Fortec Motorsports travelled to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps this weekend (May 31-June 2) with strong race pace shown at the home of the Belgian Grand Prix.
Across races two and three, drivers Colin Queen and Ed Pearson each gained a total of 15 positions, demonstrating that they and the car have the speed and potential to challenge at the sharp end of the grid.
On Friday there were three 45-minute practice sessions for Ed and Colin – making his debut at the track – to familiarise themselves with the 7km circuit, with rain, cloud, and sunshine all making an appearance. It was dry and bright for qualifying, though a tough one for the drivers who finished 18th and 19th, respectively.
The rain had eased off on Saturday morning, but low clouds left the circuit wet, with both drivers having a clean opening lap to run 17th and 19th. Colin then made his way up to 15th, with Ed up one spot too, and at the flag the American crossed the line 14th, with the Brit in 18th.
Both drivers were on the move to start race two, with Ed up five places to 13th, Colin up two to 14th just behind him. The duo switched positions, with Colin taking 12th, just as the Safety Car was called with two cars off track, and they capitalised on the restart, gaining two spots each before another Safety Car, which would run to the flag with no further racing laps taking place.
Race three featured two more early Safety Car periods, with Colin running 11th and Ed 13th. Both gained two spots when racing resumed, only for the Safety Car to return yet again in an incident-filled contest. Colin fended off an attempted pass on the restart, with Ed putting the pressure on the car ahead on the final lap, unable to quite complete the move safely.
The team leaves Belgium buoyed by its strong race pace and the focus now switches to the Hungaroring for the GB3 Championship, where rounds 10, 11, and 12 of the 2024 season will take place.
Ed Pearson #41
Race 1: Start – 19, Result – 18
Race 2: Start – 18, Result – 10
Race 3: Start – 18, Result – 11
Championship: 14 (48 points)
“We got it wrong in qualifying which meant we were a bit further back and in race one we thought it was wetter than it was, so we had a bit more downforce on and it was hard to make progress. Colin and I did a good job in race two and luckily, I got past him on the final lap – I had to do it! We did it cleanly and raced well together, sometimes working together to get away from other drivers, but it’s a shame we were so far back as we had good race pace.
“Race three was scrappy but we had the pace again as we made progress, and Colin and I are both good racers. We know we can fight with the drivers at the front. The weekend didn’t start as well as we’d have liked, but it ended better and maybe that’s some momentum we can take to Hungary.”
Colin Queen #62
Race 1: Start – 18, Result – 14
Race 2: Start – 16, Result – 11
Race 3: Start – 19, Result – 9
Championship: 11 (66 points)
“Qualifying left us in a position where we had to start at the back and move forwards and sometimes, you’re in a horrible fight for a few laps and lose the pack in front of you. Race two was better for us, I had a good launch and made a few positions, but we did the best we could. It felt like the race was too short, especially with the Safety Cars, but there was a lot of carnage in a short space of time.
“I tried to keep it clean in race three, but be aggressive where I could, but I was put in positions where I couldn’t get the tow and had to defend on every lap it seemed. I came away with a top 10 finish which wasn’t too bad, though I always want to aim for the top five. It was difficult this weekend, and a steep learning curve, but I’ve taken lots away, so we’ll need to apply that to Hungary – a track I have no experience of. We’re heading in the right direction and have good pace, so I believe soon we’ll be at the sharp end of the field.”
