders than my ones. I’m just hoping for a championship fight really.”

He admitted that, given his pace this season, he “probably should have been in a bit different place” heading into the finale, but that “the pace is there” despite it being “not the cleanest season of my life.” Kucharczyk is self-assured in his own ability to provide the results but recognises that some things may be out of his hands.

“I know what job I have to do, what job the team has to do. We’ve got to secure a double pole in quali and then do well in race one and race two, and that’s the maximum we can do. The rest is, pretty much, not depending on us.” Realistically, Kucharczyk will need Sharp to have a poor weekend if he wants to overhaul the points deficit. Yet despite the odds, his goal remains clear.

“The goal is easy. We want to win the championship, both the drivers’ and teams’ championship. We know it is not easy, but anything is possible.”

Midfield battle rages on for Heuzenroeder

Further down the championship standings, Pat Heuzenroeder – Bennett’s teammate – is in a fight of his own. The Australian currently sits 12th in the standings on 165 points but is only 20 behind a three-way tie of drivers on 185 points.

Rodin Motorsport’s Ugo Ugochukwu, VRD by Arden’s Noah Ping and Elite Motorsport’s Hugo Schwarze are tied for ninth place, with Ugochukwu’s two third- and three fourth-place finishes putting him at the head of the trio. However, the American will not be competing at Brands Hatch – and has only competed in four rounds this season due to his commitments in FRECA.

This provides a fantastic opportunity for Ping, Schwarze and Heuzenroeder to catch and overtake Ugochukwu, with Colin Queen in 13^th – who is just three points further back – also likely to fancy his chances. Heuzenroeder told Feeder Series that this had been a battle that has gone on for much of the season.

“Pretty much from like the third or fourth round, we were all within four or five points of each other. A couple of technical issues and then some just poor rounds from me in the last two haven’t helped that. 20 points is a bit of a gap, but if they get a red flag in quali [similar to how Heuzenroeder did at Donington] and I’m in the top ten then maybe the roles will be reversed come this weekend.”

The JHR Developments driver is driving in GB3 for the first time this season after graduating from British F4 and is relishing the opportunity of taking to the GP layout of Brands Hatch in new machinery.

“I sort of look at it a little bit like Zandvoort, in terms of an old-style circuit. High speed corners, not much room for error and I did well there [in Zandvoort]. So really looking forward to it. [My] F4 weekend there was alright last year, so [I’ll] just look to maximise points and, you know, enjoy driving that circuit because you don’t get to do it very often.”

Header photo credit: Artie C Photo