Chris Dittmann Racing’s refreshed line-up heads to the Snetterton 300 circuit in Norfolk this weekend (7-8 August) for the fifth event of the year for the renamed GB3 Championship.
Formerly the BRDC British F3 Championship, GB3 remains the country’s top single-seater racing category and CDR’s duo of Ayrton Simmons and newcomer Branden Lee Oxley are aiming for a strong weekend as the second half of the season gets underway.
Simmons heads to East Anglia with a decent record at the third longest circuit of the year, having taken a fourth and fifth place finish on his last visit to the track two years ago. The British driver has two victories to his name already this season and sits seventh overall in the championship standings at the halfway stage.
Oxley meanwhile will drive the team’s Tatuus-Mountune GB3 car for the first time in pre-event testing on Thursday, and has never raced at the venue, or indeed, the UK before. He is however fully race sharp, having competed for three straight weekends across Spanish F4 and EuroFormula at F1 venues Portimao, Imola and the Spanish Motorland Aragon venue.
Team Principal Chris Dittmann commented: “We’re looking forward to starting the second half of the season this weekend and getting our new-look line-up working together. With Ayrton we know he’ll be giving it his all, it’s his first time at the circuit in over two years, so testing on Thursday and Friday will be all about getting back up to speed ahead of what will hopefully be a successful weekend.
“For Branden, this weekend is all about learning about the car and how the championship operates. It’s a going to be a challenge entering a series as competitive as this halfway through the year, but from what we’ve seen from him so far, we are confident that he will get closer to the pace with every lap.
“As a team, we’d also like to say thank you to Max Marzorati for all his efforts in the first half of the year, and we’d love to see him back with us when the opportunity presents itself.”
Simmons said: “I’m looking forward to this weekend, Snetterton is one of my favourite circuits of the season.
“We’ve had good results there in the past and we know we’ve been quick so our aim for this weekend is to be fast straight out of the box and be chasing little bits here and there. It’s another opportunity for us to bounce back and try and get back to where me and the team belong.”
Oxley said: “I can’t wait to get the weekend started at Snetterton with the team. I’ve spent time on the simulator to start building a rhythm as it’s a new car and track for me. It’ll be a challenging weekend but definitely lots of learning and adapting, so I’ll be focused on the task ahead to keep progressing. The weather forecasts rain which is always interesting and will allow me to improve in all conditions.”
The event starts with four test sessions on Thursday, two on Friday and then qualifying on Saturday at 10.40am. The first race follows that at 13.45, with two further contests at 12.25 and 15.00 on Sunday. Live timing will be accessible via the official GB3 website while the Sunday races will be live streamed too.
