Barber – Race: Linus fends off last-lap threat to clinch victory in wet/dry thriller!

Linus has taken over the lead of the Indy Lights championship standings after clinging on to a lights-to-flag victory on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, staving off a late charge on the final lap as he slid home on heavily worn wet-weather tyres.

With Linus starting on pole after topping the times in qualifying on Saturday, overnight rain and thunderstorms meant the field faced entirely new conditions come the race, marking a step into the unknown as all cars lined up on wet-weather tyres.

Linus kept his lead at the start, gradually pulling away from second-placed HMD Motorsports team-mate Benjamin Pedersen until the safety car was triggered following an off from Christian Bogle.

As racing resumed, Linus and Pedersen again drove off into the distance, often lapping a second or more clear of the competition.

Linus had stretched his lead to four seconds in the wet, but as the race neared its end, Pedersen found fresh pace on a rapidly drying track while Linus struggled for grip as his tyres began to wear out.

It all came down to the very last second of the very last lap, with the pair frenetically scrapping for victory all the way across the line – even making slight contact when exiting the final corner.

Linus managed to hold firm, however, eventually winning by a mere 0.178 seconds to snatch his fourth Indy Lights victory.

LINUS: “That was close! There wasn’t much left of the tyres in the last 15 laps; I even had chunks of rubber striking my visor as they started to give way! Benjamin didn’t make it easy for me today, but I knew I had track position and luckily I managed to fend him off. I’m incredibly happy for my first win of the season and I can’t thank the team enough for giving me such a fast car this weekend, wet or dry.”