This weekend, the sixth race in this year’s Aquila Formula 1000, the Nordic region’s premier entry-level series in formula car racing, will be decided at the Gelleråsen Arena in Karlskoga. The tight championship get even tighter as the season begins to draw to a close.
Aquila Formula 1000 is coming back to Gelleråsen in Karlskoga for the second time this season. The intense double header at MittSverigebanan outside Sundsvall , made the series even closer. At MittSverigebanan, the drivers were treated to an extreme amount of driving and varied weather.
In the Senior Championship, the reigning champion Kevin Suenson from Denmark went to the top of the table, after passing Elias Adestam in the table.
– The objective is to bring home as many points as possible in relation to Elias Adestam. Elias and I have been fighting all season, and it’s all about who wants it the most. I’m driving for victory, says Kevin Suenson.
Elias Adestam is not only fighting for the title in Aquila Formula 1000, where he has seven victories in this year’s championship. Adestam is also involved in the championship battle in the all-electric NXT Gen Cup, and gets good training this weekend as the NXT Gen Cup competes at Gelleråsen next week.
Joel Granfors is also back in the senior class this weekend, to keep things going for the conclusion of the USF Pro 2000 in the USA. Granfors is also third in the Aquila table, after not being able to participate at the Sturup race weekend.
Dante Johansson won all six races in the Junior Championship at MittSverigebanan, and consolidated his lead in the standings ahead of this weekend’s races at Gelleråsen.
Behind Dante, Viktor Karlsson had a very strong weekend and climbed to second place in the championship, just ahead of Andreas Skatteboe and Robin Hafström, who are chasing close behind.
– At the last competition at MittSverigebannan, it finally started to go my way. I felt that the speed was there, and I was at the top, able to fight for the podiums. I have a good feeling comming in to Gelleråsen, and the goal is to continue to be at the top, says Viktor Karlsson.
There are more drivers from the NXT Gen Cup coming in this weekend to use the Aquila Formula 1000 and its fantastic opportunity for a lot of driving practice before next week’s race at Gelleråsen. 16-year-old Louise Larsson, who had a strong opening to the season in the NXT Gen Cup, makes her Aquila debut at Gelleråsen.
– It will be great fun to test drive Aquila this weekend. As I have only driven front wheel drive cars before, it will be a new challenge. I know a lot of people in the Aquila community, so it will be fun to race against my friends. Maybe even beat some of them, says Louise Larsson and continues:
– This year I am running the NXT Gen Cup, and the idea was that we would run the Volvo Cup in parallel with that. But we’ve never really gotten the car to work properly, so now we’re testing this. All driving is good driving!
In the large and competitive junior class, there are many drivers who come to Gelleråsen this weekend with high ambitions. Alexia Danielsson took her first pole position in Aquila last time in Sundsvall, and last year’s rookie champion Christian Lovén has had a strong form curve in recent races.
Portuguese talent Rodrigo Seabra also made history at MittSverigebanan, when he became the youngest Aquila driver ever on the podium – Only 12 years old. Seabra took three 2nd:places among the juniors during Sunday’s heat, finishing third overall in the junior class. Which meant a prize check of SEK 2,000.
– The races at MittSverigebanan were run in relatively difficult conditions, but it also gave the drivers a lot of training and experience, which is a lot of what Aquila is about: imprving your racecraft and at the same time getting a lot of laps under your belt, says Michael Karpers, promotor for Aquila Formula 1000.
– Not least you could see that on Kalle Svensson, Oscar Mellstig, Fredrik Lindholm and Pete Norbäck, who found more and more speed as the weekend progressed. In total, more than 300 laps were driven per driver during the weekend in Sundsvall. The senior Johan Varland also enjoyed himself in the rain, and moved up the positions significantly during the weekend. It will be exciting to see if he can maintain his momentum at Gelleråsen.