It was a thrilling double triumph at our home race with success in the two rounds held at a damp Silverstone this weekend. Tymek Kucharczyk took a brilliant lights-to-flag victory to record his first win in the GB3 Championship on Saturday, while Will Macintyre triumphed in Sunday’s race to secure a Hitech GP double. Gerrard Xie finished fifth and ninth to wrap-up an excellent performance for the team in the latest round of the series.
While the third GB3 race was cancelled due to the bad weather, Tymek dominated race one, leading every lap from pole position and finishing almost eight seconds ahead of the field after the 10-lap encounter.
It was a superb drive for Tymek on the full Grand Prix track: “It feels great, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time and I’m super grateful to finally get my maiden win,” said the Polish racer.
“I was delighted our pace was so strong, dominating the whole race,” added Tymek. “Thanks to the whole Hitech GP team for supporting me. If you feel good in a team and confident with the people around you, then you can achieve your best.”
All three of the Hitech GP runners qualified in the top four positions for race one, with Will starting on the front row alongside Tymek and Gerrard in fourth. The latter two dropped a place each in the final classification, but overall it was an excellent Saturday at Silverstone, with Will joining Tymek on the podium in third.
The opening race of the weekend was held in cold, dry conditions, but with heavy rain overnight and into Sunday morning, the second race of the weekend was postponed until later in the day.
Will made a brilliant start in race two, to grab an instant lead going into Copse corner, while pole man Tymek was slow away and slotted into third. On wet tyres, on a drying track, managing the tyres was crucial as Will pulled out his advantage at the front of the field.
In the closing laps, he was challenged for the top spot, but superbly held on to take the chequered flag by just 0.180s, with Tymek a place further back in third. It was a thrilling finish as Will’s victory meant he’s recorded three consecutive podiums so far this year.
“I had an unreal start, then it was about managing the tyres but I struggled compared to the experienced drivers around me,” said Will. “In the final laps I had no rears and I made a small mistake which reduced the gap. I was just defending at the end. The Hitech GP car is really good, so we need to keep this pace going into the next round.”
Third-placed Tymek said: “I made a small mistake at the start, but that’s racing. We had the speed for the win, but it was hard to follow with the dirty air and the tyre management. Overall it was a great weekend for us and the Hitech GP team.”
The next round of the GP3 Championship takes place at Spa-Francorchamps on the opening weekend of June.
