- Indy Lights leader converts first oval pole to second-place finish
- Swede leads 71 of 75 laps en route to eighth podium of the season
Linus Lundqvist further cemented his stranglehold on the 2022 Indy Lights title with a strong run to second in Saturday’s race at World Wide Technology Raceway, but frustratingly lost out on victory despite leading 71 of the 75 laps.
After winning last time out on the streets of Nashville, Lundqvist continued to set a blistering pace at Gateway this weekend, powering to a career-first oval pole position in qualifying.
The HMD Motorsports Swede then controlled a caution-free race for the vast majority of its duration, keeping second-placed Matthew Brabham at bay.
With just four laps to go, however, Andretti Autosport racer Brabham was able to squeeze past and snatch the lead, with Lundqvist rolling across the line in second – just 0.6s behind his Australian rival.
While marking a bittersweet end to yet another highly competitive race for the Swedish championship leader, the outcome keeps Lundqvist well on course for the title as his points advantage continues to grow.
“It’s mixed emotions at the moment, but all in all I have to be pleased with how the weekend went,” says Linus Lundqvist. “I took my first-ever pole position at an oval, which I personally rate as a big milestone to be honest. It obviously hurts to lose the win after leading for almost the entire race, but at the same time, this is a really big result in terms of the championship.”
With just three races remaining, Lundqvist has now extended his lead atop the Indy Lights standings to 108 points over new runner-up Brabham. A maximum haul of 162 points remains up for grabs.
“We’re getting ever closer to the big target,” Linus Lundqvist concludes. “We’ve put ourselves in a very strong position now. Winning the title is what we’re here for, and that’s where my focus will be in the final few races.”
The penultimate round of the 2022 Indy Lights season takes place in Portland on September 2-4. The finale, which will feature two races, is staged at Laguna Seca a week later.
RESULTS
Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
Rd. 11 | World Wide Technology Raceway
1: Matthew Brabham (AUS), 75 laps
2: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), +0.677s
3: Benjamin Pedersen (DEN), +11.615s
4: Danial Frost (SGP), +12.929s
5: Hunter McElrea (NZL), +21.056s
View full results
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires
Top 5 | After 11/14 races
1: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), 480 p.
2: Matthew Brabham (AUS), 372 p.
3: Hunter McElrea (NZL), 371 p.
4: Sting Ray Robb (USA), 361 p.
5: Benjamin Pedersen (DEN), 331 p.
View full standings
