by Simon Paice | Feb 17, 2023 | F3 News
Douglas Motorsport have signed Polish ace Tymek Kucharczyk as their latest driver for the 2023 GB3 Championship.
Kucharczyk is an exciting addition to the Northamptonshire team’s talented line-up for the upcoming campaign, with the 16-year-old racer having shined on his single-seater debut last season after a number of successful years competing in World Series Karting.
The young starlet, who races with the support of key partner PKN ORLEN, competed in the F4 Spanish Championship last year. He burst on to the scene with a stunning run of five podium finishes in a row to start the campaign, including a maiden win in only his second event at Jerez.
Kucharczyk went on to accumulate 12 podium finishes across the season, results that secured him third overall in the championship standings and second in the Rookie Trophy, in the process highlighting him as one to watch as he steps up to GB3 this season.
Wayne Douglas – Team Principal: “Tymek [Kucharczyk] produced some very impressive performances in Spanish F4 last season, so we’re delighted to get him in our line-up for the 2023 GB3 Championship. We’re sure he’ll have a very competitive year and enjoy some great results.”
Tymek Kucharczyk: “I am very happy and grateful that in 2023 I will be competing in the GB3 Championship. It would not be possible without the support of people close to me and my loyal partners.
”Racing an F3 class car in Great Britain is another important step in my career. Looking back, I will follow many great names such as my hero Ayrton Senna, who won in British F3 on his way to Formula 1.
”I would like to thank Wayne Douglas and his Douglas Motorsport team for the faith they have in me. I will work hard and give everything I have to perform well in this new chapter.”
The GB3 Championship is the pinnacle of the UK single-seater ladder, competing at the biggest race circuits across the country and further afield. The series is watched around the world courtesy of free live online streaming of its races.
Douglas Motorsport debuted in the championship back in 2013 and have been a permanent fixture on the grid since. Mounting multiple title challenges through the years, they have secured more than 20 race wins and 80 podium finishes in the series.
by Simon Paice | Feb 10, 2023 | F3 News
Leading British single-seater team Douglas Motorsport have signed up Brazilian rising star Lucas Staico for the 2023 GB3 Championship.
The Northamptonshire team head into their 11th consecutive season in the UK’s premier single-seater championship off the back of a successful 2022 campaign, in which all three of their drivers took race wins and secured a total of seven podium finishes.
An incredible karting career for Staico saw him win more than twenty titles across Brazil and South America, before he stepped up to single-seaters last year to contest the inaugural season of the F4 Brazilian Championship.
A phenomenal debut campaign saw the 17 year old finish as the overall runner-up in the championship. Nine podium finishes across the season included three race wins, with two of those successes coming at Interlagos, the home of the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Wayne Douglas – Team Principal: “We’re thrilled to get the opportunity to race with Lucas [Staico] this season. He really made a name for himself in Brazilian F4 last year and has a huge amount of potential, so we’re confident he’ll be one to watch once he gets up to speed in GB3.”
Lucas Staico: “I’m delighted to be part of the Douglas Motorsport team and I’m looking forward to giving my best on and off track! It’s a high-level championship and I think it’s the right way to start my journey in Europe.”
The GB3 Championship is the pinnacle of the UK single-seater ladder, competing at the biggest race circuits across the country and further afield. The series is watched around the world courtesy of free live online streaming of its races.
Douglas Motorsport debuted in the championship back in 2013 and have been a permanent fixture on the grid since. Mounting multiple title challenges through the years, they have secured more than 20 race wins and 80 podium finishes in the series.
by Simon Paice | Feb 8, 2023 | F3 News
American talent Shawn Rashid has joined Douglas Motorsport’s driver line-up for the 2023 GB3 Championship.
The 26 year old talent is set to be one to watch this season as he makes his GB3 debut, having only started his single-seater career last year with a brilliant campaign in the Avon Tyres National Formula Ford Championship with Team Ammonite.
Rashid, who lived in California before moving to the UK to race, was a regular visitor to the rookie class podium all year. Breaking into the overall top three late in the season, he recorded four podiums in the final six races including a maiden win at Brands Hatch.
The Atlanta native also contested the two big prestigious end-of-year Formula Ford events, showing promising pace in the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone before taking a dominant heat win in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch.
Wayne Douglas – Team Principal: “Shawn [Rashid] is a great prospect and we’re looking forward to working with him. He put in some great performances in Formula Ford last season and while it’s a big step up to GB3 in only his second season of racing, we’re confident that with a strong testing programme he’ll be ready to hit the ground running for the opening event.”
Shawn Rashid: “I am thrilled to be a part of the 2023 GB3 Championship with Douglas Motorsport. The road to this moment has been long and gruelling, with no days off since the end of my 2022 season in the Formula Ford. The anticipation of getting back on track with my fellow competitors is electrifying.
“My relentless work ethic and passion, combined with Douglas Motorsport’s prestige and history, are sure to result in something truly special this year. I am blessed to be a part of this journey and can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
The GB3 Championship is the pinnacle of the UK single-seater ladder, competing at the biggest race circuits across the country and further afield. The series is watched around the world courtesy of free live online streaming of its races.
Douglas Motorsport debuted in the championship back in 2013 and have been a permanent fixture on the grid since. Mounting multiple title challenges through the years, they have secured more than 20 race wins and 80 podium finishes in the series.
by Simon Paice | Nov 1, 2022 | F3 News
This year’s intake of Team USA Scholarship drivers sampled GB3 machinery with Douglas Motorsport at Bedford Autodrome yesterday (Monday), as the young contenders continued their exploration of the UK racing scene.
Elliott Budzinski, Thomas Schrage and William Ferguson have spent the past few weeks in the UK, competing in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and are now gearing up for the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone this weekend (5-6 November).
17-year-old Schrage was the highest-placed of the three at Brands Hatch, having registered fourth place in the curtailed final, which was won by former Team USA contender Max Esterson, who raced and won in GB3 with Douglas this year.
A gap in their schedule allowed the trio to get behind the wheel of Douglas Motorsport’s Tatuus MSV-022 GB3 cars, which represent a big step up from the Formula Fords they are used to thanks to considerable increases in horsepower and downforce.
FRP F1600 Championship championship-winner Schrage said: “I had a fantastic time at Bedford Autodrome with Douglas Motorsport turning laps in their GB3 Championship car. Being my first time in a car with aero, it definitely did not disappoint.
“Huge thanks to Jeremy Shaw, the Team USA Scholarship and all the Team USA supporters and partners for organising today’s test and allowing me to step into a GB3 car for the first time! Also, thank you to the Douglas Motorsport crew including Wayne Douglas and Gemma for making today so amazing!”
Karting graduate and SCCA June Sprints Formula F winner Budzinski commented: “Firstly, I cannot thank Douglas Motorsport, Gemma [Stevenson], and Wayne [Douglas] enough for allowing us to do some laps in their cars. It’s a big contrast from these to the Formula Ford, so definitely took a bit to get used to.
“For me downforce isn’t something I’ve experienced before and wow, to think a car could do that! All in all though, I think it went quite well and I was super excited to try my hand in something with a bit more horsepower!”
Canadian Formula 1600 Championship runner-up Ferguson added: “Wow! What an awesome way to start off the week. The Team USA boys and I got to do a few laps in a GB3 car with Douglas Motorsport at Bedford.
“We all got comfortable with the car pretty quickly and had a lot of fun pushing the limits. The Douglas crew, Wayne, Gemma and Alex were very welcoming to us and we had a very enjoyable day. The taster has definitely opened my eyes to racing in the UK and I’m looking forward to moving up in the future!”
A Team USA Scholarship driver has graduated into GB3 from the scheme across the past two seasons, with the trio looking to follow in the footsteps of Bryce Aron and Esterson, who both won GB3 races this year.
Douglas Motorsport Team Principal Wayne Douglas reckons each of this year’s trio has the potential to continue moving up the ladder, based on their performance at Bedford Autodrome.
“We are thrilled to have continued our partnership with the Team USA Scholarship and given the opportunity to Elliott, William and Thomas to test a GB3 Championship car,” he said.
“We were very impressed by how each of them adapted to the car and it’s clear they have a lot of potential for the future.”
Story produced by the GB3 Championship media team.
by Simon Paice | Aug 1, 2022 | F3 News
Douglas Motorsport scored their latest win of the 2022 GB3 Championship season last weekend (30/31 July) after Marcos Flack surged to his maiden victory in the final race of the meeting at Silverstone.
Fresh from a superb second win of the season a week prior at Spa-Francorchamps, the team made the trip to Silverstone for the second time this season hoping to continue their fine form and push for the overall championship, with American Max Esterson sitting third in the standings after five meetings.
The team again showed their cards in practice with some solid pace throughout a total of seven test sessions held across both Thursday and Friday in the run-up to the main event. Esterson headed the charge along with his Australian team-mates Flack and Tommy Smith, the latter having won the final race last time out in Belgium.
Douglas Motorsport turned their focus to a good qualifying on Saturday morning to set themselves up for the weekend’s three sprint races. Esterson could only come away with ninth place on the grid in a mightily close qualifying session, sitting a mere 0.5s off pole position. Flack and Smith were both just within 1.1s away from the ultimate best time, yet would have to fight back from 15th and 17th respectively despite their solid performances.
The opening 10-lap contest of the weekend took place later that afternoon, which would be another close race with not much in the way of overtaking opportunities around the high-speed 3.6-mile GP circuit. Esterson would hold his position of ninth until the chequered flag as he held off the attentions of championship leader Luke Browning, Smith and Flack stuck in the pack further down the order with the latter succumbing to a track limits penalty.
Race two would be relatively undramatic, but a frenetic finish and several yellow flag infringements for drivers around them bumped the Douglas Motorsport trio up the order. Esterson took the best finish of 10th, Flack recovering two spots to 13th and Smith improving four places to 16th.
Two Douglas Motorsport cars started further up the order for race three, and it was Flack who took full advantage of the situation. A superb first lap put him up to third place, evading a squabble ahead before passing team-mate Smith for second at Stowe.
The chase continued, and the young Aussie made his way up the inside of leader Zak Taylor at Brooklands to move into the race lead, after which he proceeded to confidently pull away on course to achieving his first ever GB3 victory and the third of the year for Douglas Motorsport.
Smith fought hard throughout the aggressive contest, taking seventh place by the chequered flag while Esterson was taken out in the pack late on during his recovery from 12th on the grid.
A strong weekend keeps the Douglas Motorsport squad fifth in the Teams’ Championship as the series next heads to Brands Hatch GP circuit over the weekend of 10/11 September.
“A great way to end the weekend after a difficult start in such a close qualifying session. We were within 1.1 seconds as a team and yet we had to recover lost ground in the earlier races. The final race was a great outcome after we made the moves early on and pulled clear, so now all three drivers have had a taste of victory this year which gives us confidence for hopefully more success at Brands Hatch.”
Team Principal
“I managed to jump everybody on the first lap and from then we were gone really. A great end to the weekend. We couldn’t do much more and pushed to pull away. It’s good to get on the podium and walk away with a trophy.”
“In race one I got a good launch off the line but got boxed in and couldn’t move forward on lap one as it’s tough the pass. It was a decent race otherwise and we fought hard to hold onto ninth. In race two, I kept my nose clean and salvaged some points by finishing, and the team have ended well.”
“It was actually alright as qualifying I thought was much better from my side. We were only 1.1 off pole, but the whole field is getting closer. From where we were we made good progress too. The last race was madness, and really full on but we scored good points.”
by Simon Paice | Jul 25, 2022 | F3 News
Douglas Motorsport added a brilliant second win of their 2022 GB3 Championship season thanks to Tommy Smith and took another podium finish with Max Esterson at the picturesque Spa-Francorchamps circuit this past weekend (23/24 July).
The team travelled to the 3.5-mile grand prix circuit off the back of their fourth podium finish of the season at Snetterton, with drivers Marcos Flack, Tommy Smith and Max Esterson all now having claimed silverware for the team across the opening four meetings – including a superb win at Donington Park for the latter.
With experience from testing at the Belgian circuit already under their belts with the new Tatuus MSV-022 chassis being used this year, the team entered the latest three races with high hopes of fighting for more trophies and maintaining their title push. Testing on Friday seemed to point towards strong pace once again with Esterson inside the top three on each occasion, as drivers focused their attentions towards qualifying later that afternoon.
What followed was a tight session, with Esterson the highest placed of the Douglas Motorsport trio in an competitive third place on the grid for race one. Team-mates Flack and Smith were hindered by a red flag in the closing stages as the two Aussie stars looked to take advantage of their tyre performance, but had their runs cut short by the stoppage which left them an unrepresentative 15th and 21st respectively.
Saturday played host to the first two races of three in the Ardennes, with a potential second victory of the season within range for the team as the lights went out for race one. Esterson held his ground in third initially, but fell to sixth on a safety car restart following an early accident behind. The American fought back however to pass Javier Sagrera for fifth, taking another spot at the chequered flag for fourth place, while further back there were sterling recovery drives from both Flack and Smith to climb five and six places higher than their original grid slots – Flack rounding out the top 10.
Although starting a spot lower on the grid for race two later that evening, Esterson gave the team the podium finish they desired. The former Formula Ford star evaded a first-lap tangle ahead of him to climb into the top three where he would hold onto his position, the impressive rookie sealing his third podium finish and the team’s fifth of the year. It would later become second place after a penalty applied to a driver ahead.
Flack produced a star performance of his own with a terrific surge through the field from 12th on the grid. Through the opening lap chaos he had already made his way up to eighth place, which soon became sixth as he dodged by a tangling pair of rivals at the unnamed left-hander exiting Rivage. The former British F4 racer brought home a top six finish, with Smith taking 19th.
Smith would have the best grid position of the trio for the reverse grid contest on Sunday, lining up on the outside of the front row with Flack closest in eighth. Tucking into the slipstream of Zak Taylor heading up the Kemmel Straight on lap one, Smith grabbed the lead with a brilliant move at Les Combes, which he held onto under pressure from Taylor a lap later at the same corner.
This would prove critical as a red flag was waved on lap two, Smith later dropping to second on the one-lap restart that followed. An incorrect grid procedure meant the results were moved back to the end of lap one though, meaning Douglas earned their second win of this season and Smith could celebrate becoming a GB3 winner for the first time.
Flack was handed ninth place, although the decision hindered Esterson who had charged from 20th on the grid to ninth, gaining eight spots after two laps. He was bumped back to 17th, but still holds onto third in the championship.
A strong weekend in Belgium puts the Douglas Motorsport squad fifth in the Teams’ Championship as the series quickly heads to Silverstone’s GP circuit this weekend (30/31 July) for a second time this year.
“We came here hoping to continue our recent good form at a track we know very well thanks to our testing mileage, so to come away with two podiums, a victory and a good handful of points is a positive outcome for us. Max again has been fast and very consistent to keep us in the title fight, while the recoveries from Marcos were fantastic all weekend. Tommy fought hard and we’ll take a win however we get them, which he would have deserved anyway after his drive in those early laps. It all points to a good weekend at Silverstone.”
Team Principal
“A good weekend for us and I’m happy to come away with another podium. Race two could have been a tricky one as we nearly got caught up in the wreck on the first lap, but I tried to look forward and hold my place, maintained the tyres and kept my nose clean to score those points for the team.”
“It was a tricky one, I got a really good restart after the red flag, and I thought I had a big enough gap down the back straight but Voisin got into the slipstream I guess and passed me. To get that first win after the weekend I had … I’ll take them any way they come! We’ve been to Silverstone already so hopefully we can have a good time there.”
“I love Spa. It’s a great circuit to race at and thank you to the team for giving me a good car. I had some good fun in the races. We gained five spots in race one and then seven in race two which showed our true pace, and we scored some important points for the team.”
Images from Jakob Ebrey Photography.
