2022 GB3 Championship

2022 GB3 Championship

Drivers' Champion:
Luke Browning
Teams' Champion:
Hitech Grand Prix

Previous

2021

Next

2023

Feeder series:
GB4 Championship

The 2022 GB3 Championship was a motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars held across England and Belgium. The 2022 season was the seventh organised by the British Racing Drivers' Club in the United Kingdom, and the second season under the GB3 moniker after rebranding from the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship in mid-2021. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers. For the 2022 season, a new updated chassis and engine pack were introduced. The season was run over eight triple-header rounds.

Luke Browning took the drivers' championship at the final round at Donington Park, with his team, Hitech Grand Prix, taking their first teams' title.

Teams and drivers

All teams were British-registered.

Team	No.	Driver	Rounds
Hitech Grand Prix	4	Bryce Aron	All
	5	Luke Browning	All
	6	Cian Shields	All
Carlin	7	Roberto Faria	All
	31	Javier Sagrera	All
	35	Callum Voisin	All
Chris Dittmann Racing	8	McKenzy Cresswell	All
	12	Ayrton Ori	6
	21	Zak Taylor	7–8
	68	Branden Lee Oxley	1–7
Douglas Motorsport	11	Marcos Flack	1, 3–7
	16	Tommy Smith	All
	42	Max Esterson	All
Elite Motorsport	17	Ayato Iwasaki	8
	27	John Bennett	All
	34	Tom Lebbon	All
	67	James Hedley	1–4
Fortec Motorsport	21	Zak Taylor	1–6
	43	Mikkel Grundtvig	All
	50	Joel Granfors	All
Arden Motorsport	22	Nico Christodoulou	3–8
	32	Alex Connor	All
	77	David Morales	All
JHR Developments	53	Matthew Rees	All
	67	James Hedley	5–8
Hillspeed	64	Nick Gilkes	All
Source:

Race calendar and results

The provisional calendar was announced on 22 October 2021. The championship supported the British GT championship at seven of its eight meetings.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team
1	R1	Oulton Park (International Circuit, Cheshire)	16 April	Luke Browning	Luke Browning	Luke Browning	Hitech Grand Prix
	R2		18 April	Luke Browning	Luke Browning	Luke Browning	Hitech Grand Prix
	R3				David Morales	Mikkel Grundtvig	Fortec Motorsports
2	R4	Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix Circuit, Northamptonshire)	7 May	Joel Granfors	Luke Browning	Joel Granfors	Fortec Motorsports
	R5		8 May	Joel Granfors	Luke Browning	Tom Lebbon	Elite Motorsport
	R6				Callum Voisin	Cian Shields	Hitech Grand Prix
3	R7	Donington Park (Grand Prix Circuit, Leicestershire)	28 May	Joel Granfors	Max Esterson	Callum Voisin	Carlin
	R8		29 May	Max Esterson	Max Esterson	Max Esterson	Douglas Motorsport
	R9				Roberto Faria	Bryce Aron	Hitech Grand Prix
4	R10	Snetterton Circuit (300 Circuit, Norfolk)	25 June	Callum Voisin	Roberto Faria	Callum Voisin	Carlin
	R11		26 June	Luke Browning	Javier Sagrera	Luke Browning	Hitech Grand Prix
	R12				Roberto Faria	Mikkel Grundtvig	Fortec Motorsports
5	R13	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (Spa, Belgium)	23 July	Luke Browning	Luke Browning	Luke Browning	Hitech Grand Prix
	R14			Luke Browning	Luke Browning	Luke Browning	Hitech Grand Prix
	R15		24 July		Callum Voisin	Tommy Smith	Douglas Motorsport
6	R16	Silverstone Circuit (Grand Prix Circuit, Northamptonshire)	30 July	Callum Voisin	Callum Voisin	Joel Granfors	Fortec Motorsports
	R17		31 July	Callum Voisin	Callum Voisin	Tom Lebbon	Elite Motorsport
	R18				Nico Christodoulou	Marcos Flack	Douglas Motorsport
7	R19	Brands Hatch (Grand Prix Circuit, Kent)	10 September	Matthew Rees	Luke Browning	Matthew Rees	JHR Developments
	R20		11 September	Tom Lebbon	Matthew Rees	Tom Lebbon	Elite Motorsport
	R21				Luke Browning	Branden Lee Oxley	Chris Dittmann Racing
8	R22	Donington Park (Grand Prix Circuit, Leicestershire)	15 October	Callum Voisin	Tom Lebbon	Callum Voisin	Carlin
	R23		16 October	Callum Voisin	Matthew Rees	Tom Lebbon	Elite Motorsport
	R24				Nico Christodoulou	Nick Gilkes	Hillspeed

Season report

First half

The 2022 GB3 Championship began over the traditional Easter Weekend at Oulton Park with a double pole for Luke Browning. He was unchallenged in the first race and won ahead of Roberto Faria and Matthew Rees, who also retained their starting spots. Incidents behind them ended Javier Sagrera's race. The second race offered much the same picture, with Browning converting his second pole into another comfortable victory. Faria meanwhile had to overtake Joel Granfors at the start to get another second place, with Granfors then coming third. The reverse-grid race three saw Mikkel Grundtvig start from pole, resisting attacks from Tommy Smith behind him to win the race. David Morales completed the podium. Browning retired after contact, but his two wins still meant he led the championship after round one, ten points ahead of Faria.

Next up was the first visit to Silverstone Circuit, and this time it was two poles for Granfors. Browning took second from Tom Lebbon at the start of race one and started to go after Granfors, but the latter was able to keep ahead and score his maiden GB3 win. In race two, roles were reversed, as this time Lebbon was the one making the move at the start, passing Granfors for the race lead into Maggotts. Browning came third this time around. Morales was the polesitter for race three, but dropped down to third at the start. The new leading duo of Cian Shields and Nick Gilkes battled all race, with Shields eventually coming out ahead to win. Bryce Aron also overtook Morales to complete the podium. Granfors' two podiums and eleven places gained in race three promoted him to the championship lead, three points ahead of Browning.

The third round was held at Donington Park, where Granfors and Max Esterson shared poles. The first race started with chaos, as championship leader Granfors retired from contact and his closest rival also crashed while trying to avoid the stricken Granfors. Callum Voisin inherited the lead and held it until the end to win ahead of Faria and Esterson. Race two was not much calmer, with Esterson defending from Voisin who had to take to the grass to avoid contact, dropping behind Granfors and Browning in the process. The reversed-grid race was the most straightforward: Aron converted his pole into a win, while Branden Lee Oxley converted third to second by passing Grundvig at the start. With both championship leaders first retiring, then on the podium and having a similar race three, the gap at the top closed up to a single point.

The first half of the season came to a close at Snetterton Circuit, with Voisin and Browning winning in qualifying. Voisin held the lead of race one as Granfors' poor start forced him to concede second to Browning. The latter then came close to gaining the lead several times, but could not do so. The second race began with a three-wide moment between Browning, Granfors and Rees. The latter had to back out and lost third to Sagrera. The top two battled all race, but Browning held on to win the race. Grundtvig was once again on reverse grid pole, next to Shields, who had an overheating issue that saw him drop back and retire. Zak Taylor took second, but also soon made a mistake fighting and dropped down. This promoted Marcos Flack and James Hedley to the podium. Browning beat Granfors in all three races and took the championship lead.

Second half

The only continental round of the season at Spa-Francorchamps came next, and Browning took both pole positions. He lost the lead to Granfors down the Kemmel straight, but a safety car for a three-car crash was called straight away. Browning retook the lead at the restart and never looked back, with Granfors in second. Shields came third, before a penalty gave that podium to Oxley. Race two saw Browning drop again, this time to third behind Oxley and Granfors. The latter then went for the lead, forcing Oxley out into the gravel, before Browning repeated his move for the win once again. Race three was disrupted by a red flag following a hefty crash by Morales. Only three racing laps were completed. Half points were awarded for the race won by Voisin ahead of Smith and Faria. Browning's two wins extended his championship gap to 25.5 points.

The second Silverstone event began with Browning getting excluded from qualifying for a technical infringement. Voisin started race one from pole, before losing out to Granfors and Sagrera. He re-passed Sagrera later, but it was too late to close up to Granfors, as Faria then got by Sagrera for third. Race two saw Voisin drop from pole to fourth, behind Lebbon, Granfors and Sagrera. Voisin spent the rest of the race trying to make up for his start, climbing up to second place. Lebbon was later disqualified, but this decision was overturned in the end. Debutant Ayrton Ori started race three from pole, but could not hold on to the lead. A tumultuous race saw multiple drivers rise up the grid, with Flack winning in the end. Brownings exclusion meant he could not fight at the front, while Granfors' three podiums saw him take the championship lead.

Brands Hatch hosted the penultimate round of the year, and Rees and Lebbon shared honors in qualifying. Rees led the first race from start to finish, while behind him Granfors slipped back to fourth, behind Browning and John Bennett. He later repassed Bennett, but was not able to match Browning. Race two saw Lebbon defend from Rees at the start. Slight contact between the two saw Rees drop behind Browning, who had overtaken Granfors for third earlier on. Race three saw a red flag when Voisin and Esterson hit the barriers. Oxley restarted from pole as Flack was sent to the back for a jump start, and won ahead of Shields and Faria. The championship lead changed hands once again after the round, with Browning once again beating his rival in all three races and coming out 15.5 points ahead.

The season finale was held at Donington Park. Voisin picked up two poles in qualifying and led the first race from start to finish. Behind him, Browning started fifth and was able to climb to third, before Lebbon in second got a penalty that promoted Browning and Bennett up a place. Race two started on a slightly damp track, with the field split on tire choice. Voisin had a bad start and dropped to third, letting Granfors into the lead, before the latter got dispatched by Lebbon. When the track got drier, Granfors lost pace and dropped down the field. Aron was the big winner, running on dry tires and climbing up to third place at the end, behind Browning, whose second place earned him the championship title. Race three saw Gilkes take his maiden victory in a lights-to-flag run ahead of Shields and Connor, while Hitech passed Carlin to win the teams' title.

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top 20 classified finishers in races one and two, with the third race awarding points to only the top 15. Race three, which had its grid formed by reversing the qualifying order, awarded extra points for positions gained from the drivers' respective starting positions.

Races	Position, points per race
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Races 1 & 2	35	29	24	21	19	17	15	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Race 3	20	17	15	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Notes

• ^{1 2 3} refers to positions gained and thus extra points earned during race three.

Drivers' championship

Pos Driver OUL SIL1 DON1 SNE SPA SIL2 BRH DON2 Pts R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 1 Luke Browning 1 1 Ret 2 3 171 Ret 2 97 2 1 146 1 1 184 10 11 515 2 2 97 2 2 79 507 2 Joel Granfors 6 3 153 1 2 911 Ret 3 1011 3 2 156 2 4 165 1 3 315 3 4 19 5 13 58 460.5 3 Tom Lebbon 14 6 DSQ 3 1 136 5 8 13 5 5 19 6 Ret 121 6 1 133 6 1 18 4 1 127 363.5 4 Callum Voisin 20 9 132 10 5 83 1 7 613 1 Ret 175 8 10 23 2 2 415 9 13 Ret 1 9 Ret 359 5 Roberto Faria 2 2 143 7 6 Ret 2 5 20 4 7 135 11 Ret 4 3 5 211 18 9 31 Ret 14 15 316.5 6 Matthew Rees 3 4 16 12 8 Ret 8 6 713 Ret 4 127 DSQ 7 15 8 6 66 1 3 132 17 6 96 310.5 7 Max Esterson 19 11 81 4 4 105 3 1 117 10 10 75 4 2 173 9 10 Ret 10 18 Ret 11 8 18 292.5 8 John Bennett 5 5 92 6 9 112 17 13 43 6 11 16 17 5 11 5 8 Ret 4 6 14 3 Ret 161 262.5 9 Javier Sagrera Ret 8 111 Ret 11 55 Ret 10 18 7 3 95 5 8 87 4 4 116 Ret 8 52 7 16 113 257.5 10 Alex Connor 15 13 182 11 10 71 4 9 89 8 6 115 19 12 63 13 9 Ret 7 5 8 10 18 32 252.5 11 McKenzy Cresswell 4 7 103 9 Ret 66 7 12 16 9 16 54 18 3 20 11 Ret DNS 16 12 7 Ret 4 81 221 12 Bryce Aron 12 15 174 19 12 33 12 19 1 11 13 DSQ 9 14 21 16 Ret 147 8 7 101 6 3 135 215 13 Cian Shields 11 Ret 7 16 18 11 14 15 19 14 19 Ret 7 9 136 17 15 157 21 19 2 12 5 21 186.5 14 Nick Gilkes 16 18 4 17 17 22 Ret 18 1210 DNS 12 18 12 11 52 14 12 16 19 17 6 13 15 1 165.5 15 Branden Lee Oxley 8 Ret 52 8 14 14 10 20 21 12 9 Ret 3 Ret 19 12 DSQ 12 15 22 1 163 16 Nico Christodoulou Ret 11 15 13 8 103 Ret 15 10 7 7 18 5 10 112 9 7 44 163 17 James Hedley 13 10 12 5 7 18 6 4 14 16 14 32 Ret 13 14 15 DSQ Ret 11 16 Ret WD WD WD 156 18 Zak Taylor 7 12 6 13 15 16 9 16 DSQ Ret 17 6 16 18 3 19 Ret 10 14 15 4 8 10 14 154.5 19 Tommy Smith 17 17 2 14 16 12 13 21 5 Ret 18 42 14 19 11 21 16 7 13 11 17 14 Ret 17 136.5 20 Marcos Flack 9 14 19 11 14 17 15 15 22 10 6 9 22 13 15 17 20 163 136.5 21 Mikkel Grundtvig 18 19 1 15 13 15 16 17 3 17 20 1 15 17 7 20 17 8 20 21 153 15 17 19 135.5 22 David Morales 10 16 31 18 19 4 15 22 Ret Ret 21 8 13 16 Ret 18 14 9 12 14 12 Ret 11 10 130 23 Ayato Iwasaki 16 12 6 24 24 Ayrton Ori 23 18 17 3 Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 Pts OUL SIL1 DON1 SNE SPA SIL2 BRH DON2

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

Teams' championship

Each team counted its two best results of every race.

Pos	Team	OUL			SIL1			DON1			SNE			SPA			SIL2			BRH			DON2			Pts
		R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3
1	Hitech Grand Prix	1	1	7	2	3	11	12	2	1	2	1	62	1	1	1111	10	9	515	2	2	2	2	2	21	805.5
		11	15	174	16	12	33	14	15	106	11	13	155	7	9	153	16	12	147	8	7	97	6	3	79
2	Carlin	2	2	111	7	5	55	1	5	712	1	3	104	6	8	14	2	1	211	9	8	31	1	9	113	794.5
		20	8	132	10	6	83	2	7	19	4	7	144	8	10	3	3	3	415	18	9	52	7	14	15
3	Elite Motorsport	5	5	92	3	1	136	5	4	43	5	5	32	5	5	13	5	6	133	4	1	14	3	1	6	697
		13	6	12	5	7	112	6	8	14	6	11	17	18	Ret	17	6	DSQ	Ret	6	6	18	4	12	127
4	Fortec Motorsport	6	3	1	1	2	911	8	3	3	3	2	1	2	4	4	1	2	315	3	4	153	5	13	58	648
		7	12	6	13	13	15	16	16	1110	17	17	7	16	17	129	19	14	8	20	21	19	15	17	19
5	Douglas Motorsport	9	11	2	4	4	105	3	1	6	10	10	22	4	2	911	9	8	15	10	11	163	11	8	17	514
		17	14	81	14	16	12	13	14	126	15	15	42	10	6	2	21	10	7	13	18	17	14	Ret	18
6	Arden Motorsport	10	13	31	11	10	4	4	9	98	8	6	124	14	12	63	7	5	9	5	5	8	10	7	32	493.5
		15	16	191	18	19	71	15	11	16	13	8	9	20	15	19	13	7	18	7	10	112	Ret	11	44
7	Chris Dittmann Racing	4	7	52	8	14	66	7	12	21	9	9	54	3	3	106	11	15	12	14	12	1	8	4	81	423
		8	Ret	103	9	Ret	14	10	20	17	12	16	Ret	19	Ret	161	12	Ret	17	15	15	4	Ret	10	14
8	JHR Developments	3	4	17	12	8	Ret	9	6	812	Ret	4	136	11	7	86	8	4	66	1	3	132	17	6	96	374.5
														Ret	13	14	15	DSQ	Ret	11	16	DNS	WD	WD	WD
9	Hillspeed	16	18	4	17	17	22	Ret	18	139	DNS	12	18	12	11	52	14	12	16	19	17	6	13	15	1	165.5
Pos	Team	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	R1	R2	R3	Pts
		OUL			SIL1			DON1			SNE			SPA			SIL2			BRH			DON2

External links

• Official website