Fortec Motorsports once again showed its strong race pace in the GB3 Championship, as Colin Queen and Ed Pearson gained 37 positions between them over three races at Zandvoort.
The series made its third and final visit to a European venue, travelling to the home of the Dutch Grand Prix, where mixed weather conditions kept teams and drivers guessing across all four days of testing, practice, qualifying, and racing.
Unfortunately, in qualifying held under wet conditions, the one lap pace didn’t quite show itself, but the drivers would be able to make forward gains in every contest. For the opening race of the weekend, held later Saturday afternoon, the track was dry, but rain fell across most of the circuit during the formation lap, adding an extra challenge for the field.
Ed gambled at the end of the first lap, switching to wets, but with the rain only intermittently falling, his tyres weren’t ideal for the conditions. Colin gained five places to run ninth and, showing good speed, he moved into eighth and was battling for positions throughout, almost gaining fifth after a brief Safety Car. He dropped one spot towards the end but crossed the line a good seventh on his Zandvoort debut.
Both drivers were on the move for race two, held under sunny skies on Sunday morning. After an incident off the line, the contest was restarted and Colin gained five places to run seventh when the Safety Car was called, with Ed up to 13th. When the track went green once again, Colin moved into sixth, then fifth, crossing the line fourth for his best GB3 Championship result, despite running on older tyres. Ed also drove well, moving up to eighth to make it a strong pair of results for the team.
In the final race, both drivers again went forwards, Ed gaining six places to cross the line 13th, while Colin moved forward four spots in one bold move, capitalising when contact caused cars ahead to slow. He hugged the pit wall and braked late, holding the place into the first corner, and held on for ninth position at the flag. Sadly, after the race the team inadvertently breached parc fermé conditions, with both cars disqualified from the final classification.
The team will be back out in the GB3 Championship in a fortnights’ time for three more races on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit – making it five straight meetings at Formula 1 venues – over the weekend of July 26-28.
Colin Queen #62
Race 1: Start – 14, Result – 7
Race 2: Start – 12, Result – 4
Race 3: Start – 13, Result – DSQ
Championship: 13 (122 points)
“We very nearly got a podium which would have been the cherry on top of the second race. We’ve had strong runs in Hungary and at Zandvoort, we just need to get qualifying dialled in. We didn’t put it together in the rain on Saturday morning, but that is all that is holding us back from really, really good results. The car gives confidence so you can get your head down and focus on the next corner and next person to pass. The last race was hectic – I had a poor launch off the line, held my ground for a while, but some contact helped me run up the wall and go four wide, taking all those positions. It was a good weekend for sure. Once we dial in qualifying, we know we will be up there.”
Ed Pearson #41
Race 1: Start – 19, Result – 17
Race 2: Start – 18, Result – 8
Race 3: Start – 19, Result – DSQ
Championship: 17 (83 points)
“As a whole we have upgraded our race pace, but we just need to nail qualifying. Colin did a great job to get up there so he could fight in the races. In race one we went for a gamble which didn’t work, but that’s racing, and you have to try things like that when you are that far back. If it had kept on raining, I could have won, so you never know. Race two was really good, getting up to eighth which was a good show and we had good pace. In race three Hedley did a good job backing me up and defending, and if I was let go I could have been in the top 10.”
