Chris Dittmann Racing showed its promise on what was a tricky visit to Donington Park in the GB3 Championship at the weekend (September 7/8).
With two days of test sessions to prepare, Seb Murray worked his way up the finishing order, as did Jacob Douglas – returning for his second meeting with the team.
Unfortunately, there was bad news overnight on Thursday, as Flynn Jackes suffered a broken leg in a traffic incident, which will rule him out of any further racing action in 2024. We wish him a speedy recovery and send our thanks to the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.
Conditions were wet for qualifying on Saturday, making it a challenge for Seb and Jacob, with the former left frustrated when the red flag was shown to end the session early as he was on his fastest lap, ending with an unrepresentative time.
That made it challenging to move forward in the races, as the opening 20-minute contest took place on a damp but drying track with the field on slick tyres. Midway through the race, Seb was up to 14th with Jacob 19th, and at the flag both gained further places, finishing 13th and 17th.
On Sunday morning the rain had eased for the second race, however the track was still damp in places and drying. On the opening lap Seb ran wide at McLeans, dropping down to the back of the field, while Jacob was battling with the car ahead, ultimately taking the flag 19th, one place ahead of his teammate.
The sun made an appearance for the final race of the weekend, with the track fully dry. Seb made up some early ground but once the field settled in overtaking was at a premium, the young Scot finishing 16th with Jacob 19th.
While the results didn’t reflect the team’s true pace, there were plenty of learning experiences for the drivers, and everyone is now looking ahead to the final rounds of the 2024 season at Brands Hatch, over September 28/29.
Seb Murray, #91
G1 – 19, R1 – 13
G2 – 19, R2 – 20
G3 – 19, R3 – 16
Championship: 18 (97 Points)
“We had two really nice, dry days on Thursday and Friday with lots of running, which was good. We had consistent top 10 and top five pace, and it looked like it was going to be a really promising weekend, but the tables turned, and it chucked it down for qualifying. The red flag came out, just as I was going to put a lop together, which really messed up the rest of our weekend, setting us at the back of the pack, which gave me a lot of work to do. Race one was good as I made my way up to P13 towards the end. In race two I had a good start but then an unfortunate incident on the first lap, which set me to the back of the pack but luckily not retiring. In race three one was overtaking because the dirty air was so bad, but there are a lot of positives to take from this weekend. We showed lot of really good pace in both dry and wet conditions – we just didn’t get the results we wanted.”
Jacob Douglas, #9
G1 – 20, R1 – 17
G2 – 20, R2 – 19
G3 – 20, R3 – 19
“We had a bit of everything this weekend. We were chipping away and making lots of progress with myself in the car throughout practice and we were optimistic for qualifying, but unfortunately, the rain came, and I just didn’t quite put it together. That put us way at the back and then I didn’t manage to move forward a whole lot in the races with all the challenging conditions. Overall, it was still a great experience, and I’ve really enjoyed it. Donington Park is a great track, and I am super thankful to Chris Dittmann for the opportunity.”
