Virtual Circuit Zandvoort, on the Netherlands’ North Sea shores, is the next stop for the EuroNASCAR Esports Series on Tuesday, May 19th at 20:00 CEST. The famous 4.320-kilometer road course will welcome NASCAR Whelen Euro Series drivers and teams on iRacing for the third exciting round of the ENES. More than 70 drivers sent their entry for the event, including GT racing star Jeroen Bleekemolen.
With three different drivers in the first three events of the season – including the Prologue at Daytona – the EuroNASCAR Esports Series is one of most competitive simracing championships in Europe and Zandvoort’s famous Tarzan Bocht, Hugenholtzbocht and Scheivlak will pose a new challenge to all the competitors.
The Dutch track hosted two rounds of the real-life NWES in 2011 before it became a NASCAR-sanctioned series. The races were won by Eric Helary and Ander Vilarino.
“Some years ago we saw that these cars can deliver great racing at Circuit Zandvoort. And with the current level of competition and the strong entry list, we expect plenty of motorsport fireworks during this Esports race,” said Erik Weijers, Chief Sporting Officer of Circuit Zandvoort.
DF1 Racing’s EuroNASCAR 2 champion Lasse Soerensen leads the ENES drivers standings with a three-point advantage on two-time NWES champion and PK Carsport driver Alon Day. Both drivers are eagerly searching for their first win in the iRacing series after.
Two Dutchmen representing a Dutch team follow suit: reigning NWES champion Loris Hezemans, who is also looking for his first ENES win, sits in third with a four points deficit from the leader and just ahead of his Hendriks Motorsport crew chief Jeffrey Roeffen.
Prologue winner and DF1 Racing driver Andre Castro closes the top-5 ahead of the third round of the EuroNASCAR Esports Series, while Round 1 winner Guillaume Deflandre has to climb back from 13th in points.
After enjoying their first NWES season in 2019 with Sebastiaan and Michael Bleekemolen sharing the #69 Ford, Team Bleekemolen will field a car for another member of the family in their virtual home race at Circuit Zandvoort. GT racing ace Jeroen Bleekemolen is set to make his ENES debut on the #469 Mustang. The Dutchman, an admirer of the real-life European NASCAR series is looking forward to his first virtual NASCAR race.
The real-life NWES track partners will be represented by a strong and competitive group of drivers. Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo will again be on the grid MotoGP star Iker Lecuona on the #427 Fordzilla Mustang and telemetry engineer Antonio Ortiz on the #413. The Autodrom Most will field the #420 Toyota with single-seater and GT driver Gabriela Jilkova from the Czech Republic at the wheel, while Autodrom Most Sales Manager Jakub Krafek will try to make his way through pre-qualifying on the #483 Camry. Motorsports journalist Michael Bräutigam will make his ENES debut on the #479 Chevrolet Camaro for the Hockenheimring American Fan Fest.
Of the 70+ drivers entered in the event, only 60 will advance to the prime-time event, which consists of three 10-minute Heats promoting 10 competitors each to the Main Event race. Those eliminated from the Heat races will have one more 10-minute Last Chance Qualifier to grab one of the last six places in the 36-car 30-minute Main Event.
The ENES Round 3 at Circuit Zandvoort will be broadcasted live on Tuesday, May 19, on 8 pm CEST on the EuroNASCAR Facebook page, YouTube channel and Twitch profile as well as on Motorsport.tv.
NWES PR
