Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Spa dominator Alex Dunne showed his pace again with a new benchmark GB3 lap time around the Snetterton 300 circuit this afternoon (Thursday).

The Irishman’s time of 1m40.277s came with three minutes remaining and nearly three quarters of a second quicker than previous sessions today, in which record GB3 times had already been set.

Dunne’s effort is less than three tenths of a second away from the circuit’s outright lap record, set in 2011 by Felipe Nasr.

Elite Motorsport’s McKenzy Cresswell was Dunne’s nearest challenger in the session, 0.241s away and five thousandths of a second ahead of Arden VRD’s Nico Christodoulou, who has been a regular name towards the sharp end today.

Session two pace setter Tymek Kucharczyk was fourth this time around for Douglas Motorsport, 0.003s further back and 0.014s ahead of Christodoulou’s teammate Noah Ping, who topped the session briefly late on.

The third North American in the top-six, Fortec’s Max Esterson, was 0.036s away from Ping and within three tenths of a second of Dunne’s pace.

Championship leader Joseph Loake was next up in seventh for JHR Developments, less than a tenth of a second clear of Elite’s Oliver Stewart, with Souta Arao (Hitech) and Zak Taylor (Chris Dittmann Racing) completing the top-10, which was covered by less than three quarters of a second.

The top-13 drivers in session three were within a second of the pace.

All but three drivers recorded their best times in the third session. The outliers were Matthew Rees and Callum Voisin, who both struck trouble in the final session. Their best times from session one put them 11th and 12th respectively on the combined timesheet, while Douglas Motorsport's Lucas Staico recorded his best time in session two, shortly before an accident at Riches that ended his day a session early, with the driver unharmed. 

Testing at Snetterton resumes tomorrow, with the first of two sessions due to commence at 9.40am.

GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Snetterton Thursday test session three result:
1. Alex Dunne, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 1m40.277s
2. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, +0.241s
3. Nico Christodoulou, Arden VRD, +0.245s
4. Tymek Kucharczyk, Douglas Motorsport, +0.248s
5. Noah Ping, Arden VRD, +0.262s
6. Max Esterson, Fortec Motorsport, +0.298s
7. Joseph Loake, JHR Developments, +0.458s
8. Oliver Stewart, Elite Motorsport, +0.550s
9. Souta Arao, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.583s
10. Zak Taylor, Chris Dittmann Racing, +0.749s
11. Callum Voisin, Rodin Carlin, +0.835s
12. Edward Pearson, Fortec Motorsport, +0.880s
13. James Hedley, Arden VRD, +0.978s
14. Costa Toparis, Rodin Carlin, +1.014s
15. Undisclosed, Chris Dittmann Racing, +1.086s
16. Michael Shin, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +1.095s
17. Jarrod Waberski, Fortec Motorsport, +1.239s
18. David Morales, JHR Developments, +1.292s
19. John Bennett, Rodin Carlin, +1.295s
20. Gerrard Xie, Hillspeed, +1.429s
21. Ayato Iwasaki, Elite Motorsport, +1.629s
22. Daniel Mavlyutov, Hillspeed, +1.801s
23. Shawn Rashid, Douglas Motorsport, +1.931s
24. Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, no time set

GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Snetterton Thursday combined result:
1. Alex Dunne, Hitech Pulse-Eight, 1m40.277s (session three)
2. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, +0.241s (session three)
3. Nico Christodoulou, Arden VRD, +0.245s (session three)
4. Tymek Kucharczyk, Douglas Motorsport, +0.248s (session three)
5. Noah Ping, Arden VRD, +0.262s (session three)
6. Max Esterson, Fortec Motorsport, +0.298s (session three)
7. Joseph Loake, JHR Developments, +0.458s (session three)
8. Oliver Stewart, Elite Motorsport, +0.550s (session three)
9. Souta Arao, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.583s (session three)
10. Zak Taylor, Chris Dittmann Racing, +0.749s (session three)
11. Matthew Rees, JHR Developments, +0.785s (session one)
12. Callum Voisin, Rodin Carlin, +0.829s (session one)
13. Edward Pearson, Fortec Motorsport, +0.880s (session three)
14. James Hedley, Arden VRD, +0.978s (session three)
15. Costa Toparis, Rodin Carlin, +1.014s (session three)
16. Undisclosed, Chris Dittmann Racing, +1.086s (session three)
17. Michael Shin, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +1.095s (session three)
18. Jarrod Waberski, Fortec Motorsport, +1.239s (session three)
19. David Morales, JHR Developments, +1.292s (session three)
20. John Bennett, Rodin Carlin, +1.295s (session three)
21. Gerrard Xie, Hillspeed, +1.429s (session three)
22. Lucas Staico, Douglas Motorsport, +1.602s (session one)
23. Ayato Iwasaki, Elite Motorsport, +1.629s (session three)
24. Daniel Mavlyutov, Hillspeed, +1.801s (session three)
25. Shawn Rashid, Douglas Motorsport, +1.931s (session three)