McKenzy Cresswell scored a best finish of seventh underlining a frustrating visit to Donington Park in the GB3 Championship in partnership with the BRDC this past weekend (May 28/29).
Despite a strong finish in the previous event at Silverstone earlier in May, setup issues resurfaced during Thursday and Friday’s practice sessions. The Motorsport UK Academy member headed into qualifying on Saturday with measured expectations as he worked to find the sweet spot in his MSV-022 car.
The 16-year-old posted a best time of 1:23.593 around the 2.48-mile circuit to secure 12th on the grid for the opening encounter.
Race one proved to be one of attrition as a dramatic opening lap saw the BRDC Rising Star take advantage of a collision further forward to charge up to seventh by the end of the first lap, which turned out to be the best result of the weekend.
Returning to the track on Sunday for race two, the Formula To Perform athlete was able to gain a place on track to take the chequered flag in 12th.
Cresswell made a strong start in race three as he jumped from tenth to seventh by the end of the first lap, which is where he would then run comfortably until he hit strife late on.
Pushed onto the grass at the final corner after attempting a further move, the teenager suffered a broken front wing and was forced into the pit lane, ending his hopes of another top result.
McKenzy Cresswell:“It’s been a really tough weekend! We went to Donington optimistic of strong results but we as a team struggled to get the car in the window to really show what we could do.
“We managed to keep out of trouble in race one to pick up some points, but I just didn’t have enough pace to hang on to the front runners in race two. There wasn’t much more I could do in race three!
“Everyone at Chris Dittmann Racing has worked their socks off this weekend and we certainly ended with a car that was better than when we started. We will get our heads down to make sure we come out the blocks on the pace at Snetterton.”
The 2022 GB3 Championship in partnership with the BRDC recommences in little under a months’ time on June 25/26 when Rounds 10, 11 & 12 take place at Snetterton.
Image from Jakob Ebrey Photography.