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Rising star Luke Browning has secured arguably the biggest accolade of his racing career to date after being named as the winner of the 2022 Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award.

The 20-year-old from Kingsley in Cheshire saw off stiff competition from Oliver Bearman, Louis Foster and Jamie Chadwick to become the latest winner of the prestigious award.

It sees him join an impressive list of victors that includes the likes of David Coulthard, Dario Franchitti, Jenson Button, Lando Norris and George Russell.

As winner of the award, Luke will receive £200,000, full British Racing Drivers’ Club membership, an Arai helmet and – crucially – a test in an Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1 car.

The GB3 champion impressed judges – including ex-F1 racer Derek Warwick, IndyCar legend Franchitti and Le Mans GT winner Darren Turner – in a series of different tests both on and off track.

After fitness and simulator sessions, Luke drove MotorSport Vision Formula 2, Beechdean Motorsport-run Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and United Autosports Ligier LMP3 machinery on the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit before being named as winner during the annual Autosport Awards in London.

Recently retired multiple F1 champion Sebastian Vettel presented the award.

“It’s an incredible feeling to win the award,” Luke said. “When I look back to David Coulthard as the inaugural winner and see the list of names that have followed him, it feels very special to now see my name up there alongside them.

“Words can’t really describe how grateful I am for the opportunity that I now have in front of me and this is the most amazing way to finish what has been a fantastic year for me on track.

“I have to give a huge thank you to everyone at Hitech GP for the success on track in GB3 this season, but this award goes far beyond that and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who has helped me to get to this stage in my career.

“There are far too many for me to mention by name, but to each and every person who has helped me through the years, I’m so, so grateful – and I hope that this award can now be the springboard to even more success in the future.”

Rising star Luke Browning secured the second championship title of his career after wrapping up the 2022 GB3 Championship partnered by the BRDC crown at Donington Park.

The Cheshire youngster headed into the season finale with a 16.5 point lead over main rival Joels Granfors, with the Hitech GP racer bidding to add to the British F4 title he lifted back in 2020.

Having shown solid pace in pre-event testing, which included topping the times in the Friday morning session, Luke qualified fifth for the opening race and whilst that might not have been the result he was looking for, it left him three spots ahead of Granfors on the grid.

Making up a spot on the opening lap to run in fourth, Luke then grabbed third shortly after a brief safety car period with a move on John Bennett at turn one.

With Granfors behind in fifth spot, Luke held position to the finish but was then given an unexpected boost when second placed Tom Lebbon was handed a time penalty for exceeding track limits – moving Luke up a spot and putting a further car between him and Granfors in the result.

That gave Luke an extended lead going into race two, with the possibility of wrapping up the title with a race to go.

With a damp circuit greeting drivers, the majority of the field elected to start on wet tyres, with Luke slipping a spot off the line to lie sixth whilst Granfors rocketed off the line to go from fourth to first.

Nipping ahead of Javier Sagrera at the Melbourne Hairpin on lap two, Luke than grabbed third when Bennett and Callum Voisin clashed to hold third spot. Although Voisin then got back ahead, the pair chased down Granfors – who had lost the lead on lap three – and moved through on the fifth lap, giving Luke the chance to further extend his lead at the front.

As Luke fought his way ahead of Voisin into second place, Granfors started to struggle with his wet tyres on the drying circuit and dropped down the order to finish back in 13th spot.

With Luke crossing the line in second, he grabbed an unassailable advantage in the standings, meaning the pressure was off going into race three.

From 16th on the grid for the reverse grid finale, Luke produced a fine drive to come through to seventh spot to leave him champion by 46.5 points. As his prize for winning the title, Luke will now take part in a two-day test in an FIA Formula 3 car before the end of the year.

“I’m absolutely elated to wrap up the title,” he said. “I have to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me, and to everyone at Hitech as we have worked so hard for this.

“Coming into the weekend, we talked about our approach and I knew that if I tried to be conservative and didn’t drive in my normal way, then that was when things could go against me. So going into race one, the plan was to just send it like it was any other race and see where we ended up.

“There was one point in that first race where I almost got caught up in a collision but we stayed out of trouble and P2 ahead of Joel was a good result. When he was ahead in race two, I had to go for it and it was a fantastic race from my perspective. Conditions were so tricky with the track drying and the tyres dropping away, and to get up ahead of Joel and wrap up the title was great as he’s been an incredible opponent this season.

“I wanted to get the title sewn up before race three as anything could have happened in that one. To take all that doubt out of my mind going into the last reverse grid meant I could overtake as many cars as I could and take risks. It feels incredibly special to win the championship, and I’m looking forward to where I go next.

“We could have had so much more this year too, pole positions being taken away etcetera. If you look at what happened at Silverstone, we may have already won it heading to the last round. So we’ve had a few unfortunate moments along the way but all these ups and downs throughout the season just makes this sweeter.

“I can’t wait for the F3 test, to race in that series would be an absolute dream. I’m in the best place for it now and let’s see what happens.

“I want to go and enjoy myself now, it’s rare you get days like this that go so perfectly, so I’ll go and enjoy this now with my mates and have a bit of fun! The drinks are on me!”

GB3 Championship leader Luke Browning has been confirmed as a finalist in this year’s Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award, along with three former GB3/BRDC British F3 contenders.

Browning has won more races than any other driver in GB3 this year, and leads the championship by 16.5-points heading to Donington Park in October. He also has more pole positions, podiums, and fastest laps than his rivals.

Alongside him at the Silverstone assessments will be three previous finalists in the shape of Ollie Bearman, Jamie Chadwick and Louis Foster.

The assessments include fitness and simulator elements before the two-day test at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in MSV F2, United Autosports Ligier LMP3 and Beechdean Aston Martin Vantage GT3 cars.

The winner will receive a prize F1 test with Aston Martin, £200,000, full British Racing Drivers’ Club membership and an Arai helmet.

“The Award is something I’ve been looking at since I stepped into car racing” Browning told Autosport Magazine. “It was a goal coming into the season. I’ve looked at the Award for years and years, and I was gutted when it didn’t run when I won British F4 in 2020, but I’m a much better driver than I was then. I can’t wait for the F2 car, it’s a monster!”

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.”

Luke Browning was left to wonder what might have been as the GB3 Championship presented by the BRDC returned to Silverstone after qualifying on pole position, only for a post-session disqualification to leave him at the back of the grid for all three races.

The Cheshire youngster entered the weekend with a handy lead at the head of the standings following his sensational Spa triumphs a week beforehand.

But the penalties – for scrutineering reasons outside his control – gave title rival Joel Granfors an immediate advantage, with the Swede able to edge ahead in the title race as a result.

Browning put on one heck of a show though, with a combined gain of 36 places across the three races, including a 15-point gain in the final race alone. That meant he limited the damage, and is only 11.5 points behind Granfors heading into the final two events of the season at Brands Hatch and Donington Park.

“We did the best we could do really, obviously starting at the back for every race is really tough,” he said. “We came back stronger and we’ve shown today what we can do. It’s given the team a lot of inspiration. We’ve had to bite our lip and go ‘right, this is it now, we’ll fight back from this.’

“We’ve both got a great chance of winning now, and it could come down to qualifying I think. Whoever qualifies on pole for the last two rounds will probably win the championship and we’ll be going out all guns blazing.”

The British driver is optimistic of his chances next time out at Brands Hatch in September, having shown good pace there in testing.

“We’ve done one test day at the Brands GP circuit, we were fastest there and hopefully when we go back there it will be the same,” he said. “There’s been so much development of the cars through the season though, so everyone has their own philosophy up and down the paddock. Our car suited it quite well last time.

“I think a break is definitely needed, a good mental break to digest what’s happened over the weekend and make sure it never happens again. From my side I’m going to be analysing everything to make sure I’m in top form when we get to Brands in a month’s time.”

Rising star Luke Browning extended his advantage at the top of 2022 GB3 Championship powered by the BRDC standings after a fine weekend at Spa saw him move onto five wins for the season.

Luke headed to Belgium on the back of a fine weekend at Snetterton, where victory in race two had allowed the Cheshire-based racer to reclaim the lead in the points.

Having topped the times in Friday practice, Luke produced a dominant display in qualifying to grab pole by almost half a second, whilst his second fastest time – which was also quicker than anyone else could manage on their quickest lap – put him on pole for race two.

Although he would lose the lead on the run to Les Combes on the opening lap of race one, Luke wasted little time in reclaiming top spot at the same place after a short safety car period and he then eased away from the chasing pack to grab victory by more than six seconds.

A tricky start to race two saw Luke lose his lead to Branden Oxley on the run to La Source for the first time, and he then slipped to third on the run up to Les Combes when he was run onto the grass by rival Joels Granfors heading up the Kemmel Straight.

Luke then avoided Oxley when he took a trip across and rejoined in front of the Hitech racer and quickly made a move to take the lead from Granfors – which he would then hold to the finish to make it two wins from two.

A chaotic final race – which was red-flagged after three laps due to an incident – saw Luke come through from 22nd on the grid to finish in eleventh place, although the result would later be revised due to an error that saw the grid formed in the wrong order for the restart.

As a result, Luke was instead classified in 18th with the result being taken from a single racing lap, with Luke sitting 31.5 points clear in the standings ahead of the next round at Silverstone.