Fortec Motorsports headed to the Hungaroring for the first time in five years this weekend (June 21-23) once again showing good race pace in the GB3 Championship.
Full-season drivers Ed Pearson and Colin Queen had four practice sessions to get up to speed with the Hungarian Grand Prix venue, though battled temperatures topping 34C on the twisty and undulating circuit.
Unfortunately, come qualifying on Saturday morning, after storms delayed track running, the pace shown in testing and during the first runs disappeared when both drivers went out for their second quick laps, leaving them at the rear of the field with lots to do in the races.
Starting on the last row for race one, Colin had a brilliant opening lap, moving up six places to 15th with some great moves and gaining another spot a few laps later. His charge ended with a gain of seven positions, while sadly Ed was stuck behind another car throughout, finishing 20th as he was robustly blocked whenever he tried to get past.
Both drivers went forward at the start of race two, Colin up to 17th and Ed 19th and both continued to gain places. However, stuck behind a slower car, finding a way through was proving tough, with Colin finally making his way past on the penultimate lap. Both were then promoted up a further place after one car was disqualified from the final classification.
It was Ed who had the lightning start to race three, climbing up to 12th – a superb gain of nine places – while Colin moved into 17th in the early laps. Ed was then stuck behind a slower car, working hard to find a way past, but running wide and dropping to 13th, with Colin similarly caught in what was a seven-car train, both drivers having to settle for where they were to the flag.
There is now time for a three-week break in action, before the team travels to the Netherlands over the weekend of July 12-14, for the Zandvoort Summer Trophy, where both the GB3 Championship and F4 British Championship will race alongside each other for the first time.
Ed Pearson #41
Race 1: Start – 21, Result – 20
Race 2: Start – 19, Result – 16
Race 3: Start – 20, Result – 13
Championship: 16 (66 points)
“We were in a similar situation to Spa, where we had the pure race pace, but not the one lap speed. We were unlucky in qualifying and in the races as it is just so hard to overtake. The race pace was there for the top 10 and Colin did a great job to get it done on the first lap of race one, but every time I made progress, I was blocked. I started well for race three, up nine places on lap one, picking my way through carefully. I struggled with the car in the final laps though, and worked to keep it on the road, so I was happy to get some points.”
Colin Queen #62
Race 1: Start – 20, Result – 14
Race 2: Start – 18, Result – 13
Race 3: Start – 21, Result – 16
Championship: 13 (86 points)
“We had good race pace, and it shows when we are able to hit clear air. I knew I had to get it done on the first lap, which I did in race one, but in race two it didn’t work out quite as well, though I gained four places on track. That is pretty good, though we should be battling for the top seven. I couldn’t do much in race three – I had a good launch as did Ed, and we did well working together, but for some reason I couldn’t get close enough to the car in front. Without the qualifying I think it would have been a good weekend, but it wasn’t the case this time out. We’ll move on to Zandvoort which I am excited for as it’s one of my favourite tracks. Our pace there last year was good as a team, so hopefully we can produce the results.”
