Hungaroring

A race that would not settle

The 41 laps at Hungaroring produced a contest whose shape altered repeatedly before Nik Likar was able to put his name to the result. Linus Jonsson held the early advantage in the Lambo 291, only for Likar to move his McLaren ahead on the second lap. That was merely the opening exchange in a race which refused to yield a settled leader.

Adamike99's Ligier JS35B took over by the end of lap six and remained at the head of affairs until Likar reclaimed the place on lap 23. There was another turn in the final quarter: Adamike99 again went ahead at the end of lap 35, with Likar restoring the order one lap later. It was a remarkable contribution from Adamike99, who was ultimately classified 20th after completing 35 laps, but it left Likar with the lead when the race reached its decisive final stretch.

The changes at the front gave the event its restless character. Likar had faced Adamike99 closely through the middle and later stages, their contest running particularly tightly from laps 26 to 35. Yet the final challenge would come from another quarter.

Masse closes in

Florian Masse had been among the central figures from the opening phase. His Brabham BT60Y, Jonsson's Lambo and the McLarens of margar17 and Helder Ferreira formed a compact leading group in the first eight laps, with little to choose among them. As the race developed, Masse emerged as Likar's principal rival.

Once Likar had wrested back the lead on lap 36, the Frenchman remained close enough to make every remaining lap matter. There was no release for the McLaren driver in the closing phase; Masse stayed within two seconds on five occasions during the last fifth of the race and carried the pursuit all the way to the chequered flag.

Likar nevertheless held the narrow advantage. After 41 laps, both men had completed the full distance, the McLaren crossing the line just 0.391 seconds before the Brabham. In an archive where close finishes are uncommon, it was a margin of exceptional smallness, and a fitting conclusion to a race in which the lead had changed hands five times.

A closely argued podium

Jonsson completed the podium in third place, his Lambo only 0.192 seconds behind Masse. Thus the first three cars all reached the flag on the lead lap, with the final two steps of the podium decided by less than six-tenths of a second in total.

Jonsson had supplied the race's fastest lap, a 1:25.691, and his early spell in front had made him a serious presence rather than a distant beneficiary of the late contest. Masse, though, found sufficient pace and consistency to secure second place, while Jonsson had to settle for third after a race spent in and around the foremost group.

Behind them, margar17 and Helder Ferreira brought their McLaren MP4/6s home fourth and fifth, preserving the order they had earned in the leading pack. The result made the front of the field a varied one: McLaren, Brabham and Lambo represented on the podium after an afternoon in which no single contender was permitted a comfortable command.

The first of its kind

For Likar, the victory carried significance beyond the fraction of a second by which it was won. It was his first victory in this Championship and his first recorded race win in the THR archive. The achievement was earned not by an early escape, but through the ability to regain the lead twice after it had been lost, then withstand Masse when the contest had become most acute.

The Championship table, already influenced by its dropped-score regulation, has Jayden HW at its head on 70 points despite a difficult Hungaroring race in which he was classified 23rd after 21 laps. Masse's second place lifts him from seventh to second on 57 points, ahead of margar17 on 55. Likar's breakthrough win places him 12th with 35 points after three of the eight rounds.