Podium finish for Jonathan Browne

Ratoath driver Jonathan Browne produced a remarkable performance in his debut race in the GB3 Championship with the Hillspeed team at Silverstone last week to claim a superb podium finish.

Having already starred in a rain-affected qualifying session earlier in the day, securing the fourth fastest time for the Markham Vale squad, the 21-year-old delivered an even more impressive showing in the first race of the weekend to claim third place.

During race two the series rookie sealed a top 12 finish and he rounded-out his first weekend in the GB3 Championship with 13th place in race three.

After posting the fourth fastest time in qualifying tricky conditions awaited Browne for Saturday’s qualifying run, but the Ratoath man starred on his maiden grid-determining session.

On his last lap, a time of 2m08.014 seconds (102.94mph) secured a lofty fourth on the grid for race one.

That afternoon’s nine-lap contest took place on a dry track and Browne was just as competitive, making a good start before moving up into the top three and then assuming second at the beginning of lap two when Oliver Bearman stopped on-track at Copse.

Following the resulting Safety Car period, Browne held second at the re-start on lap five but did slip back to third behind the flying Roberto Faria before the end of the tour.

Maintaining third position thereafter, the Hillspeed driver capped a sensational debut with a dizzying podium.

Starting race two on Sunday morning from eighth on the grid, Browne had a clean opening lap but was shuffled back to ninth place. Remaining there in the thick of the action until lap four, a moment dropped him down to 14th position.

Responding by setting his best lap of the race on the sixth tour, Browne continued to improve his pace the next time around and following a dramatic incident on the 10th and final lap, when two rivals tangled, he leapfrogged into the top 12.

Starting race three from 11th position on the grid, Browne unfortunately slipped back three places on the opening lap and then dropped down to 16th position on lap five after being held out wide at the Maggots and Becketts sequence of fast turns.

With little to separate the midfield pack in terms of pace, Browne’s fightback was assisted when Roman Bilinski and Roberto Faria retired.

Running in 14th place into lap six Browne, lapping closely behind multiple race winner Ayrton Simmons at that point, circulated very competitively.

After Simmons moved ahead of Javier Sagrera, Browne set about trying to unseat the Spaniard during the closing stages and took the flag on lap 10 a mere 0.1 seconds shy.

Post-race, Oxley was disqualified and so Browne was elevated into 13th position in the revised classification.

“I had good pace and each time we’ve been getting quicker and quicker, it was just a case of seeing how we’d get on (in race one)," he commented.

"I stayed fourth off the line, then the two lads ahead had a bit of an issue and I capitalised on that and managed my race from there,” added Browne.

The Meath man will be back in action over the weekend of Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th September for the penultimate event of the season at Oulton Park International Circuit in Cheshire.