British teenager Billy Monger, who lost both of his legs in a savage crash at Donington Park last year, returned to the facility in a triple-header for the BRDC British Formula 3 Championship over the weekend.
And Monger, who competes with Carlin Racing in British F3, made quite the return. In the three races, he scored a pair of poles, his maiden pole positions in British F3, and finished fourth in the opening race of the weekend.
Although an unscheduled pit stop for a new front wing dropped him to 15th at the end of Race 2, he rebounded in Race 3 to finish third, a podium result at the track where he suffered the gruesome leg injuries.
“It’s great to be on the podium,” said Monger, in a story posted on BBC Sport, following Race 3. “This weekend I’ve had nothing else on my mind aside from driving as fast as I can and I think I’ve proved that with two pole positions and the speed I have carried throughout testing and the weekend.”
Monger added, “Earlier in the season my mentality was slightly clouded as I had no idea what to aim for, so getting podiums was an amazing achievement.”
However, Monger felt that race wins were left on the table, and that mistakes he made ultimately cost him a chance to fight for victories over the weekend.
“It’s been a tough weekend in terms of results for me, though,” he said in a statement posted on Carlin’s twitter page. “Mistakes I’ve made have cost us two wins this weekend, but it’s good to at least get a podium.”
Carlin, however, offered support for Monger, as highlighted in the aforementioned statement (shown below in full).
When the primary emotion from a driver at the end of a race is frustration, you know you’re onto a winner. @BillyMonger showing maturity as his own harshest critic this weekend.... #BRDCBritishF3 #Racer pic.twitter.com/3VikkHpJz4
— Rodin Carlin (@RodinCarlin) September 23, 2018
Monger currently ranks sixth in the British F3 championship.