- Podium clean-sweep at Rockingham
- Dramatic win caps off highly successful round
Linus Lundqvist snatched the BRDC British F3 Championship lead with a commanding performance at Rockingham this weekend, completing a podium clean-sweep and winning a dramatic final race of the meeting.
Swede Lundqvist was on blistering form throughout the second round of the season, lining up a string of podium finishes with second, third and first place respectively in the three races staged to out-score all of his 18 fellow rivals.
“What a fantastic weekend,” says Linus Lundqvist. “Finishing on the podium in all three races, winning the final one, and taking the championship lead… I really couldn’t have asked for more. One of the best weekends of my career so far.”
After qualifying a very close second – just 0.015 seconds from pole – in wet conditions, Lundqvist went on to finish a similarly treacherous Race 1 in the same position behind Tom Gamble; the duo enjoying a clear advantage over the opposition.
In the reverse-grid Race 2, Lundqvist then powered through spectacularly from tenth on the grid, picking off his rivals one by one on his way to third (now on a dry track).
The highlight, however, was a defensive masterclass in Race 3, where Lundqvist snatched the lead off the line from third on the grid and then defended successfully from Denmark’s Nicolai Kjaergaard to score a hard-fought victory.
The win is Lundqvist’s second from the six races staged so far in British F3 this season. Underlining his pace, the Double R Racing rookie also set the fastest lap of the race.
“I’m actually very proud about fending off Nicolai in Race 3,” Lundqvist concludes. “Rockingham is the widest track on the calendar and it was not an easy task. We were similar on pace and he was being quite aggressive, so I knew I couldn’t afford to make any big mistakes. It was big pressure, and that makes it all the sweeter to have withstood it.
“I really want to thank everyone at Double R Racing for giving me a great car this weekend. We’ve had the pace in both the wet and dry, and that’s very promising for the rest of the season. We should be happy about this and enjoy the moment, but we certainly can’t be complacent and we need to keep working hard.”
Linus Lundqvist now leads the standings by 11 points from Kjaergaard.
The next round of the BRDC British F3 Championship takes place on May 25-27 at Snetterton.
RESULTS (top five)
BRDC British F3 Championship
Round 2 | Rockingham
Race 1
1: Tom Gamble, Fortec, 12 laps
2: Linus Lundqvist, Double R, +2.318s
3: Jordan Cane, Douglas, +8.929s
4: Krish Mahadik, Double R, +15.442s
5: Manuel Maldonado, Fortec, +22.500s
Race 2 (reversed grid)
1: Kush Maini, Lanan, 14 laps
2: Nicolai Kjaergaard, Carlin, +4.910s
3: Linus Lundqvist, Double R, +14.433s
4: Krish Mahadik, Double R, +16.136s
5: Tom Gamble, Fortec, +16.445s
Race 3
1: Linus Lundqvist, Double R, 14 laps
2: Nicolai Kjaergaard, Carlin, +0.260s
3: Kush Maini, Lanan, +0.638s
4: Manuel Maldonado, Fortec, +4.073s
5: Jordan Cane, Douglas, +4.462s
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