Three days, two races for each division and one round will decide the championships of the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. It’s time for the EuroNASCAR Finals held at its traditional venue of Circuit Zolder in the woods of Limburg. Drivers and teams are all focused to get their setups right because there will be little room for error in the upcoming races at the 4.010 kilometer race track. PK Carsport’s Vittorio Ghirelli and Team Bleekemolen’s Melvin de Groot laid a solid foundation by topping the free practice times establishing their early intent to secure the EuroNASCAR PRO championship and EuroNASCAR 2 Legend Trophy in Belgium.
EURONASCAR FINALS LINKS: INFO & TICKETS | SCHEDULE | ENTRY LIST | LIVE TIMING | WATCH LIVEEuroNASCAR PRO: Ghirelli overcomes issues in first Practice session
Once again Vittorio Ghirelli found himself as the leader of the free practice sessions in EuroNASCAR PRO, but he faced some adversity. An oil leak with the #24 Chevrolet Camaro, as reported by the Italian, prevented the Fasano native from setting a time in the first session, but he bounced back and clocked the fastest lap of the day with a time of 1:37.409 in the second session. Sebastiaan Bleekemolen put up a great drive and was second fastest, splitting Ghirelli from one of his closest rivals: Junior Trophy leader Paul Jouffreau. The Frenchman was followed closely by returning Anthony Kumpen in fourth with reigning champion Gianmarco Ercoli completing the top-5.
Vladimiros Tziortzis was sixth fastest, beating Liam Hezemans by a very slim margin. Fabrizio Armetta was eighth, but had mechanical problems in Final Practice that brought out a late red flag. Marc Goossens and Lucas Lasserre rounded out the top-10 positions, narrowly edging out Ryan Vargas who will compete in the Finals with the #11 Team Bleekemolen Ford Mustang. Thomas Toffel, fresh from his maiden overall podium in Germany, was the quickest in the Challenger Trophy. Tobias Dauenhauer had a scary moment when fire was spotted inside the cockpit of the #99 Bremotion Chevrolet Camaro, but the German walked away unhurt.
EuroNASCAR 2: No one can’t touch de Groot
Zolder is a historically good track for Melvin de Groot. The Dutchman scored a podium at Belgium every year since his debut in 2021, but now he wants to go one step further. His ambition to take his first overall victory in EuroNASCAR 2 looks to have started on a positive note with his domination of the free practice sessions. The Team Bleekemolen driver was sixth tenths ahead in the first session and while his rivals closed the gap, no one was able to beat his best time of 1:38.142. De Groot is also fighting for his third consecutive Legend Trophy victory and fittingly, his closest rival there is the second fastest driver of the day: Claudio Cappelli. The Italian was feeling extra motivated after his maiden win in Germany and is hoping for more gold in the Finals.
Gil Linster topped the primary title contenders in third ahead of Thomas Dombrowski, an impressive fourth on his first outing with PK Carsport. Thomas Krasonis completed the top-5 ahead of Jack Davidson, with Patrick Schober edging championship leader Martin Doubek. Doubek was hampered by brake issues, as reported by the Czech driver himself and Hendriks Motorsport team owner Roy Hendriks. Thomas Toffel was ninth with Victor Neumann fastest amongst the Rookie Trophy contenders in tenth. Luli del Castello in 13th led the Lady Trophy, just behind CAAL Racing teammate Roberto Benedetti who made his return following his injury.
The EuroNASCAR Finals promises to bring the action and drama to the forefront, so be sure to tune in to EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel and numerous TV channels around the world on Saturday to watch the all-important Qualifying session and the first of two double points races for both EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2.
EuroNASCAR PRO Results | EuroNASCAR 2 Results
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