Swede Bounces Back from Brands Engine Woes to Excel at Donington

Swedish youngster Linus Lundqvist underlined his clear potential in the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford at Donington Park over the weekend, 15th/16th April, after securing his maiden pole positions and first victory on UK soil for the Double R Racing team.

Following a race meeting to forget at Brands Hatch a fortnight ago during the season-opener, a result of continual engine problems, Lundqvist was determined to show his true performance at Donington and duly delivered with pole position for rounds four and six.

Despite missing out on the win in race one on Saturday afternoon, Lundqvist did celebrate his maiden podium with second place. Bouncing back from an unfortunate retirement in race two, the reigning Formula STCC Nordic Champion won the rain-affected final contest. Somberly, the result wasn’t celebrated due to round six being red flagged following a very nasty accident involving Billy Monger and Patrik Pasma. Both racers were taken to nearby Nottingham Queen’s Medical Centre for further assessment and examination.

“Everyone’s thoughts are with Billy and Patrik and all at Double R wish them both a speedy recovery after today’s accident, that’s the most important thing to say and the only thing that matters after an incident like that,” said Double R team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt on Sunday. “Obviously we were very happy with the pole positions from Linus in qualifying, to then take his first podium and first win was a great way to bounce back after Brands. Engine performance was way better at Donington than at the last round, Ford has responded well to the problems we had.”

Team-mate Karl Massaad also enjoyed a very impressive weekend at Donington, beginning with a top six time for the race one grid and an improved fourth fastest for the final race of the weekend’s triple-header, less than 0.2 seconds shy of Lundqvist’s pole time. While the races didn’t go to plan for the Lebanese driver, after falling victim to contact in the first and third contests which impacted his potential points haul, he was able to showcase his pace and ability in round five on Sunday with a sensational top eight finish from the rear of the grid.

Chinese 15-year-old Daniel Cao also produced a terrific performance in round five, rising through the order from 16th place into ninth position. In the weekend’s final contest on Sunday, he bettered that with a season-best seventh place.

“Karl and Daniel really have shown some fantastic pace and racecraft this weekend, they’re both on it and making big strides which is great to see,” said Hieatt, “Each of them had some bad luck too in the races, especially Karl, but we can see how strong they are and they’ll only get stronger still. Karl had to miss Thursday’s second test for a school exam, so his performance was even more notable.”

In round four on Saturday afternoon, Lundqvist was beaten off the line by fast-starting series leader Jamie Caroline but the Double R driver battled hard into Redgate to try and cling onto first place. At the Old Hairpin, though, he was edged back to second where he remained for the duration.

Massaad, buoyed by his excellent top six qualifying performance, looked good for a season-best finish but an unfortunate tangle at McLeans on the opening tour resulted in his race coming to an all-too-early conclusion. Cao started round one from 16th on the grid but had to retire on lap six.

For round five later in the day, Lundqvist started in fifth place but an incident on lap one dropped him to the tail of the field. Battling back impressively into the top 12, he was ultimately forced to retire on lap 11 as a result of an issue with the vacuum pipe on his Ford-powered Mygale.

Both Massaad and Cao fared better, each having to work their way through the order from the back of the grid following their respective race one retirements. Massaad, from 18th and last, produced a stunning first lap to scythe his way into the top 10.  Soon taking ninth and then moving into eighth on lap five, some great battles ensued and although edged back to ninth at the midway point – due to an intermittent gear selection issue – he climbed into seventh on lap 10 before ultimately settling for a, nonetheless superb, top eight finish.

Chinese youngster Cao started in 16th position and also had a great opening lap, climbing into 13th place, before breaking into the top 12 on lap five. Progressing well during the latter stages, the Double R rookie moved into ninth and shadowed team-mate Massaad during the final laps.

Light rain arrived ahead of round six on Sunday, adding an even greater challenge, and when the lights went out Lundqvist made a superb launch from pole. Massaad too was away very smartly from the line but after brilliantly moving into third, he was tagged from behind and pitched off the circuit at Redgate. He did eventually manage to get going again, but a long way down. As Lundqvist motored away from the pack, which was delayed by the first corner chaos, he opened an early lead of 2.7 seconds while team-mate Cao produced another blistering first lap, slicing his way through the first corner problems to gain no fewer than eight positions – outstanding stuff.

On lap two the rain got slightly worse and Lundqvist was the first to judge the conditions, so his lead did reduce. Responding well on lap three though, opening his advantage to over two seconds, racing was then red flagged on lap four as a result of the accident involving Monger and Pasma. As a result of the length of the delay in extricating one of the drivers, officials chose to abandon the race at that point. The result was taken back a lap to the end of lap three and officially declared, using only half points, with Lundqvist the winner, Cao seventh and Massaad in 14th place.

Double R Racing will be back on track today, Easter Monday, at Oulton Park International Circuit in Cheshire for the opening three races of the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship. The team’s British F4 entry, meanwhile, will return to action over the weekend 6th/7th May, at Thruxton Circuit in Hampshire, for rounds seven, eight and nine of the championship.