Linus Lundqvist extended his Indy Lights championship lead with an important podium drive at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, splitting a quartet of Andretti Autosport cars in round eight of the season…
The outcome underscored a weekend of strong team-work recovery for HMD Motorsports, with Lundqvist and the squad gradually improving through practice and qualifying at a track well known to have historically favored its main rivals.
Clawing his way to the front row of the grid alongside Andretti’s Hunter McElrea, Lundqvist even challenged for the lead into the first sequence of corners in the race on Sunday, briefly banging wheels with McElrea as the pair disputed first place.
The pace advantage of the new-tyre shod Andretti cars was ultimately too much to handle early on, however, with Lundqvist inevitably dropping to third behind Matthew Brabham further around the opening lap.
From there, the race then settled in, although a late safety car intervention – triggered by an off from James Roe – did open up for an exciting dash to the flag.
While the top three remained unchanged after the restart, there was more drama further behind, as the two other Andretti Autosport cars of Christian Rasmussen and Sting Ray Robb both made it past Lundqvist’s HMD team-mate Benjamin Pedersen – Robb’s move coming at the very last corner of the race.
In doing so, Andretti cars locked out first, second, fourth and fifth, with Lundqvist the only meat in the sandwich in P3.
“I’ve rarely been this pleased with third place, I think,” says Linus Lundqvist. “We were hoping we’d be a bit quicker this weekend, but the Andretti guys are just so fast around here. Our team has done a great job turning things around through practice, getting us all the way to the front row of the grid in qualifying – which was absolutely key this weekend.”
The latest result marks a potentially critical moment in the championship battle, with Lundqvist increasing his overall lead from 82 to 87 points over closest pursuer Robb with one race less remaining.
“To go away from Mid-Ohio, which we know is one of our weak points, with a podium and an extended championship lead is definitely a job well done,” Linus Lundqvist concludes. “It’s on days like these you have to make sure you finish third instead of sixth or seventh, and that’s exactly what we did. I’m very, very pleased with what we achieved here today. I think it’s a pretty big moment.”
The next Indy Lights round takes place at Iowa Speedway, the first of two ovals on the 2022 schedule, on July 23. Before then, however, Linus Lundqvist will return to his native Sweden for a few weeks of sponsorship work and off-track activities.
RESULTS
Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
Rd. 8 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
1: Hunter McElrea (NZL), 35 laps
2: Matthew Brabham (AUS), +2.682s
3: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), +7.122s
4: Christian Rasmussen (DEN), +8.555s
5: Sting Ray Robb (USA), +14.083s
View full results
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
Top 5 | After 8/14 races
1: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), 350 p.
2: Sting Ray Robb (USA), 263 p.
3: Matthew Brabham (AUS), 254 p.
4: Hunter McElrea (NZL), 252 p.
5: Benjamin Pedersen (DEN), 246 p.
