Written by Archie O’Reilly
DIVEBOMB-sponsored driver John Bennett picked up his second career GB3 Championship win for JHR Developments at the conclusion of the series’ European swing at Zandvoort.
It has been a successful European tour for Bennett, who finished on the podium twice at Spa before a further third-place finish in the opening race at the Hungaroring. He also made strong headway in the two remaining races in Hungary, progressing up from eighth and 10th to finish sixth and seventh.
With three rounds remaining, he sits fourth in the championship standings. Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Tymek Kucharczyk leads the way, 35 points ahead of Bennett. Rodin Motorsport’s Louis Sharp is only 15 points ahead in second, with Hitech’s Will Macintyre two points further towards Bennett.
Bennett was competitive from the outset at Zandvoort, where he recently made his Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine debut. He placed inside the top eight in each of the six test or practice sessions ahead of the weekend - momentum that continued on into qualifying.
Regardless of the mixed conditions wreaking havoc through the early part of the weekend, Bennett always found himself at the front. He has shown to excel in wet conditions, which were present in qualifying as he notched pole position for both non-reverse grid races with the quickest lap of the session and best second-fastest lap too.
It was the second time Bennett has taken double pole after Silverstone last year and increased his pole tally to five following his recent pole for the second race at Spa.
The opening race of the weekend, run on Saturday in the hours after qualifying, started in dry conditions and was run on slick tyres. But the drivers were presented with one of the most challenging races they would encounter as rain fell sporadically at different points on the circuit.
Nonetheless, Bennett managed to fend off second-place starter Kucharczyk into the first corner and commanded the trickiest portion of the race on the greasy track surface as battles ensued behind. A late-race safety did introduce some jeopardy for Bennett, though he controlled the restart and never ended up falling under significant threat.
Starting from pole again in Sunday’s opening race, Bennett had the opportunity to build on the second career GB3 victory taken the day prior. A first-lap incident, from which all drivers emerged unharmed, saw the race red-flagged and offered a second chance for Bennett after initially dropping a few positions. He would go on to drop down to third on the second start.
Unfortunately, a collision with Sharp saw Bennett sustain wing damage, putting him out of contention for another podium. This earned him a five-race grid penalty for the third race, for which he would have started 12th after the top 12 from the qualifying order was reversed.
Bennett managed to end the weekend in strong fashion, progressing from starting 17th in the third race to notch an 11th top-10 finish of the season.
“Really strong weekend - double pole and a dominant win in Race One, as well as gaining the most positions on the grid for Race Three,” he said. “I made an error in Race Two, losing my front wing, which sadly hurt the weekend. However, there are still many positives to take with us to Silverstone.”
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