Patrick Heuzenroeder set for final push to the end of the GB3 season at Brands Hatch after positive test outing
26th September 2024
Patrick Heuzenroeder will take to the Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit this weekend (28-29 September) for the final round of the GB3 Championship season. The 18-year-old Australian aims to bounce back from an unlucky round at Donington Park and finish 2024 on a high, having tasted podium success earlier in the year and placed third place overall at one of the few available Brands Hatch GP test days conducted this week.
The 3.916 km (2.433 miles) Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit is one of the United Kingdom’s most challenging venues, characterised by elevation changes, off-camber corners and punishing track limits.
The 21-car GB3 field will blast down the Brabham Straight, which is named in honour of Jack Brabham, Australian Formula 1 legend and the father of Heuzenroeder’s mentor, David Brabham, before attacking iconic turns such as Paddock Hill Bend, Westfield, and Sheene’s Curve, where they will push their Tatuus MSV-022 cars to the limit.
Teams are rarely permitted to test on the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit outside of a race weekend, placing additional emphasis on each driver’s ability to adapt quickly – something that proved to be one of Heuzenroeder’s strengths when he executed his most successful weekend to-date on his first visit to the Hungaroring in June. A positive outing at the full Brands Hatch layout this week, where Heuzenroeder placed second in the final session and third overall, is a promising sign that his ability to adapt quickly is again coming to the fore.
Heuzenroeder will be hoping to return to the same level of form this weekend he was able to show in GB3’s European rounds, having been disadvantaged by an unfortunate red flag in qualifying at Donington Park three weeks ago. After a four-week summer break, Heuzenroeder had shown impressive speed in the build-up to Round 7 at the Derby circuit. He finished practice on Friday in fourth position, but an unlucky red flag in qualifying while he was on a lap that would have placed him in seventh put the Australian driver out of position for all three races. He salvaged two points-scoring results from the event, proving his resilience.
That European form included a mighty performance at the Hungaroring, one of four Formula 1 Grand Prix venues on the 2024 GB3 calendar, where Heuzenroeder claimed two top-five finishes and one top-eight result, having fought with, and overcome, championship contenders to rack up another 46 points.
He carried that momentum into the final event of the Continental European leg of the year at Circuit Zandvoort, where, sporting an eye-catching new blue and yellow livery in collaboration with Hard Rock Cocktails, Heuzenroeder scored a milestone first podium finish of the season and delivered another top-five result, continuing a string of strong performances.
‘The Racing Kelpie’ had a more difficult weekend on GB3’s return to the United Kingdom at Silverstone in July. He was hampered by aerodynamic wash from another car in qualifying and was pushed off-line while battling wheel-to-wheel in Race 1 and Race 3, despite little fault of his own; but, regardless of the setbacks, he left the home of the British Grand Prix with another top-10 finish to his name.
Heuzenroeder lies 12th in the championship standings ahead of the GB3 season finale and is within touching distance of a top-10 finish.
Round 8 will begin with four 25-minute test sessions on Friday, allowing drivers to find their footing on the shorter Brands Hatch Indy circuit, while a final 20-minute practice session on the full Grand Prix circuit will commence on Saturday morning.
A 20-minute qualifying session will follow, in which each driver’s fastest lap will set the grid for Race 1 and their second-best times will decide their starting positions for Race 2. Race 1, a 20-minute contest, will take place on Saturday afternoon, while Race 2, which will follow the same format, will kick off on Sunday morning.
The GB3 season will come to a close with Race 3, which will be 25 minutes in length and will have its starting order set by the results of qualifying with the top 12 reversed, on Sunday afternoon.
The full timetable for Round 8 is as follows (all times local, BST):
Friday 27 September (Indy circuit):
Test session 1 – 09:30-09:55
Test session 2 – 11:30 – 11:55
Test session 3 – 14:15 – 14:40
Test session 4 – 16:15 – 16:40
Saturday 28 September:
Practice – 09:00 – 09:20
Qualifying – 11:40 – 12:00
Race 1 – 14:50 – 15:10
Sunday 29 September:
Race 2 – 11:30 – 11:50
Race 3 – 15:45 – 16:10
Patrick Heuzenroeder said:
“Brands Hatch is a true driver’s circuit and I’m excited to take it on this weekend. With extreme elevation changes, high-speed turns and punishing track limits, it is certainly a challenging venue.
“However, I am ready to give it my all this weekend and, of course, take on as much information as I can to continue my growth as a driver.
“I had a great test day outing this week at the circuit, finishing the last session in second position, which although the amount of time we had on track was limited, sets me up really for the weekend and a positive end to the season.
“My goal is to make it into the top 10 in the championship and end the 2024 season on a high, especially after being so unlucky in qualifying at Donington Park where a red flag hampered my weekend from the outset, so I will be pushing right until the very end.”
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Matt Bishop, Managing Director, Diagonal Comms: matt.bishop@diagonalcomms.com
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