Petrovic extends championship lead after dramatic Airport Race weekend

Stevan Petrovic left the Airport Race weekend with a larger championship lead than he arrived with, taking two wins and both pole positions across Round 2 of Radical Cup Scandinavia at Ljungbyheds Motorbana. The more significant movement, though, came in the order behind him.

The event was one of the biggest of the season, drawing more than 7,500 spectators to the old airfield for a weekend that also marked 100 years of aviation and a decade of racing at the circuit. Display flying, exhibitions and high summer temperatures framed three closely matched races.

Petrovic had arrived as points leader following a clean sweep at the Gelleråsen opener, and delivered much of what was expected of him with two poles, two victories and another strong haul. But Ludvig Bäck broke through for his maiden win of the season to move up to second. Erik Stillman, off the pace at the opener, recovered to put himself firmly back in contention. Rasmus Hedberg, who came into the round second in the standings, dropped to fourth after three demanding races.

Petrovic heads tight qualifying

Friday’s qualifying session set the tone for a close weekend.

Petrovic claimed pole position with a 50.472, but the margins at the front were extremely small. Bäck qualified second, just 0.036 seconds behind, with Hedberg third and guest driver Johan Leander fourth.

The top four were covered by only 0.097 seconds.

That gave Petrovic both pole positions and the Sekvens Pole Position Award, but it was clear from qualifying that the front of the field was tightly matched.

Vortex lockout in Race 1

Race 1 became a Vortex Performance lockout at the front.

Petrovic converted pole into victory, but the fight behind him stayed close all the way to the flag. Bäck finished second, 2.966 seconds behind, while Leander completed the podium in third.

Leander, making a guest appearance in the championship, quickly found his rhythm and finished only 0.211 seconds behind Bäck after 22 laps.

Stillman took fourth for ES Racing, ahead of Hedberg in fifth and Johan Auer in sixth.

In the PRO SR1 Cup, Erik Poulsen took the class win for STEP Motorsport, with Charlie Jonasson second and Marcus Idrén third.

Bäck wins dramatic Race 2

Race 2 produced the weekend’s defining battle. Petrovic led early before a sensor issue cost him momentum and brought the chasing pack into play. Bäck, Stillman and Hedberg were all in the hunt, and the win stayed open until the final laps.

Bäck prevailed by 0.364s over Stillman, with Hedberg a further 0.559s back in third. Petrovic remained in podium contention late on, but a mistake through the fast Porsche Esses dropped him to fourth. Even so, the top four were separated by just 1.260s after 22 laps.

Second place carried particular weight for Stillman. ES Racing had brought clear changes to the car after a difficult Gelleråsen weekend, and the gains were evident from the opening sessions. He ran near the front throughout, and this result confirmed the step forward.

Poulsen recorded a second SR1 win, this time ahead of Idrén and Jonasson.

Petrovic answers back in Race 3

Petrovic returned to the top step in Race 3. Starting behind Leander, he made the move into the opening corner and led from lap one. He controlled the race from there, but Leander stayed within a second to the finish and never allowed him to settle.

Petrovic took the win by 1.034s, his second of the weekend, his fifth of the season and his eighth Radical Cup Scandinavia victory at Ljungbyhed. Leander held second, with Stillman third to cap a strong recovery from his early-season form. Bäck finished fourth, just ahead of Hedberg, with Auer sixth.

Poulsen completed a clean sweep of the SR1 class wins from Jonasson and Idrén.

PRO SR1 brings a mix of backgrounds

The PRO SR1 Cup brought an interesting mix of drivers and backgrounds to Ljungbyhed.

Poulsen, who normally competes in European F4, brought valuable experience and a strong reference point for the other drivers in the class. Jonasson, still in his first season after stepping up from karting, had to measure himself against stronger competition than at Gelleråsen and continued to make progress through the weekend.

Idrén was another driver to watch. The sim racer, making only his fourth “real” racing weekend, showed good pace again and took second in class as his best result of the weekend.

For young drivers, the SR1 is about more than lap times. Starts, traffic, race distance, pressure and consistency all become part of the learning process. Ljungbyhed gave the SR1 drivers plenty of that.

Battles through the field

While the headline fights were at the front, there was also plenty of racing further down the order.

The Masters drivers and the lower half of the field produced several close fights across the weekend, with Peter Öfverman, Dag Johansson, Ulf Johansson, Göran Håkansson and Andreas Nilsson often finding themselves in traffic and wheel-to-wheel battles.

Öfverman, making his return to the championship, was quickly back in the rhythm and took the Masters win in Race 1. Further back, the racing was often just as busy as it was at the front, with SR3 and SR1 cars mixing across the 18-minute races.

That was one of the strengths of the weekend. The action was not limited to the podium fight. There were battles, comebacks and learning moments all the way through the field.

Championship picture after Round 2

After six races, Petrovic has extended his championship lead and now sits at the top of the standings on 180 points.

Bäck’s win and consistent scoring at Ljungbyhed move him up to second with 147 points, while Stillman’s strong weekend lifts him to third on 137 points. Hedberg drops to fourth but remains close on 134 points, with Auer fifth on 112.

The fight behind Petrovic is now much tighter than it was after Gelleråsen, with Bäck, Stillman and Hedberg all leaving Ljungbyhed with plenty still to fight for.

A proper summer test (and time for some rest)

With temperatures more reminiscent of the South of France than southern Sweden, the weekend was physically demanding for everyone on the grid.

Still, the drivers delivered three competitive races in front of a large Airport Race crowd, with strong performances in both SR3 and SR1.

Radical Cup Scandinavia would like to thank all drivers, teams, partners, officials and spectators who made the weekend at Ljungbyheds Motorbana such a strong event.

We will see you at Ring Knutstorp for round 3.