- Fortec rookie just misses out on Snetterton podiums
- Swede sent spinning into the barriers in last-lap victory tussle
Linus Granfors had to surrender his GB4 Championship lead following a dramatic climax to round four of the season at Snetterton, which saw the Swede entangled in a last-lap collision while battling for the win.
16-year-old Granfors had carved his way into contention from ninth on the grid in the final race of the triple-header weekend, which traditionally features a reversed-grid format.
As the field commenced the very final lap, Granfors found himself in second place, right on the gearbox of leading Fortec team-mate Jack Taylor (GBR). With plenty of momentum on the run into Turn 1, Granfors went for a move and appeared set to snatch the lead.
As the pair approached the apex, however, Taylor lost control on the inside line, spinning into the side of Granfors’ car – with both retiring on the spot.
Instead of celebrating his fifth win of the season, Granfors duly failed to score at all, allowing nearest title rival Harry Burgoyne (GBR) to grab a slender three-point lead in the overall standings.
“I went for the win today, and I think that’s what you have to do if the opportunity presents itself,” says Linus Granfors. “There were other fast drivers coming from behind, so it was either attacking or being attacked. We were side by side when unfortunately he spun and we made contact. Obviously it’s not what we wanted, but these things happen in racing and we just have to move on.”
In the preceding two races of the weekend, Granfors clinched a pair of fourth-place finishes.
“We’ve been lacking a couple of tenths of pace this weekend, but it’s the first time I drive the car at Snetterton while the others have been here testing earlier in the year,” Linus Granfors continues. “We opted to save our tyres for the final race looking to score maximum points there, even though it cost us some lap time in the first two races. It almost paid off, until that last lap.
“We might have lost the lead in the championship here, but we know what we’re capable of. We’ll do everything we can to be back on top at the next race.”
The GB4 Championship continues at Silverstone, where Linus Granfors scored a double win earlier this year, on July 27-28.
RESULTS
GB4 Championship
Rd. 4 – Snetterton (GBR)
Race 1
1: Lucas Blakeley (GBR), 10 laps
2: Alisha Palmowski (GBR), +2.939s
3: Harry Burgoyne (GBR), +7.493s
–
4: Linus Granfors (SWE), +10.520s
Race 2
1: Alisha Palmowski (GBR), 10 laps
2: Harry Burgoyne (GBR), +1.730s
3: Lucas Blakeley (GBR), +2.214s
–
4: Linus Granfors (SWE), +2.948s
Race 3
1: Alisha Palmowski (GBR), 9 laps
2: Callum Baxter (CAN), +2.179s
3: Branden Templeton (GBR), +2.574s
–
DNF: Linus Granfors (SWE), +1 lap
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
GB4 Championship
After 4/7 rounds
1: Harry Burgoyne (GBR), 248 p.
2: Linus Granfors (SWE), 245 p.
3: Alisha Palmowski (GBR), 232 p.
4: Branden Templeton (GBR), 180 p.
5: Callum Baxter (CAN), 178 p.