- Newly-crowned British F3 champion adds Sunoco Whelen Challenge success
- Swede to line up in American sportscar classic
- Sunday at Silverstone a wash-out
Linus Lundqvist swept the BRDC British F3 Championship finale to come out on top not just as overall 2018 champion, but also as the winner of the exclusive Sunoco Whelen Challenge – bagging a treasured drive in next year’s 24 Hours of Daytona.
After becoming the first Swede in 38 years to win the British F3 title thanks to a dominant drive in Saturday’s opening race at Silverstone, Lundqvist could celebrate once again just 24 hours later after landing arguably the most valuable prize available in motorsport.
Now in its tenth year, the Sunoco Whelen Challenge is an initiative launched by American fuel company Sunoco (via its European distributor, the Anglo American Oil Company) in conjunction with industrial innovator Whelen Engineering.
The Sunoco Whelen Challenge allows all drivers competing with Sunoco fuels in European-based championships to fight it out for a fully-funded drive at the Rolex 24 At Daytona (Daytona 24 Hours) in Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.
Using a carefully crafted points system, the 2018 Challenge has featured a full 68 drivers from throughout a host of different championships, with Lundqvist eventually emerging at the top of the pile courtesy of a storming performance at this weekend’s British F3 finale.
With the highest average score of the year, Lundqvist is now due to take up one of the in-demand slots on the grid at the up-coming Daytona 24 Hours on January 26-27, 2019.
“This weekend just gets better and better, and I can’t believe I will actually be racing at Daytona in just a few months’ time,” says Linus Lundqvist. “After winning the title yesterday, this is the perfect completion of a fantastic year, and I can’t thank my team enough for helping me to achieve this. It’s been an incredible journey and it simply couldn’t have ended in a sweeter way.”
Lundqvist clinched the Sunoco Whelen Challenge despite hardly conducting any driving at all at Silverstone on Sunday, as adverse weather conditions heavily delayed running and even forced the outright cancellation of the third and final race – in which the Double R Racing man was due to start on pole position.
Lundqvist’s final 2018 British F3 CV boast seven victories, 13 podiums, four pole positions and four fastest laps. As such, he has scored the most wins, podiums and poles out of anyone in the championship this season – his rookie year in Formula 3.
“Linus has done an amazing job all year,” says Anthony “Boyo” Hieatt, Double R Racing team principal. “He’s been faultless, brutally fast and a big morale boost for everyone in the team. He’s a really great guy. I felt that this could be a tough season in British F3 and I knew we needed a very good driver, and Linus has delivered on that full stop. We’re happy to have worked with him and I’m certain he will have a bright future ahead of him.”
Linus Lundqvist ends the 2018 BRDC British F3 Championship on 531 points, 85 clear of runner-up Nicolai Kjaergaard (Denmark). India’s Kush Maini is third.
RESULTS (top five)
BRDC British F3 Championship
Round 8 | Silverstone
Race 1
1: Linus Lundqvist, Double R, 10 laps
2: Tom Gamble, Fortec, +3.097s
3: Billy Monger, Carlin, +6.200s
4: Manuel Maldonado, Fortec, +7.793s
5: Ayrton Simmons, CDR, +9.305s
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Race 2 (reversed grid)
*Red-flagged after two laps*
1: Josh Mason, Lanan, 2 laps
2: Ben Hurst, Hillspeed, +0.777s
3: Arvin Esmaeili, Douglas, +1.054s
4: Clement Novalak, Carlin, +2.615s
5: Sun Yue Yang, Carlin, +3.217s
—
16: Linus Lundqvist, Double R, +17.455s
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Race 3
Cancelled
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (top five)
BRDC British F3 Championship
Final classification
1: Linus Lundqvist, 531 p.
2: Nicolai Kjaergaard, 446 p.
3: Kush Maini, 366 p.
4: Krish Mahadik, 358 p.
5: Tom Gamble, 346 p.
Click here to view full standings