Sunoco Whelen Challenge pairs with PPM for 24 Hours of Daytona
2018 British F3 Championship winning Super Swede and 2019 Sunoco Whelen Challenge winner Linus Lundqvist joins PPM
China Grove, N.C. – December 31, 2018
PPM (Precision Performance Motorsports) is proud to announce the first driver that will be contesting the 57th running of the Daytona 24 Hour in the team’s brand-new Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO.
Linus Lundqvist, 19, of Tyresö, Sweden is the recipient of the prestigious Sunoco Whelen Challenge after absolutely dominating in the 2018 British F3 Championship, taking 7 race wins and claimed the title 85 points clear of the nearest challenger. The teenager follows in the famous footsteps of Mika Hakkinen, Ayrton Senna, Gil de Ferran and 2011 champion, and previous Sunoco Whelen Challenge winner, Filipe Nasr in winning the prestigious title.
In his short career, Linus has collected a number of titles as he has ascended the ranks of single-seater racing to become a driver to watch. In 2016 he claimed the Formula STCC (Scandinavian Touring Car Championship) title to join the FIA Formula Renault 1.6 NEZ (North European) crown he claimed the year before. In 2017 he made the move to the United Kingdom where he competed in the British Formula Four Championship where he finished fifth whilst also getting experience in F3 machinery with a mid-season series debut at the might Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.
“I am really excited to have everything confirmed,” said Linus. “I can’t wait to get on that plane and fly across the Atlantic to race in the States for the first time. It’s going to be a real adventure! I’m super happy to be given the trust and opportunity to drive the Lamborghini GT3 Evo for Precision Performance Motorsports at Daytona! It will be a lot to learn considering it will be my first endurance race but I’m going to do my best and try to learn and enjoy it as much as possible. I also want to say a special thank you to Sonny Whelen, because without him and Whelen Engineering, this opportunity wouldn’t be possible. Also, a big thank you to Eva and Anders Hildebrand and everyone at Anglo American Oil Company Ltd. I’m super proud to be one of the Sunoco Whelen Challenge Winners.”
The Sunoco Whelen Challenge celebrates its tenth year in 2019 and is the brainchild of Anglo American Oil Company boss Anders Hildebrand. The competition is open to drivers in British and European racing championships that are fuelled by Sunoco Race Fuels. The Sunoco Whelen Challenge has its own points structure that gives drivers in multiple series and categories the ability to compete for the grand prize: a seat in the 24h Hours of Daytona.
“I’m very excited to be able to place our Sunoco Whelen Challenge winner with Performance Precision Motorsports in their new Lamborghini GT3 Evo in the ultra-competitive GTD class.” Said Anders Hildebrand on the move. “We are switching from the DPi class to the GTD class for 2019 which will ease the pressure on our winner at the same time as it will give Linus a better chance to flourish. I’ve worked with Sunny Voelker when she looked after our 2015 Sunoco 200 winner Oskar Kruger, when he raced for Mitchum Motorsport, and am really looking forward to working with her and the PPM team. I’m confident that Linus will do a great job for PPM and be a great team player. I cannot thank Sonny Whelen and Whelen Engineering enough for supporting the Sunoco Whelen Challenge and PPM for taking over the Sunoco Whelen Challenge mantle as we look to continue our success at Daytona.”
Passing the Sunoco Whelen Challenge torch to PPM is fellow North Carolina-based team Action Express Racing. The reigning IMSA Prototype and Endurance Cup Champions and 24 Hours of Daytona overall winners have housed the Sunoco Whelen Challenge winner for the previous four seasons in their Corvette Daytona Prototype and more recently in the Cadillac Dpi-V.R. Prototype.
The PPM team is proud to field our Lamborghini GT3 Evo for the Sunoco Challenge winner”, states PPM Team owner, Rick Gdovic. “We look forward to the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Linus and our other drivers as a debut to our season in IMSA WeatherTech.”
Previous Sunoco Challenge winners include, Action Express’ current Prototype Champion and former Sauber F1 driver, Felipe Nasr (2012), Lamborghini Factory Driver and British GT Champion Phil Keen (2015), and Aston Martin Factory Driver Johnny Adam (2016)
Linus will get his first outing in the brand new Lamborghini GT3 Evo for IMSA’s WeatherTech Championship in the Roar Before the 24 test days on January 4-6, leading up to the illustrious 24 Hours of Daytona, January 26-27, 2019.
Sources: Precision Performance Motorsports