Chris Dittmann Racing had a tough time at the weekend (July 30/31) as the GB3 Championship finished back-to-back race meetings on Grand Prix circuits, travelling from Spa-Francorchamps to Silverstone.
Coming into the event off the back of a successful, double podium trip to Belgium, the team was aiming to carry on that form, buoyed further by the addition of Ayrton Ori to the line-up for the rest of the season. Sadly, a closely fought qualifying session meant margins were fine and with McKenzy Cresswell and Branden Oxley unable to hook it up for a fully clean lap, while Ayrton built his knowledge, the team lined up further down the order than was hoped.
McKenzy started the opening race well, quickly gaining two places to run tenth, while Branden fought his way to 13th and Ayrton kept his nose clean running 23rd but keeping pace with the rest of the field. The race settled down after the first few tours of the ten-lap contest, though the recovering Luke Browning snatched tenth from McKenzy on lap five. Branden capitalised on lap eight to claim 12th from Alex Connor, while McKenzy closed back in on Browning who was struggling to find a way past Max Esterson but wasn’t quite able to regain the spot before the end of the race.
There was an early Safety Car in race two, as McKenzy took contact from James Hedley and was tipped into a roll, retiring from the race. Branden had to dive into the pits for a new nose cone, while Ayrton did well to avoid damage, climbing up to 16th. The pair swapped places once racing resumed with 11 minutes of the allotted 20 remaining, with Branden finishing just ahead at the flag, though he was later disqualified from the results as the stewards decided he was at fault for contact, while Ayrton was classified 15th.
Unfortunately, McKenzy wasn’t cleared by the medical staff to take part in the final race after his incident, with Ayrton starting on pole and Branden fifth. Ayrton had a slow start and slipped down the field, while Branden had a superb launch to sweep into second position but was tapped into a spin at Chapel on the opening lap and fell to the rear of the field. His pace was clear as he set rapid lap times, making his way up to 12th position at the flag, while Ayrton crossed the line 17th.
There is now a break in action during August, before GB3 Championship action resumes on the challenging Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit over the weekend of September 10/11, while the team will return to the F4 British Championship at Snetterton and Thruxton before then.
McKenzy Cresswell, #8
G1 – 12, R1 – 11
G2 – 11, R2 – DNF
G3 – DNS, R3 – DNS
Championship: 11 (166 points)
“It was a very tight qualifying, but I made a mistake when my tyres were at their peak and I spun at turn one, which I’m not very proud of. I’ve learned my lesson, I know why I spun, but that really messed up the whole session, because it knocked my confidence and then the tyres were quite flat spotted as well. There was definitely more in it for sure, we need to figure out why we keep lacking a little bit in qualifying compared to where we are in practice, but I’m sure we will get on top of it.
“In this championship, the first lap is where you make your positions up, so I made up two and then [Luke] Browning who’s been really quick this weekend managed to get past me. After that, everyone was running the exact same time pretty much, so it made the race a bit of a procession. It’s good to move forward, which lately I haven’t really been doing. We know that we have the pace to be running further up than where we are at the moment.”
Branden Oxley, #68
G1 – 16, R1 – 12
G2 – 16, R2 – DQ
G3 – 5, R3 – 12
Championship: 13 (136 points)
“It was very difficult at the start of the weekend because my car had an issue, but luckily, we found it before race one and I did some good lap times. I got stuck behind [Alex] Connor and in the dirty air it’s very difficult to overtake. I eventually forced him into an error and then I caught up the pack within two laps. I think I covered three seconds in two laps or something like that.
“It’s not easy to follow cars at Silverstone and I had to really adapt and figure out a way to get closer without washing off track. I think it was a good race and I did pretty much the best I could. He [Connor] knew I was a lot quicker through turn one, but every lap I was getting closer and I think he felt like he had to find some more time and went off onto the grass at Copse.
“I got disqualified from race two for an incident with Zak [Taylor]. I had a bit more damage than I thought and ran wide and hit him. I went for a move because I had a lot more pace than him, but I just got a bit too greedy a bit too early. The move was definitely on, but I didn’t really compensate for the amount of damage I had from the start.
“I left everyone behind at the start of race three. I started to chase Zak and had so much more pace than anyone else. I was just switching back on Zak to get a run on him down the straight and I didn’t even see anyone in my mirrors. I was very shocked to be sideways, I thought someone propelled off the track into me because I thought there was no one behind me. I had to storm through but just there were yellow flags on the last few laps everywhere that I could overtake so that definitely stopped my progress and I could have taken maybe four or five more positions.”
Ayrton Ori, #12
G1 – 20, R1 – 23
G2 – 20, R2 – 18
G3 – 1, R3 – 17
Championship: 23 (3 points)
“I was a bit disappointed with the first race and I would have liked to go forward some positions. I kind of let the field go away from me but I was definitely ready to make moves in races two and three. I was kind of gutted with how race one went, so I knew I would have to study more and prepare myself better for the rest of the weekend.
“I’m just really disappointed in the way I’ve been driving. Hopefully in six weeks’ time I will have beat it into my head enough to drive faster and be more aggressive in my driving because I’m not doing as well as I know I can. I’ll work on my strength, refocus, and come back in September in a better place to show what I can do.”
