After winning the EuroNASCAR 2 title in 2015 and becoming the first EuroNASCAR 2 champion to win a EuroNASCAR PRO race at Brands Hatch in 2018, Gianmarco Ercoli has been a dominant force and a true title contender in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. The 27-year-old will return to CAAL Racing for the 2023 season to once again challenge for the EuroNASCAR PRO title at the wheel of the #54 Chevrolet Camaro, and the Italian is eager to add the beautiful Tijey Trophy to his trophy room at home.
After making his full-time debut in EuroNASCAR’s top division in 2016, the 2019 season was the first in which Ercoli really had a say in the championship battle. While scoring four top-5 finishes, the NWES veteran finished sixth in the overall championship. The coronavirus pandemic affected the 2020 season, but Ercoli still found his A-game. In front of empty grandstands, he scored his first EuroNASCAR PRO home track victory at the Autodromo di Vallelunga. As in 2019, the Rome native finished sixth overall at the end of a solid season.
Only three points separated Ercoli from winning the championship in 2021. The Italian won the Junior Trophy, but was beaten in the overall standings by Loris Hezemans. Seven top-5 finishes and a race win in Croatia showed the Rome pilot’s strength: his consistency! Despite seeing Hezemans in Victory Lane four times during the season, he remained in contention until the very last minute in 2021. In 2022, it was Ercoli against Alon Day, who took his fourth title, while Ercoli finished third with three victories to his name.
The Italian will do his best to overcome the last obstacle and win the EuroNASCAR PRO Championship. “I want to finish in the top 5 in every race of the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season,” said Ercoli, who continues to rely on his consistency. The driver and safety instructor is ready for the “close battles” and “pure racing” that are his favorite parts of EuroNASCAR. As a soccer player and boxer in his spare time, Ercoli has what it takes to take on another championship battle and maybe knock out the other competitors after twelve rounds of fair but hard racing.
Like his idol Fernando Alonso, Ercoli has the fighting spirit and enthusiasm for racing that he discovered as a child watching Formula 1 races on television. The first round of the NWES season will take place on May 6-7 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. All qualifying and race sessions will be broadcast live on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and various television services around the world. Ercoli will be looking to improve and take the final step to the top of the podium at the end of another spectacular season of NASCAR racing in Europe.
NWES PR
