It was a remarkable day for Marko Stipp Motorsport: the German team grabbed the Club Challenge title with Gordon Barnes at the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet Camaro. The Brit finished second in the event’s standings and therefore scored the championship win in what was a dominating season for him. His teammate Andreas Kuchelbacher – a former Club Challenge champion himself – won the regularity test at the 4-km Autodromo di Vallelunga in Italy.
On his way to the title, Barnes collected a total of 3 wins at Valencia, Most and Grobnik and paved his way to the championship win despite a setback at Zolder. Another consistent ride at Vallelunga was the key to success to grab his first ever EuroNASCAR title and the first championship win in Marko Stipp Motorsport’s history. Barnes was celebrated by the team at the season podium under the sun of Italy. A 1-2 finish – Kuchelbacher won the event – rounded up a perfect Club Challenge day for the German organisation.
“It was a fantastic day for me and the whole Marko Stipp Motorsport team”, said the new Club Challenge champion on the podium. “We picked ourselves up from the disappointment from Zolder. We got the team’s first 1-2 finish today and for me personally the championship win is just fantastic. It’s an amazing feeling and just great. We were really strong and took another podium!”
While former Club Challenge champion Kuchelbacher ended up fifth in the championship standing despite not competing in all races in 2021, 2020 runner-up Federico Monti had to settle for fourth after missing the first session of the day due to issues with his Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport car.
Speedhouse youngster Paul Jouffreau climbed on the overall podium after a strong run in his first ever Club Challenge season. The Frenchman finished fourth at Vallelunga and thus secured third place in the point standings by a single point. Not Only Motorsport’s Nicolo Gabossi finished second after scoring a strong podium finish in Italy where he ended up third.
Simona Lenci closed the day in eighth at the wheel of the #90 Not Only Motorsport car behind Club Challenge debutants Vingilis Kasparas, Kristoffer Norling and Hugo Roch. With the 2021 Club Challenge in the books, the focus switches to the thrilling championship battles in EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2.
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Finals will take place on October 30-31 at Autodromo di Vallelunga in Italy. Qualifying and all 4 decisive sprint races will be broadcasted live on EuroNASCAR’s platforms – YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, NWES App – and Motorsport.tv.
FINAL CLASSIFICATION 2021 CLUB CHALLENGE SEASON
NWES PR
