A win, a podium and fifth place in the reverse-grid race sees Louis Sharp leave the opening GB3 round at Oulton Park with the championship lead.
Having qualified on pole to win Saturday’s opener, the Kiwi Rodin Motorsport driver again started at the front for Monday’s opener to come home in second despite taking late-race contact from Tymek Kucharczyk.
Sharp had led the field away under Safety Car in tricky conditions with rain falling and remained at the front until the next interruption when Rishab Jain ran off at Old Hall.
John Bennett, who had challenged the Kiwi for the win in Race 1, made his move shortly after the ensuing restart. Braving the conditions, he ran around the outside at the top-speed Island Bend before completing the move at the following Shell hairpin.
JHR Developments’ driver pulled a gap at the front as Sharp was forced to keep Kucharczyk at bay, with the latter attempting a late move at Lodge and running into the rear of the Rodin entry. Sharp continued and held second while Kucharczyk ran through the gravel, losing his front wing, which led to his retirement on the final lap.
McKenzy Cresswell moved into the podium places as further incidents unfolded behind.
Bennett’s advantage at the chequered flag was 2.89 seconds over Sharp, with a further 4.2 seconds back to Cresswell, who completed the podium.
“It’s not a bad start,” Sharp said following the race. “This race was a little bit frustrating. The first safety car, the first start was quite good. I built up a nice gap, but on the second restart, I was really struggling for grip there, so I couldn’t quite keep up with the guys around me.
“I made a bit of a mistake trying to get on the power into Turn 2 and gave John a chance to get around me. At that point, I probably could’ve been more aggressive to try and stay ahead, but to be honest, I’m thinking about the championship at this stage.
“I’ve learnt from my mistakes in British F4 last year, it’s not about winning every race, especially in this championship, you’ve just got to have consistent podiums and top-five finishes. It would’ve been nice to get a win, but with a P2, I can’t complain too much.
“It was very tricky. The track was a lot wetter than what me and the team were expecting so I don’t think we were fully optimised to these conditions. There’s a bit we’ve got to do to get the car into a slightly better window in the last race, but I’m confident the team will know what to do.
“It was tough. The visibility was obviously very poor, and it was very slippery. Each corner was like driving on ice. It was tough. Like I said on Saturday, I was just trying to avoid making any mistakes and keep it as clean as possible.”
With the top 12 from qualifying reversed on the grid for the weekend’s final race, Sharp lined up sixth in even wetter track conditions. He made a great start and was up to eighth by the end of the first circuit, and another place was gained on Lap 2. With so much spray lifted by the cars ahead, further progress was difficult.
However, with two of those in front suffering technical issues, Sharp splashed past the chequered flag in fifth to lead the championship after a sensational debut weekend in GB3.
Bennett going backwards and finishing 14th hands the Kiwi a healthy 15-point advantage over Rodin Motorsport teammate Ugo Ugochukwu at the conclusion of the round.
“I’ve got to be pleased with fifth in the final race,” he confirmed. I got a great start, but once the race settled down, the visibility was so poor that it just became impossible to overtake anyone in front.
“Overall, it has been a really encouraging weekend, and I’ve got to give a big thank you to the Rodin Motorsport team for everything they’ve done in preparation for the season,” he acknowledged.
“I can’t really have asked for a better start to my first year in GB3. It was obviously great to score a win in my very first race, and it is even better now to be leading the championship. There is, of course, still a long way to go, but we can take lots of positives from this promising start, and I’m already looking to build on these results when we get to Silverstone.”
The next five rounds of the GB3 Championship are held on Grand Prix circuits, beginning with an outing at Silverstone on 27/28 April before a trip to Spa-Francorchamps on 1/2 June.
