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.

Images from Jakob Ebrey Photography.

Douglas Motorsport continued their run of good form in the 2022 GB3 Championship as Marcos Flack added the team’s fourth podium finish of the year at Snetterton 300 circuit last weekend (25/26 June).

Coming off the back of a winning weekend at Donington Park, Douglas Motorsport once again brought a trio of cars to the fourth meeting of the season at the 2.9-mile 300 circuit in Norfolk.

American Max Esterson had scored more points than any of his rivals over the past two meetings, alongside achieving the team’s first win of the season at Donington from pole position. Both he and Australian Flack spent time inside the top five during two days of testing, leading up to the weekend’s racing.

When the all-important 20-minute qualifying session arrived on Saturday morning, it proved to be incredibly tight across the field with the top 15 cars separated by just a second. Esterson was the lead Douglas car in 11th spot, with Smith and Flack out of luck in 17th and 19th but in a good position to capitalise on Sunday.

Esterson got his elbows out in the first of the weekend’s three races later that afternoon, battling his way up into the top 10. The American joined the fierce battle for fifth place, but overtaking proved difficult as he could not advance from 10th place in a close contest. Flack made progress during the race, climbing up into 15th by the chequered flag, while Smith would be one of the race’s unfortunate retirements.

The warm weather stuck around on Sunday, with Esterson starting highest of the Douglas trio in ninth on the grid. In another close race, overtaking was again not at a premium throughout the field, the team finishing inside the top 10 thanks to Esterson while Flack and Smith both gained places from difficult starting positions to finish 15th and 18th.

Former British F4 racer Flack headed the team’s chase of a podium in the third and final race, starting from fourth on the grid while fellow Australian Smith started two spots further back in sixth. It would be the perfect catalyst for both to shine, as the two blue machines gained a place each with rapid getaways from the line, Flack moving up into third.

That soon became second after a safety car restart when second-placed Zak Taylor ran wide, leaving Flack to chase after the race leader Mikkel Grundtvig for the remainder of the race. The youngster ramped up the pressure and looked to the outside at the hairpin in an attempt to grab his first win in GB3, finishing right on the tail of the winner as he took a breakthrough podium.

Smith was an equally impressive fourth on the road and less than a second from the race winner after a strong performance, Esterson recovering to seventh place as the trio all grabbed crucial points for the team.

A strong finish in Norfolk puts Douglas Motorsport fifth in the Teams’ Championship, while Esterson sits fourth in the Drivers’ Championship as the series heads to Belgium on 23/24 July for the next three races held at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Douglas Motorsport enjoyed a superb weekend in the third GB3 Championship meeting of 2022 at Donington Park, with Max Esterson helping the squad clinch its first race victory of the campaign and breaking the circuit’s lap record along the way.

After another promising performance in the second meeting of the season at the start of the month, the team headed to Leicestershire eyeing more silverware with Max Esterson, Tommy Smith and the returning Marcos Flack.

That optimism was heightened after two days of testing leading up to the weekend, as American ace Esterson put his Douglas Motorsport car fastest heading into Saturday, with times lowering the official track record for the newest GB3 Championship Tatuus MSV-022 chassis.

With momentum on their side, the team looked ahead to qualifying on Saturday morning with sights set on repeating that performance. The short and sharp timed session was competitive throughout, and a blistering end to proceedings from Esterson put his car fourth on the grid for race one, with the bragging rights of pole position for the second race of the weekend based on second-fastest times.

When the lights went out for race one later that afternoon, Esterson held a watching brief on the opening lap as an incident broke out ahead of him at McLeans corner, moving him into the top three. A mature drive was enough to confirm his position, earning a second podium of the season for Douglas Motorsport along with the fastest lap of the race for good measure. Flack and Smith recovered well to 11th and 13th place respectively – the latter gaining five spots from qualifying.

The team had their chance to add an even better outcome in the weekend’s second race the following morning. Esterson made great use of his pole position as a fine start and defensive effort into the opening corner ensured he could hang onto the lead. Setting fastest lap once again along the way, Esterson drove a faultless race at the head of the field to bring home his first GB3 win, and the first of the season for the team.

The final race of the weekend featured a reversed grid based on qualifying results. Australian racer Smith was advantaged by this, starting from fourth on the grid after finishing 21st in race two, while his compatriot Flack started ninth after picking up 14th in the second contest.

Smith bravely fought his way up into third place in the early stages of the race ahead of Mikkel Grundtvig, and his pace confirmed that he was a podium contender. Despite taking the flag a comfortable third on the road, a time penalty for a false start cruelly dropped him back to fifth place, denying him a second podium of the season. Esterson meanwhile charged forward throughout the contest to end the race a credible 11th by the flag, while Flack unfortunately finished 17th after a trip to the pits.

Esterson ends the weekend third in the championship, with Douglas Motorsport sitting fifth in the Teams’ standings as the series next heads to Snetterton on 25/26 June.

After a sensational maiden podium finish for Australian Tommy Smith provided the highlight for the team in the season opener at Oulton Park, it was the turn of GB3 rookie Esterson to take the spotlight as the blue Tatuus MSV-022 machines tackled three races at Silverstone.

At their home circuit, the Northamptonshire team had set record pace with a test driver on the Thursday in the run-up to the weekend of racing at the 3.66-mile Grand Prix circuit, with regular drivers Esterson and Smith also gaining vital data over both days of running ahead of Saturday’s all important qualifying session.

A tight session saw both drivers enjoying time within the top 10 before Esterson turned the screw by putting the Douglas car sixth on the grid for race one later that afternoon, his second fastest time enough to put him fourth for the second race on Sunday. Smith fought hard and was not far back on speed, taking 18th overall.

Esterson was on the offensive as soon as the lights went out to start the opening 10-lap race of the weekend. Making up two spots in a frenetic first lap, the Formula Ford graduate fended off initial attacks by James Hedley before pulling clear on his way to a strong fourth place finish. Smith would only be looking forward too, and he moved four spots higher to grab 14th place by the chequered flag.

Esterson and Smith started fourth and 16th on the grid respectively for race two and again Esterson chased hard for his maiden podium. He would come up just short, but in a comfortable fourth place once more, Smith remaining 16th.

Like at Oulton Park, Smith had a chance to grab another strong result for the Douglas team in the reverse grid contest which concluded the weekend. Smith started from third place on the grid, while Esterson had work to do to recover from 15th.

Running well in fourth early on and on the offensive, Smith unfortunately lost ground during a frenetic scrap in the middle of the race. He would be shuffled down the pack on the dirty side of track to an unrepresentative 12th by the chequered flag, two spots behind Esterson who made up ground.

Douglas Motorsport are next in action in three weeks’ time as the GB3 Championship makes its first of two visits this year to Donington Park over the weekend of 28/29 May.

Douglas Motorsport grabbed a superb podium finish courtesy of Tommy Smith to round out the opening round of the 2022 GB3 Championship season in style at Oulton Park over the Easter weekend (16-18 April).

The team entered the new season armed with a fresh line-up featuring Formula Ford graduate Max Esterson, 2021 British F4 star Marcos Flack and GB3 returnee Smith, with the trio all hoping to hit the ground running with a strong start to the season.

Bringing along three of the latest Tatuus MSV-022 GB3 cars for their latest assault on the series, rookie drivers Esterson and Flack showed their potential with consistent pace well inside the top 10 on Friday.

Qualifying on Saturday morning would be a hectic affair as the 21-car field jostled for position on track to find the optimum hot lap, with Esterson leading the Douglas charge in the 20-minute timed session to decide the grid for races one and two of the weekend. The American teenager narrowly missed out on the top 10, one spot ahead of Flack while Smith sealed 18th.

A frenetic opening lap in race one later that afternoon would be to the advantage of Australian rookie Flack, who moved into the top 10 as he evaded numerous first lap incidents around him, ultimately finishing a credible ninth place on debut. Smith improved a spot from his starting position, while Esterson was a victim of the lap one squabbling which dropped him to an unrepresentative 19th.

Action would then resume on Monday, and the day would bring much brighter things for the Douglas Motorsport team. Esterson led the team’s charge initially, finishing 11th after a tight race two and narrowly missing out on 10th by 0.2s. Flack and Smith came home 14th and 17th respectively.

A reversed grid from Saturday’s qualifying results decided the order for the third and last race of the weekend, and it paid off handsomely for the resurgent Smith, who lined up on the front row of the grid for the final 14-lap contest.

The Australian would take full advantage with a fine start to maintain his position, keeping David Morales at bay throughout with a controlled performance to grab second place and his first ever GB3 podium finish.

Esterson again showed great pace as he joined an enticing 10-car tussle for sixth place, climbing the order to eighth where he remained to the chequered flag. Flack was shuffled wide at the hairpin on lap one and fell to 20th at the end of an otherwise solid weekend.

Douglas Motorsport are next in action at Silverstone GP circuit for another trio of races when the GB3 Championship visits next month on 7-8 May.