Chris Dittmann Racing completed its 2022 GB3 Championship campaign at Donington Park at the weekend (October 15/16), enjoying a quartet of top ten finishes and showing strong pace to end the season on a positive note.

After an impressive showing during pre-event testing, in which Zak Taylor was the fourth fastest car on Friday, it was straight into qualifying, where he and McKenzy Cresswell would look to carry over the promising pace.

After issues kept McKenzy in the pit for the first couple of minutes of the session, he struggled to get up to speed with the rest of the pack, losing times due to track limits breaches, before hooking up a lap to finish 12th quickest. Zak crossed the line ninth quickest, setting him up well for the races.

It was a busy start to race one, with both McKenzy and Zak coming wheel to wheel with other cars in the battle to get ahead, both coming through cleanly. The former was showing strong pace before the Safety Car was deployed due to a car in the tyre wall. When racing resumed, Zak dropped back whilst McKenzy moved into eighth, but he then sustained damage to both his front and back wings, forcing him into retirement. It was better luck for Zak who took the flag in eighth, marking his first top ten finish of the weekend.

With a greasy and damp track on Sunday morning making it tricky for race two, both drivers made up a position early on, before McKenzy made forward progress into fourth and then third position. With the track drying off as the race progressed, those drivers who gambled on slicks were starting to catch up, with McKenzy being pipped to the podium by Bryce Aron. Further down the field, it was a similar story for Zak, as he managed to cross the line in tenth and bringing home another solid haul of points for the team.

Both drivers made good starts to race three, with Zak up two places into tenth and McKenzy in seventh. After ten of the planned 20 minutes had elapsed, the Safety Car was deployed, though Zak faced a sudden loss of power. Doing well to perform a complete restart on the car, he got going again but had lost nine places to run in 16th place. McKenzy was on the defence in the closing stages, as new champion Luke Browning applied pressure before getting past on the final lap, with Zak finishing 14th, having made up two places in recovery.

It was a positive weekend to wrap up Chris Dittmann Racing’s 2022 GB3 Championship campaign, with strong pace and potential reflected in the results and good driving from both McKenzy and Zak. Work on preparations for the 2023 season are already underway, with the team set to appear at the F4 British Championship’s new driver test at Snetterton over October 27/28.

McKenzy Cresswell, #8

G1 – 12, R1 – DNF
G2 – 9, R2 – 4
G3 – 9, R3 – 8

Championship: 11 (221 points)

“Qualifying wasn’t great. We decided to scrub a set of tyres, and then when we came into the box, there was a lot of smoke coming from the engine. We took a minute or two to see what the issue was, then when I eventually got out, I was a little bit flustered and under pressure, so I pushed too hard and didn’t get the time in at the end. The pace was there, I just didn’t quite hook it up which is on me, but it’s a lesson learned.

“Race one was disappointing as I didn’t get to finish. I was up to eighth from 12th on the grid then it was complete carnage and I got hit on both the front and rear wings and I got a mechanical flag and had to come in. It’s disappointing, but again, it shows we have pace. We just need some luck to come our way.

“The race two start wasn’t great; the track was quite greasy and damp to start with. Most of the grid went with wet tyres, which at the time was definitely the right choice. I dropped back to about 12th or 13th, but by the end of lap two I had made all of the places back up again, which was really promising. I was feeling really comfortable in the car, so I had the confidence to push on a bit. Towards the end it dried out to a point where the slick tyres were quicker, and my tyres were starting to drop off. I was passed on the last lap which dropped me off the podium. That was a bit disappointing, but we managed to maintain fourth, giving us some really good points.

“Race three was very eventful. I had a good start, but then my boot got stuck under the throttle pedal, so I was hampered through turn one because I was stressed that I was going to end up straight into the car in front. I lost a few positions, made one or two back up but then going through the chicane, a car in front of me spun so I had to take some avoiding action. From then onwards I was trying, but it’s quite difficult to make moves in the dirty air.”

Zak Taylor, #21

G1 – 9, R1 – 8
G2 – 11, R2 – 10
G3 – 12, R3 – 14

Championship: 18 (154.5 points)

“Testing on Friday was really strong, and we were top ten in both sessions. Qualifying was good, and it was promising to finish ninth. There was definitely the potential to be on the front row, but we just didn’t quite get a lap together like we did in practice. It’s a very competitive grid, so I’m happy with how we did in qualifying and it’s a massive improvement to where I’ve been all season.

“Race one was positive. The team and I worked hard to prepare and look at different areas we could work on to maximise the pace and I think that really helped. The pace was strong, and I made up a position to finish eighth. It’s nice to be in the top ten and I’m getting on a lot better at Chris Dittmann Racing.

“Race two was good and I finished in the top ten again. I was up into sixth at one point because we started on wets and could capitalise on the slower pace from cars in front who had chosen slicks. We started to drop down a little bit once our tyres started to wear out, but it was still a top ten, so I was happy with that.

“The last race wasn’t so good. I had everything cut out going into the Melbourne Hairpin when we were in seventh. It’s disappointing but it’s just one of those things that happen, and the rest of the weekend was positive. I’ve been super happy with the car and the team and I’m glad that they gave me the opportunity to finish the season on a high with them.”

Chris Dittmann, Team Owner

“This weekend has been a really positive end to the season. We showed really strong pace from Zak and McKenzy in testing, so qualifying was a little bit disappointing compared to that. Despite that, the pace has been there all weekend and both drivers performed really well. It was a bit unfortunate for McKenzy in race one when he couldn’t finish after being hit by a couple of different drivers, but the rest of the weekend went really well. All in all, it was a great end to the year, and we’re looking forward to what the future holds.”