The action began Friday morning with guest driver Luc Breukers (#26) of the Creventic team leading the field out for a taste of the Radical experience. While the SR10 of Filip Svensson and Peter Gustafson topped the charts in Thursday’s free practice, the SR3 qualifying session was a much tighter affair.
In a thrilling final-lap dash, RSR’s Marcus Littlewood snatched pole position with a 2:24.347, narrowly eclipsing American Luke Kendall (2:24.587) and China’s Jack Yang, setting the stage for a truly international showdown.
The opening race was defined by immediate drama. A Turn 1 collision between Luke Kendall and Peter Paddon sent the Australian into an early retirement, while Kendall was left to mount a recovery charge from the back of the pack.
The race pace was interrupted by a yellow flag, triggering a flurry of strategic mandatory pit stops. Marcus Littlewood, saddled with success penalties from his Round 1 triumphs, faced an extended stationary time, which shuffled the order. This allowed Danish driver Sebastian Schou to seize the lead.
Luke Kendall made an incredible recovery from the back to secure second place, ahead of returning British racer and Valour Racing teammate, Chris Preen, in third. Preen would also take the Fangio trophy, for drivers aged over 50.
Completing the top 10 were John Macleod, Jack Yang, Marcus Littlewood, Erlend Olsen, Robin Greenhalgh, Lowen Stephens, and Brian Huang.
If Race 1 was about survival, Race 2 was about redemption. However, the start was once again marred by a Turn 1 incident; this time, John Macleod was forced out after a tangle with Erlend Olsen and Shaun Hannah. A second full course yellow followed shortly after when Robin Greenhalgh found the gravel trap.
Once green-flag racing resumed, Filip Svensson utilized the SR10’s raw power to gap the field, leaving a frantic four-way SR3 battle in his mirrors between Littlewood, Kendall, Paddon, and Schou – the chasing trio separated by less than a second.
The race was turned on its head when a third safety car coincided with the opening of the pit window. The lead held by the Radical Sweden SR10 then evaporated when Peter Gustafson spun shortly after taking over, tumbling to 16th.
Amidst the chaos, Radical Cup Australia champion Peter Paddon capitalized on the timing to jump into a significant lead. The race ultimately finished under yellow flags following an incident involving Luc Breukers.
A post-race 15 second penalty was later issued to Andy Lowe of 360 Competition which dropped him from 2nd place down to 15th, and moved Valour Racing’s Chris Preen into 2nd place, as well as taking the Fangio trophy.
This also moved RJ Motorsport’s Lowen Stephens (RJ) up into a 3rd place finish, followed by Gulf Radical Cup drivers Jahid Fazal-Karim and Amir Feyzulin. Luke Kendall and Marcus Littlewood finished 6th and 7th respectively, Sebastian Schou and Morten Strømsted finished 8th, while Shaun Hannah produced a gritty drive to recover to 9th and Radical Netherlands Eddie van Dam completed the top ten.
After a weekend of high-speed chess, the championship standings remain volatile. The Radical Cup Europe now heads to the sun-drenched Circuit Paul Ricard in France for Round 3 at the start of June, where the long Mistral straight will offer plenty of room for these drivers to settle their scores.
Follow the championship at www.radical-cup-europe.com