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Reigning champion Ben looked to be on for a strong result to sign off the season, before a technical issue brought an early end to the challenge.
Ben will drive the Carlin Buzz Racing number 27 for the weekend as the team heads to its home event for round 4 of the championship at Silverstone. The announcement will see Ben racing in a single-seater for the first time since 2016, when the FIA Formula 3 championship supported the German DTM series. During that season, Ben secured two outright race wins and further three Rookie race victories, finishing 9th in the championship.
Ben commented: “It is great to be joining Carlin Buzz Racing for this weekend’s race event at Silverstone, and I am really grateful for the opportunity to be back in a single-seater and racing as part of the Formula 1 weekend at the British Grand Prix. It will be strange to be racing at Silverstone without any crowd as the atmosphere on a race weekend is always electric, especially during the British Grand Prix, but to just be a part of the event will be really special.”
The opportunity will require another change to driving style and approach to racing for the young Brit, but Ben has more than proved his ability to adapt and excel in different race environments across a variety of different formulas. Ben’s call-up to fill the third seat at Carlin Buzz Racing follows an impressive run of results with the Thunderhead Carlin Racing LMP2 team, finishing as runner-up in the Asian Le Mans Series earlier this year. This is in addition to strong race performances in GT3 races in Australia and, most recently, Italy.
“It will be an exciting race to be part of and a big thank you to Trevor Carlin and the whole Carlin Buzz Racing team for entrusting me to take part in the event, and I will be doing everything I can to help build on the strong start they have had. Having not raced in the series for a few years, it is going to be a real baptism of fire for me, but I will certainly be pushing for the best results possible and I can’t wait to be back in a Formula car.
I’d like to thank McLaren Customer Racing for allowing me to take on the challenge at Silverstone and to join Carlin Buzz Racing for the race this weekend, keeping me race ready and building on my race knowledge and experience. Also, a big thank you to my sponsors Wentvalley Aggregates and Recycling for the continued support in my career.”
Round 4 of the FIA Formula 3 championship takes place at Silverstone, UK with Ben’s first laps in Carlin Buzz Racing car taking place during the Free Practice session on Friday, followed by Qualifying.
The weekend’s first race takes place at 09.25 BST on Saturday 1 August, with the second race on Sunday 2 August at 08.45 BST.