Fortec Motorsport’s GB3 Championship team salvaged a decent haul of points from a recent visit to Snetterton, which was de-railed during a difficult qualifying session.
The Daventry-based outfit arrived at the 2.99-mile Norfolk circuit in optimistic mood, after a return to the podium last time out at Spa-Francorchamps courtesy of Jarrod Waberski, and with the South African – plus team-mates Max Esterson and Edward Pearson – showing good pace in pre-event testing.
But a difficult qualifying session on Saturday morning stacked the cards against the trio. In an ultra-competitive session, Pearson led the line in P18, one spot clear of Waberski. Esterson suffered a gearbox problem and, with the American unable to set any fast laps, he would be consigned to the back for all three races.
In race trim, however, their fortunes improved, and as a unit, the team were able to respond and still score valuable points.
On a circuit where overtaking opportunities are often at a premium, Waberski gained four spots in the opener to take the flag in P15, with Pearson maintaining P18, and Esterson rising to P20.
Waberski and Pearson continued to impress with another charge to P12 and P15 respectively in race two, but perhaps even more impressive was Esterson’s progress, the GB3 race winner advancing from P25 to P16, just behind his team-mates.
The reverse grid race did offer some respite for Waberski and Pearson, and they went on to register fourth and fifth. Esterson’s qualifying misfortune put him outside the 103% rule to be reversed, so from P25 once more, he scaled the order to P16, another impressive gain of nine places.
The series now begins its summer hiatus, with a return to the full Grand Prix layout at Silverstone next up on 29-30 July.
Jarrod Waberski (#20) said:
“Overall, this has been one of the toughest weekends we’ve had this year. The team and I think there’s an underlying issue with the car, so we’ll be working hard to figure that out.
“I want to say a huge thanks to the guys in the team though, for not giving up on the weekend, and continuing to push as hard as we could to get something from it. I’ve no doubt we’ll come back stronger for Silverstone!”
Edward Pearson (#41) said:
“”Snetterton proved to be a really challenging weekend, but we were able to end it on a real high in the final race.
“I felt in good shape after Thursday testing but the fact that I had to miss the Friday sessions due to an exam meant my rivals were able to benefit from the extra track time.
“It disrupted my preparations a bit but I was able to set my fastest lap in qualifying and then made up places in the opening two races, which was a positive.
“We were able to show our pace in race three as once I was near the front, I had the speed to stay there in the top six, and I was really pleased to come away from a tough meeting with a top-five finish.
“Next up we head back to Silverstone and hopefully I can have a bit more luck than when we visited earlier in the season.”
Max Esterson (#42) said:
“There’s really not much to say about the weekend. We were in the top five in almost every session on Thursday and Friday, then a random electrical issue prevented me from setting a single lap in qualifying.
“Starting P25 in all three races, naturally, made things very difficult. Hopefully we can get a win or a podium next time at Silverstone.”
Oliver Dutton, Team Principal said:
“All in all, a tough weekend for everybody, there’s no hiding from that fact. After such good pace on Thursday and Friday, it just didn’t happen for us in qualifying, and from there it was an uphill task.
“I’m really proud of the whole team for gelling, working hard and keeping the levels high. It’s undoubtedly why we were able to make progress and score points in the races, and I think it just highlights the window those cars were in, to be passing people so easily on a circuit like Snetterton.
“Fingers crossed for more luck at Silverstone, and then we’ll see what these guys can really do.”
