Rookie GB3 Duo Xie And Mavlyutov Ready For Season Start With Hillspeed

Almost six months since the final race of the 2022 GB3 Championship partnered by the BRDC concluded with victory for Hillspeed, the Markham Vale team is preparing for the start of the new campaign this coming weekend at Oulton Park – where the squad will debut its rookie driver line-up.

Gerrard Xie, from China, and Turkish driver Daniel Mavlyutov are both ready to embark on their respective maiden seasons in GB3, the UK’s premier single-seater championship and a key rung on the ladder towards the FIA Formula One World Championship.

Cheshire’s Oulton Park takes its traditional place as the host venue for the season-opening GB3 action across Easter weekend, where a grid of around 24 cars is expected to contest the first three races of the new season around the 2.69-mile International Circuit layout.

In such a fiercely contested championship, debutants Xie and Mavlyutov are under no illusions as to the task which awaits them this year. But with the support of Hillspeed and the Hitech GP Academy, of which they are both part, hopes are high for consistent progress and development.

Along with experience gained from a comprehensive testing programme over recent weeks, Xie arrives in GB3 as the reigning F4 Chinese Champion – a dominant season delivering 12 wins from 14 starts. He also finished runner-up at the prestigious Macau GP race last year and during GB3 testing at Donington Park a couple of weeks ago, he was within just 0.6 seconds of the outright pace.

Mavlyutov has less mileage under his belt, having only started out in racing late in 2021 in Formula Ford. After a season in the F4 British Championship last year and further action in both Spanish F4 and Formula Regional Middle East, though, the Turkish driver is determined to continue soaking up as much knowledge as possible in his maiden GB3 season.

Richard Ollerenshaw – Hillspeed Team Principal:
“Everyone at the team is looking forward to getting the new season underway and working hard with both Gerrard and Daniel to help them progress as the championship unfolds. The level of competition is very high in GB3, so it’s going to be important for our two rookies to get as much race mileage under their belts as possible – especially at a track like Oulton Park International.

“It’s a particularly challenging circuit, so the two test days before the weekend will be very important. There’s a lot for Daniel and Gerrard to learn this year, but we’re all aiming for consistent progress and development. Three solid, consistent races from each of them at the weekend will be a good start.”

Following pre-event testing at Oulton Park this Thursday, 6th April, and additional testing on Good Friday, 7th April, the first qualifying session of the GB3 campaign is scheduled to start at 11.10 on Saturday, 8th April, with round one following at 15.00.

After a day’s rest on Easter Sunday, racing will resume on Easter Monday, 10th April, with round two timetabled to begin at 09.35 and round three set to commence at 13.50. Live online streaming of all races will be available at www.gb-3.net