The first round of the 2023 GB3 Championship took place at Oulton Park this past weekend (7 – 10 April) and Jarrod Waberski was faced with some challenging conditions.
Saturday’s qualifying pace was fast and furious with positions changing dramatically during the course of the session. In fact, the top 21 drivers were split by less than a second! Despite being on pace, Jarrod only managed to qualify in 11th place. A clear indication of the competitiveness of the class and the racing to come.
Jarrod had a solid start to the first race on Saturday afternoon, which was held in dry, sunny conditions. Unfortunately, some overzealous driving down the field resulted in the safety car being deployed toward the later stages of the race. Once the stranded vehicles had been cleared, the safety car was recalled and Jarrod made his move. Jarrod made an impressive inside line, double pass on the two competitors ahead of him. Although Jarrod’s pass was successful, the lap was a bit heated with multiple competitors making contact. The resultant red flag saw the race end and the positions from the lap prior (before his pass) would stand as the final result.
The race weekend was split by Easter Sunday and racing resumed on Monday morning.
Although the sighting lap began in the dry, the rain swooped in catching everyone by surprise. Unluckily, Jarrod was one of the first competitors to reach the part of the circuit that had become wet and he spun off. Although the start of the race was then delayed to allow competitors to change from slick to wet tyres, Jarrod was not able to re-join the grid due to an electrical issue that resulted in the car not starting.
His car was recovered and prepped for the final race of the day, which was longer (25 minutes) and a reversed grid. Jarrod started from 15th in ever changing weather conditions. Whilst some parts of the circuit were dry, it was raining in other parts, making tyre choice a bit of a gamble. Jarrod had a fantastic start and was up to 8th by turn one. He made up another two positions by the end of the first lap just as the safety car was deployed for yet another on track incident. The field followed the safety car around for what felt like an eternity, when finally with just a few minutes left on the clock, it was back to racing. Jarrod immediately got down to business making a pass for 5th place. Disappointingly, the safety car was deployed again, effectively putting an end to the race.
Jarrod finished 5th, making up a massive 10 places in what was effectively only two laps of racing.
“Overall it was a good weekend. I sincerely apologise to my team and fans for my mistake in race two, I was exceptionally disappointed but am extremely grateful to everyone who sent me messages of support and encouragement. I was definitely in the zone in the final race and strongly believe we could have been chasing a podium if given more “green light” laps. I am however happy with the result. A massive thank you to Fortec Motorsport, my sponsors, the BRDC and my family and friends around the world,” commented Jarrod.
The next round of the championship will take place at Silverstone on 6 / 7 May.
Published by: Motorsport Marketing Services
Picture Caption: Jarrod Waberski
Photography by: Jakob Ebrey
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