Luke hits the front with double Brands Hatch podium

Luke Browning will lead the way into the GB3 Championship presented by the BRDC season finale at Donington Park next month after a brace of podium finishes at Brands Hatch.

The Cheshire youngster had been overhauled by rival Joels Granfors last time out at Silverstone and made the long trip to Kent looking to try and close the 11.5 point gap at the head of the standings.

On the pace during Friday testing on the shorter Indy circuit, Luke then posted the fourth best time in qualifying once the field headed into the full Grand Prix layout – although a combination of traffic and two red flags would hamper his chances of fighting for pole.

Starting third as a result of a penalty for Tom Lebbon, Luke battled his way ahead of title rival Granfors on the opening lap and would push Matthew Rees right through to the finish as he finished in second spot.

Having outscored Granfors to reduce the gap between the pair, Luke then reclaimed the championship lead with another second place finish in race two and then battled his way to ninth in the reverse grid finale.

With Granfors running into issues that saw him finish a lap down, Luke was able to extend his advantage at the front to 15.5 points with just the final three races of the year left to run.

“It turned out to be a great weekend after a tricky qualifying session that made things a bit more difficult that I’d have liked in the races,” he said. “Ultimately, some strong starts were key in the races and making up places in the first few laps meant we were able to bring home three solid results to retake the lead in the standings.

“Joel had some bad luck this weekend which was unfortunate for him, but I’ve had my fair share during the season and it’s all to play for heading to the final round. We’ve got a good cushion, but it’s important to stay focused and make sure we give it our all to try and wrap up the title.”