Fortec Motorsport banked decent points on a rain-affected trip to Silverstone in the GB3 Championship partnered by the BRDC last weekend [29-30 July].
The Daventry-based team arrived in confident form at the 3.6-mile Northamptonshire venue, eager to bounce back after technical problems induced a character-building trip to Snetterton last time out.
Despite promising pace during pre-event testing, qualifying proved to be the team’s Achilles heel once again. South African talent Jarrod Waberski was the leading car in tenth, with team-mates Max Esterson and Edward Pearson down in P18 and P20 respectively.
In race trim, however, the comeback was on. Esterson was on fine form in the opening contest, charging eight places up the order to round out the top ten, including five spots in the opening lap alone. He would have been joined by Waberski, but for unfortunate gearbox issues, which consigned him to the pit lane.
Some tweaks to the cars between races paid dividends for the team’s trio in race two. Waberski was the main beneficiary and took a fine seventh. Esterson was once again on the move, the US racer repeating his overtaking heroics from the day prior to claim ninth.
After finishing P20, then P19 in the first two races, the reverse grid race offered an opportunity for Pearson to star, with the Brit out for a repeat of his podium-scoring antics at Oulton Park earlier in the campaign from the sharp end of the grid.
But that race would never come. Heavy rainfall plagued Silverstone on Sunday afternoon and, despite an initial attempt to start the race behind the safety car, the contest was halted, then eventually cancelled on safety grounds. It remains to be confirmed whether it will be held at a later event.
Waberski’s efforts over the weekend have moved him up the order in the championship, now into P9. Esterson strengthened his position in P13, with Pearson P20.
Fortec Motorsport remain in sixth in the Teams’ standings, with the series set to reconvene at Brands Hatch’s iconic Grand Prix circuit on 8-9 September.
Jarrod Waberski (#20) said:
“Overall, it was a positive weekend in terms of where we stand with the car, and the pace within it.
“We had great race pace in both races, it’s just unfortunate we had the gearbox issue in Race 1. Thanks to the whole team for their hard work across the weekend.”
Edward Pearson (#41) said:
“It’s been a really good weekend; I think that we learnt a lot through the weekend. It possibly didn’t show in the results, but we’ve gotten faster throughout the weekend and we definitely have the pace for the top ten.
“I’m really happy with what we’ve learnt at Silverstone and hopefully we can carry it over to Brands Hatch.”
Max Esterson (#42) said:
“We had a good bounce back after qualifying and made some nice overtakes in the races.
“We’ll work hard to make sure we start up front next time out at Brands Hatch. Thanks to the team for continuing to push hard throughout a tough weekend.”
Oliver Dutton, Team Principal said:
“I think it would be fair to say we had higher hopes for Silverstone this weekend, but we’ve scored decent points, and I think it’s important to put it in perspective – had that last race gone ahead, there’s every chance we’d be going home with some silverware.
“Qualifying put us in a bit of a corner, but I was really pleased with how the guys battled back – Max in particular was absolutely on fire. Jarrod was also able to bank some decent points after a tricky Snett last time out, so it’s good to get him moving back in the right direction.
“We’re really pleased with how Edward is developing as a driver, and ultimately, I think he’d have had the chance to end the weekend on a high note after two tough races, but the rain put pay to that.
“We’ve got another four-week break for GB3 now, so plenty of opportunity to go over everything and ensure we come back in better shape at Brands GP.”
