Double podium delight for Chris Dittmann Racing at Spa-Francorchamps

Chris Dittmann Racing enjoyed its best weekend of the season so far as the GB3 Championship visited the fabled Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium at the weekend (July 22-24) as Branden Oxley and McKenzy Cresswell claimed podium finishes.

Both cars performed well during Friday’s test sessions and that form continued into qualifying, as Branden ran towards the top of the field for much of the session, before being shuffled down in the closing stages, though his efforts would mean he lined up on the front row for the second race. McKenzy was consistent, recording the sixth quickest time for both contests, leaving both drivers in a good position.

There was drama on the opening lap of race one as contact between several cars coming out of La Source caused the Safety Car to be called. Once racing resumed, McKenzy yielded to Bryce Aron and, while trying to tuck back in for the slipstream down the hill, found his front wing coming into contact with Aron’s rear wheel, necessitating a slow lap before pitting for a fresh nose.

Ahead, Branden enjoyed a good run and ongoing battles with Max Esterson and Tom Lebbon. Coming out ahead of both on the last lap, a late track limits penalty for Cian Shields meant he was classified a well-earned third for his second podium of the season.

Branden had a superb start to race two, claiming the lead into La Source, but came under pressure with the slipstream as the field headed to Les Combes. Trying to hold on around the outside, he was forced wide by Joel Granfors which sent him off across the re-entry kerbs, causing his car to bounce, slide, and ultimately retire with damage.

McKenzy meanwhile, fared better as he slipped back to eighth while avoiding the drama – also getting a face full of gravel for good measure – but soon settled down and made his way through the field. Claiming fourth on the sixth of nine laps, he was closing in on Max Esterson, crossing the line just 1.3s behind, but a post-race penalty for Granfors meant he was classified third, for his maiden series podium.

The final contest of the weekend was an unusual affair with lots of incidents affecting the outcome of the race. Branden started well once again, gaining seven places while McKenzy had a tougher time, running 19th, before a Safety Car was called which turned into a red flag as David Morales had a big incident, though was thankfully only shaken by the impact.

The race resumed as a ten-minute affair albeit behind the Safety Car, so there were only six minutes to run once the track went green. However, with Mikkel Grundtvig sliding into the gravel and Javier Sagrera sustaining front wing damage, the Safety Car was called out again, with the race finishing under caution, Branden in tenth and McKenzy 16th.

There would be a further drama post-race, as it transpired that the cars had not been set in the correct position on the grid for the re-start. Due of this, the stewards reported that the result of the race would have to be taken from the end of the last full racing lap before the red flag, with the classification reverting to the order at the end of the opening lap, nullifying both drivers’ efforts.

Despite that, it was a superb weekend for the team with strong qualifying pace transferring to a pair of podiums and giving everyone a boost ahead of the next three rounds of the season which take place at Silverstone this weekend (July 29-31).

McKenzy Cresswell, #8

G1 – 6, R1 – 18
G2 – 6, R2 – 3
G3 – 17, R3 – 20

Championship: 9 (156 points)

“It’s much nicer being up the front end of the grid. We’ve made a massive jump from the first half of the season, so the second half looks promising. From my point of view in race one, [Bryce] Aron had a good restart, got up the inside at La Source and then drifted a little bit wide. I probably tucked in a little bit too quickly and clipped my wing, so I don’t really think it was his fault, it was just a racing incident. I didn’t expect him to overtake me there, I thought he was just going to stay behind and try and get me up the straight.

“I am delighted with the result of race two, but my helmet is ruined thanks to gravel chips, so there’s only so much I can be happy about! On the first lap there was carnage at Les Combes. I went right to avoid it and then I just got put onto the gravel. I maybe should have seen it coming, given everything kicked off on the inside, but went through and I was P8. I then managed to bring myself back up, had good pace, and was reeling in the podium. It was a nice reward to get my first podium of the season after the penalties were handed out and it’s a great reward for the team with both Branden and I getting trophies. I’m quite pleased with that, it was certainly a lot better than race one and the car was mega, so I have to thank everyone at Chris Dittmann Racing who have worked so hard for us. The car is in a really good place, we know the pace is there, and we’re looking forward now which is really positive.

“I didn’t have a great start to race three, so I lost a few places. I started to fight my way back up, but the red flag came out and I didn’t have the time to continue gaining places. I made my life a bit hard for myself and there weren’t many racing laps to recover, though it didn’t matter in the end. There have been positives this weekend and the pace is strong. The team and I will keep working hard at Silverstone to continue the form.”

Branden Oxley, #68

G1 – 7, R1 – 3
G2 – 2, R2 – DNF
G3 – 16, R3 – 19

Championship: 13 (123 points)

“We’ve got our things together this weekend and that’s all it took. It’s a team effort, everyone played their part, and everyone has done very well this weekend. We still have a bit of a gap to P1 so we’re still chasing, but we’re happy with our progress. It was tough. It was definitely tough. Race one was not an easy one. The first two laps were all right as we had lot of pace but after that, it was a bit tough to hang on.

“My start to race two was great. I knew I would have a good start, but it was better than I expected! I ended up quite far ahead but being first going to Les Combes is hard because you don’t have the slipstream, so everyone came past. I got the tow back from Luke [Browning] and [Joel] Granfors, I got alongside Granfors and two didn’t go into one that time. I re-joined the track and hit the entry kerb, bounced and had no control really, so it was a shame.

“We only had three laps of racing in the third race. I lost some places at the start as I didn’t have the grip in the tyres, but then the car came to life, and I started to take places here and there and in one lap I made up three places. The race was just getting started and then there was a car in the wall and a red flag which hurt me because there were maybe three cars ahead of me who had front wing damage so they could replace them. We spent most of the time behind the Safety Car, so that was pretty much it, but then the result went back to lap one anyway. It’s been a good trip out for everyone with two podiums, so we’ll try to keep this up at Silverstone next weekend.”

About the author: Jamie