Linus Lundqvist’s American open-wheel journey received an incredible boost on Wednesday as the new SCCA Pro Racing Formula Regional Americas champion was confirmed for a free Indy Lights ride in 2021.

Having won 12 of 14 rounds in the Honda turbo-powered Formula 3 series, including the first eight in a row, the Swede claimed the title with ease and, thanks to a new incentive offered by Honda Performance Development, a ticket to race with a Honda-affiliated Indy Lights team to move one step closer to the NTT IndyCar Series. With the 2018 British F3 championship already bearing Lundqvist’s name, plus the new FRA title, the promising 21-year-old is ready to pursue another crown when the Lights series returns next season.

“It’s great to read the news about the Indy Lights program, and it’s a journey for me that’s been moving quite quickly, because even if I look back, seven or eight months ago, I wasn’t even a hundred percent sure what or where I would be racing this year,” Lundqvist told RACER. “And then obviously we had the opportunity to go sign with the Global Racing Group in the Formula Regional Americas championship, and I’ve got to say, the biggest reason for that was because of the Honda scholarship; it is probably the biggest prize in any junior motorsport this year. Any driver would be super lucky to have that possibility to go with Honda, to push them to the next step. I’m grateful, and obviously, the season’s been going really well to win the championship. So what more can you ask for?”

At GRG, Lundqvist built a quick bond with race engineer Mark Weida, whose Leading Edge Motorsports team was among the early entrants when the Indy Lights series sparked to life in the 1980s. On top of the Indy 500 and sports car engineering opportunities presented to Weida, decades of expertise in shaping young open-wheel talent helped produce Lundqvist’s dominant year in FRA.

“I’ve been working with Mark throughout the year and then I got to say even from, from day one, we hit it off just right,” he said. “And I think we work extremely well together because neither of us is that complicated. It’s more about identifying the biggest issue with the car, or where we can improve the most, and that’s where we go. It doesn’t have to be that complicated, and obviously it’s been working really well. And coming here, not knowing anyone, it was not just a big step for me, career wise and driving wise, but also personally coming here, living in the US, so Mark and the team have been really good and really accepted me, so it’s been a happy experience.”

Compared to the schedule of road racing offered in FRA, Lundqvist says he can’t wait to join the Road To Indy where multi-discipline skills are required.

“I’m super excited for the challenge, and honestly, one of the things that I’m looking forward to the most in Indy Lights is the ovals,” he said. “Getting to try the ovals is big, because that’s still something that I haven’t done yet. So I know it’s going to be super tough, really difficult, but I’m really excited for that challenge. Just looking at the track record and the history, the champions that Indy Lights has produced, it’s great to see that the championship is going again, and honestly, it’s looking quite strong.

“With [2019 Indy Pro 2000 champion] Kyle Kirkwood, and then you’ve got the next champion of the Indy Pro 2000 series who will get a scholarship, and then obviously me with the scholarship, and then obviously everyone else getting in too, I think it’s going to be really competitive as it should be. I can’t wait to start testing!”

With countrymen Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson in IndyCar, and Rasmus Lindh expected to be on the 2021 Indy Lights grid, Lundqvist is yet another high-caliber Swedish export who could be representing the nation in the big series within the coming years.

“Just thinking about how many of us are here now, it’s great,” he said. “And obviously, the key thing is me being one of the Swedes to make it to IndyCar! I think it just shows as well the potential with coming here to America to race and the opportunity that if you do well, you can actually go places and that it’s not just about budget side of it. It really shows that if you’re a young talent and you want to progress, then America is a great place to be.”