We are so back for Aquila Formula 1000 2026! The new season brings about a TON new drivers onto the grid, with fast drivers like Even from Norway, and Mason from Denmark. The international attention and capabilities of Aquila is amazing, and it goes to show a long way on how Aquila is the perfect stepping stone for higher tier series. Look at Gustav Berglund, or Elias Adestam, both of which are driving Ginetta and Nordic 4 respectively.
This season from the start has been a blast with new rookies to fight, and new competitors to challenge, and my early pace already taught me that I still have lots of learn! So without further ado, let's get on with the race report!
Test 1 & 2
Test 1 & 2 relatively went okay. The main focus was just trying to get back into the groove of the track, and it was also a humbling moment that reminded me that I was not him, as there was still the likes of Andreas Skatteboe, Enzo Cohlin, Albin Gustavson, and William Eriksson still quite ahead of me, and with a new Norwegian rookie also taking the top spots. Luckily enough, I was able to fight with Enzo Cohlin and William Eriksson off pure pace (Without slipstream or traffic on dry conditions), and their fight is as high as P3 in the junior class.
Qualifications
Qualifications was suprising to say the least. I had tow and was sharing said tow with William Eriksson, and whilst I was able to get P5, unfortunately, I did not have much chances to get any higher positions due to traffic or yellow flags which during this weekend, resulted in automatic time deletion if you had not passed an incident. Well, it wasn't like I wasn't gonna get a chance since out of nowhere, on my last push lap, I suddenly had my left-side driveshaft break, out of nowhere. No warning, No signs, It just broke out of all of the sudden. We are unaware of the cause, but we successfully replaced the driveshaft while classifying as P5 overall.
Race 1
Unfortunately, Race 1 was not all sunshines and rainbows... literally. It was cloudy and cold, which is kinda my favorite conditions on a track. The start was okay, but unfortunately, early into the race, I had lost positions down to P7 as I tried to fight against Enzo Cohlin and Claes Hoffsten (Who by the by, raced in STCC back in the 2000s), for P5. I managed to get close, and even alongside, but Enzo was a massive late breaker, and Claes was practically the Renault Twingo of the race, impossible to pass, but fun to see and fight. But for some reason, out of sheer heart attack of luck, my LEFT SIDE DRIVESHAFT B̶̡̛̯̘̺͚͍͔̺̩̟̦̗̰͚͍̔̐̓̕͠Ṛ̸̡͙̱̩͍͉̲̩̹̞͈̤͐͊͆̓͆̑̂͂̅̑͂͆̾͘Ŏ̶̧͔͓̟͓͕̭̀̅͂͂͆̈͛͌̇̾͋K̶̢̢̟͉̺͍͎̲͚̳̣͔̹͑Ě̵̡̜͌̓̃̌͐̍̉̔̊̿̕͝ ̶̧̛̠̫̌̑̉̾̅̍̄̐̉̚͘͠ͅA̸͓̰̻̩̗̩̭̤̭͇͕͖̦̅́̐̋̏̑͆G̷̠͖̜̿̒̑̂͛͝A̴̢̧̺̱̖̠͇̤̬̾͐̂͜͜I̸̡̡̧̞̙̙͈̙̯̘̲͛̐̉̽̅ͅǸ̸̩̈́͋. You read that right, I've had as much luck as an apartment has against a maddog ARH missile
We were lucky to have completed 75% of the race to snatch some points and eventually end up last...
Race 2
BUUUUT. Race 2 is another chance, eh? I ended up starting last, but an excellent start in the wet conditions allowed me to slide past drivers like Carl-Wilhelm Björnemalm, and Celina Hessman who has tons more experience than me, but the grip on my car made me feel like I was the main character for about half a lap where I suddenly spun out and had to fight my way up again. I managed to catch up to pace and hold myself in top 10 but as always, Another one bites the dust. I spun out due to late correction, and poor grip on the track and I beached myself on the gravel, with thankfully minimal damage and just a really dirty sad car.
Race 3
Race 3 was thankfully the lucky charm I needed to make sure my bad luck on this circuit, doesn't get worse. Race 2 had me remained classified and thankfully get some points, and the points collected from qualifying to race 2, and thankfully, I managed to start in 9th. This race was extremely fun, as I managed to have some exciting fights with drivers like Max Stjernelund, and Mason Bjerring. Those drivers were extremely fun to drive, until they drove themselves off. But I have to give them lots of credit. The two drivers are extremely tough and fun to fight, and I am extremely excited to fight against them during the MidSweden Race Weekend.
Unfortunately, this was such a boring race, that I can't really describe much of it, and I ended up P6 overall, and P4 in the junior class. It was so boring for me, that I could probably nod off and wake up still in P6.
Overall, I have to give my primary thanks to Elias Adestam for his coaching support. He is literally my best coach and I wouldn't ask for anyone else to coach me than him. And I would like to thank the drivers of Aquila Formula 1000 for making the fighting on-track extremely fun, and for their companionship off in the paddock. Speaking of drivers...
DRIVER OF THE WEEKEND
You thought I would skip this? Wouldn't ya.
Haha, no. ITS TIME FOR DRIVER OF THE WEEKEND!!!
DOTW OVERALL: Andreas Skatteboe! You thought he'd be out this season? Nuh uh! He is here to stay, He is here to fight for the victory once again. He doesn't look like he is getting tired of this, quite the opposite. What I'm seeing on-track is just a whole new beast being unleashed year after year of racing, snatching victories and podiums left and right, and this weekend was no different, able to keep up with Even Hoff Knai.
DOTW JUNIOR: William Eriksson! This good ol' friend of mine has evolved beyond what I believed. Honestly, I didn't expect from the start of the season that he'd start to fight for the win, and honestly, seeing him fight always brings a smile to my face, the way he just drives and fights, and especially off-track, his friendliness makes him a really likeable person off and on the grid this weekend. Umazing job William for being able to stay on-top there and I hope to see you win soon!
DOTW ROOKIE: EVEN HOFF KNAI! Say hello to Dante Johansson 2.0. Faster, More Aggressive, Better control, Friendly person. All of this mashed together into one insane rookie who knows how to put on a show. He is an extremely capable driver and a friendly driver off grid, whom you'll find hard to not like the guy and on-track, jesus, his pace can be enough to make your hands tremble on the wheel due to his incredible car control from his crosskarting days, and his incredible pace right from the first laps of the test. Honestly, I am excited to see more from him, and the anticipation keeps building up! So I'm hoping to see some good shows and fights from him, and I'm hoping to join him up high on the grid!
