Linus Lundqvist doubles up with commanding Croft victories
Linus Lundqvist mastered changeable conditions on his way to an important set of victories in round five of the 2017 F4 British Championship, leaping to third in the overall standings going into the summer break.
Lundqvist produced a dominant showing throughout three days of mixed weather at Croft Circuit, winning two out of the weekend’s three races; one in rain, one in the dry. To underline his pace, the 18-year-old Double R Racing rookie also set the fastest lap of both races by a considerable margin.
“What a fantastic weekend,” says an elated Linus Lundqvist. “I had a feeling we would be strong here, but this was more than we could have expected. I’ve really enjoyed driving the car all weekend and have been able to push it right from the beginning, regardless of the weather. This means a lot to myself and to everyone at Double R Racing. I’m so happy for the guys!”
Lundqvist was on top form from the start of running on Friday, leading the way in both free practice sessions. The Swede then carried the momentum into Saturday’s important qualifying showdown, bagging both pole positions on offer for races one and three.
The reigning Formula STCC Nordic champion went on to control proceedings in the opening race of the weekend, sprinting off to a 6.6-second wet-weather win, and repeated his lights-to-flag performance in Sunday’s concluding Race 3 on a dry track.
Lundqvist’s advantage over the rest of the field was significant at times over the weekend, leaving him a hefty six tenths clear on the fastest lap charts on both of his winning drives.
In Race 2, meanwhile – which features a partially reversed grid – Lundqvist leapt from sixth to fourth to add further valuable points to his intensifying championship charge.
The outcome of this weekend now sees Lundqvist slot into third in the overall standings, just 18 points shy of second-placed Australian Oscar Piastri going into the seven-week summer break. The gap to leader Jamie Caroline has been reduced to 85.5 points with 16 races and 400 points still to dispute over the second half of the campaign.
“The weekend I have had is something any driver would call ideal; when the car is just perfect and you can extract so much pace from it,” Lundqvist concludes. “It’s the perfect way to go into the summer break, and I obviously want to carry this momentum into the second half of the season. I’ll be pushing one hundred percent in every session so we can take the fight to the others – it’s all to play for.”
The F4 British Championship will resume on 29-30 July at Snetterton.
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