Frustration for Double R as Season Opener Blighted by Engine Dramas

Double R Racing endured a bittersweet first event of the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford season at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit over the weekend, 1st/2nd April, with rapid debutant Linus Lundqvist forced out of all three races with an unidentified engine issue.  While ordinarily a frustrating circumstance in any situation, the problem which blighted the Swedish racer’s debut weekend in the championship was all the more galling after Lundqvist had set the standard during pre-event testing with the fastest time of all. As it transpired, he was forced out of all three contests at the Kent venue but, on the positive side for Double R, team-mates Karl Massaad and Daniel Cao both raced well. The Lebanese driver opened his account in round one with a top 10 points finish, despite his own engine dramas during the event and a less-than-potent replacement. Massaad went on to add 11th place in the second and third encounters while Chinese team-mate Cao, one of the youngest drivers in the series this year at just 15-years-of-age, took his best of 11th place in round one.

“It’s definitely not been the weekend we hoped for, especially after such a strong showing on the test day with Linus”, said Double R team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, “In race one a stone damaged his intercooler, but we think there was an additional issue as he had no turbo pressure and no matter what we did for races two and three the car just didn’t deliver enough power. We’re gutted for Linus as he’s an undoubted championship contender and has lost a lot of points this weekend through this issue. I have to say, in my opinion, Ford needs to seriously up its game with the technical support trackside so problems like this don’t end up ruining a driver’s weekend.”

Hieatt added: “It was a better weekend for Karl and Daniel, they both showed good pace – within a couple of tenths of podium pace – and they had some great battles. It was good to see Karl in the points in the first race, especially as we experienced engine problems with him too, and Daniel is a great little fighter. It’ll be interesting to see how they develop during the season.”

Lundqvist led the way in official testing on Friday, 31st March, with the fastest time of all and went on to qualify fourth quickest on his British F4 debut – just 0.2 seconds outside pole. Fellow UK racing debutant Massaad lapped 11th fastest in qualifying, missing the top 10 by only 0.079 seconds, while Cao made it all three Double R cars in the top 15 on the grid. Following a fantastic start to race one on Saturday afternoon, which elevated him into the podium battle, Lundqvist’s hopes soon came to nothing when the intercooler problem resulted in a marked drop-off in pace and, ultimately, retirement at the end of lap four.

Team-mate Massaad maintained his placing of 11th on the opening lap and then broke into the points-paying top 10 on lap three before a Safety Car period was triggered at one quarter distance. Cao, meanwhile, fought through smartly into 11th before the cautionary period and during the second half of the contest the Double R pairing were embroiled in a huge battle, both racing well. Cao made 10th place his on lap 18 before Massaad hit back with a couple of laps to go to secure the final point, taking the chequered flag on lap 24 a fraction under a second clear of his younger Double R stablemate.

In round two on Sunday morning, with the drivers starting from their finishing positions of the day before, Massaad made an electric getaway to leap into the top eight but unfortunately slipped back to ninth on lap four. Focusing on keeping Harry Webb at bay, soaking up huge pressure, Massaad eventually succumbed with a handful of laps to go and slipped into the clutches of team-mate Cao.

In contrast to his team-mate, Cao wasn’t able to get away from the grid as smartly as he would have liked and dropped to 13th position but as the race approached mid-distance he moved back into the top 12. Latching onto the tail of the trio of cars in front, headed by Massaad, the Chinese rookie impressed again and took the flag on lap 26 just 0.1 seconds shy of the sister car.

For Lundqvist, race two was as vexing as the opening encounter when a lack of power again forced retirement. Starting last after Saturday’s retirement, he circulated at the rear of the pack for a handful of laps before pitting on lap seven. In round three later in the day, where he started fourth on the grid, it was the same outcome with retirement on lap four.

Massaad, from 11th on the grid, did lose some ground at the start but he worked his way back into the top 12 and then inherited 11th late on following an issue for a rival. Cao, meanwhile, lined-up in 15th place and did climb into 14th spot before a spin at two-thirds distance dropped him to 16th.

Donington Park National Circuit in the East Midlands will host the second event of the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford season over Easter weekend, 15th/16th April. On the same weekend, Double R Racing’s BRDC British Formula 3 Championship campaign will get underway at Oulton Park International Circuit in Cheshire, on Saturday, 15th April, and Easter Monday, 17th April.