Sweden’s Linus Lundqvist is a quadruple single-seater champion, clinching the 2022 INDY NXT championship, the 2020 Formula Regional Americas title, the 2018 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship and the 2016 Formula STCC Nordic crown. In 2024, he will race the #8 American Legion Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
Victory attempt derailed as Linus Lundqvist and Alegra Motorsports retire from Daytona 24 Hours
Linus Lundqvist and Alegra Motorsports were forced to retire from the 2022 edition of the Rolex 24 At Daytona following an alternator failure in the sixth hour…
#28 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo hit with alternator issue
Exciting GTD lead battle comes undone in sixth hour
Linus Lundqvist and Alegra Motorsports were forced to retire from the 2022 edition of the Rolex 24 At Daytona following an alternator failure in the sixth hour.
The Alegra crew – featuring Lundqvist, Maximilian Götz (GER), Michael de Quesada (USA) and Daniel Morad (CAN) – were off to a strong start in the famed 24-hour enduro and sporadically held the GTD class lead in early stages of the Florida event.
However, the team’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo unfortunately suffered an alternator failure as the race approached its sixth hour, forcing the car into the garage for repairs and out of victory contention.
While the car briefly did venture back out on track, any hopes of a strong result were dashed, and the car was duly retired.
Before the stoppage, Linus Lundqvist had managed to complete his first scheduled stint of roughly two hours behind the wheel of the Mercedes.
“It’s obviously a major disappointment,” says Linus Lundqvist. “We came here trying to win our class, and we had a very realistic shot at doing that. We were running in the leading group and the team nailed the pit stops – I felt good in the car, too. Everything was going well until we had that failure during Max’s (Götz) stint. It’s a shame, but I guess winning a race like the Rolex 24 is never meant to be easy.”
While the final outcome was far from what Lundqvist had envisaged, the Swedish single-seater regular still takes plenty of positives from his 2022 tenure at Daytona International Speedway, and one of sports car racing’s greatest global events.
“At the end of the day we didn’t achieve our goal, but I’m very pleased with my own performance and proud of the entire team,” Lundqvist concludes. “I’ve slotted right into this group of people and they’ve made me feel at home from day one. Operationally, it’s been spot on. I really have to thank Alegra Motorsports for this full experience. Hopefully we’ll get the chance to come back here together in the future!”
Outright victory in the 2022 Rolex 24 At Daytona went to Acura drivers Oliver Jarvis/Tom Blomqvist/Helio Castroneves/Simon Pagenaud. Porsche quartet Jan Heylen/Richard Lietz/Zacharie Robichon/Ryan Hardwick took home GTD honours.
