Fortec Motorsport makes the short trip to Silverstone’s world-famous Grand Prix layout this weekend [6-7 May] looking to inject life into its GB3 Championship title push.
The Daventry-based outfit had a mixed start to the season on a rollercoaster Easter visit to Oulton Park but picked up its first silverware of the 2023 campaign courtesy of Edward Pearson in the reverse grid finale.
Ultimately on that occasion, a tough qualifying result on a notoriously narrow circuit, where overtaking opportunities are often at a premium, put paid to the team’s chances of converting the pre-season promise of Pearson – plus team-mates Jarrod Waberski and Max Esterson – to real effect.
In stark contrast, Silverstone’s GP circuit is among the best circuits for racing in the GB3’s Tatuus MSV-022 chassis, the fast, flowing nature and combination of both high-speed corners and heavy braking zones offering plenty of chances for drivers to go head-to-head in race trim.
It’s a circuit that has been a happy hunting ground for the team so far in the GB3 era, the team taking two victories – plus a pole position – at the venue in 2022 through Swedish talent and eventual vice-champion, Joel Granfors.
More recently, all three drivers also displayed promising pace at the Northamptonshire circuit in pre-season testing, fuelling optimism that this weekend could mark a return to the front for the team’s trio of talents.
Following two days of pre-event testing, the competitive action begins with qualifying, scheduled for 10:40 on Saturday. The opening race follows that afternoon at 14:52, with two further contests on Sunday at 10:02 and 15:40 (all times BST).
View from the Cockpit
Jarrod Waberski (#20) said:
“Going into Silverstone this weekend, I’m looking forward to building on pre-season testing, where we had some really good pace.
“It’s also such a privilege to drive on such an iconic circuit such as this, and in these GB3 cars, it’s very enjoyable.”
Edward Pearson (#41) said:
“It was great to start the season with a podium, but heading to Silverstone this weekend, the objective remains to keep learning, keep absorbing information and then putting in the improvements on track.”
“Silverstone is famous around the world for a reason – it’s a great circuit to drive. I really enjoyed it during testing, and I can’t wait to tackle the full GP circuit in race trim this time around.”
Max Esterson (#42) said:
“I’m really looking forward to this weekend at Silverstone. I had some good races there in GB3 last year, and the team has been really strong in testing.
“Hopefully we can fight at the front of the field and have some better luck than we did at Oulton Park.”
Oliver Dutton, Team Principal said:
“It feels like a very long month since we were at Oulton, but we haven’t been sat around licking our wounds after a tough start to the year – it’s been full focus on how we bounce back from that at Silverstone this weekend.
“It’s a circuit we excelled at last year with Joel and backed that up earlier in the winter with some promising times in testing.
“It’s the perfect layout for these cars and should give us an opportunity to show some of the pace that went un-showcased at Oulton. It’ll be competitive, as it always is, but we have a real opportunity this weekend, I think, to start fighting our way back in the standings after a tough start.”
