Following the early drama for Patrick Schober on the Saturday race of NASCAR GP Germany, the Austrian took advantage of a second chance when he lined up first on the grid for EuroNASCAR 2 Playoffs 02 at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. The RDV Competition driver got off to a perfect start to safely clear the tricky first corner and then maintained his cool during two restarts to clinch his second victory of the 2024 season. With Martin Doubek facing adversity in the opening lap, Schober was able to reduce his deficit to the Czech driver and set up an exciting showdown for the EuroNASCAR Finals at Circuit Zolder in Belgium.
NASCAR GP GERMANY LINKS: INFO & TICKETS | SCHEDULE | ENTRY LIST | LIVE TIMING | WATCH LIVE“I don’t know where Doubek finished, so I’m pretty curious about the points standings right now after the victory,” expressed Schober after a challenging 18-lap race. “I want to say thanks to my team RDV Competition, my sponsors and my parents that have been really supporting me throughout this weekend. It feels good to be back in the Victory Lane, especially here where I got my first victory last year.”
No incidents took place in the first corner, but a game changing one happened in turn 3. Contact between Saturday’s winner Claudio Remigio Cappelli and Thomas Toffel left Doubek with nowhere to go. The accordion effect also collects Melvin de Groot, but the Hendriks Motorsport driver came out the worst as he fell down to 22nd. The Czech driver therefore had to mount a comeback. A Safety Car caused by Cappelli’s crash at turn 13 on lap 5 provided him with the opportunity to minimize his losses. A ninth place finish will ensure that Doubek will have a safe cushion to fall back in the championship deciding Finals.
Gil Linster used the opportunity to gain plenty of points to his teammate with a second place finish. Toffel came home in third, completing the podium ahead of Melvin de Groot and Jack Davidson. De Groot was unchallenged in the Legend Trophy classifications, while Davidson took a top-5 finish after a thrilling, clean and fair battle with Thomas Krasonis in the last few laps.
Krasonis therefore finished sixth ahead of Mario Ercoli and Florian Richard, who took a 1-2 finish in the Rookie Trophy. Ercoli also earned the bonus points for gaining the most positions, the younger brother of EuroNASCAR PRO champion Gianmarco climbing up 11 places from 18th on the grid. Thomas Dombrowski rounded out the top-10 positions. Simone Giussani in 11th took third in the Rookie Trophy after a strong race for the Double V Racing driver. The Lady Trophy was led by Luli del Castello in 14th, the Italian sweeping the top prize in the special classification for female drivers. Michael Bleekemolen and Gordon Barnes filled the podium positions in Legend Trophy in 15th and 19th respectively.
Doubek will continue to carry the red Whelen banner for leading the championship. The deficit to Schober has been slashed down to 33 points, with Linster closing in as well as the Luxembourger is now 51 points behind his Hendriks Motorsport teammate. Thomas Krasonis and Thomas Toffel completed the top-5. Cappelli’s retirement meant Melvin de Groot is back in the Legend Trophy lead in seventh overall while Florian Richard grabbed the top position in Rookie Trophy in tenth. Arianna Casoli continues to be the one to beat in the Lady Trophy in 19th position.
The EuroNASCAR Finals are always going to be a must watch and you don’t want to miss that when the competitors race their last two double points paying races at Belgium on 12-13 October, but for now there’s still EuroNASCAR PRO Playoffs 02 that will be held. Tune in to EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel and several TV networks from all around the world when the broadcast goes live at 14:25 CEST.
EuroNASCAR PRO Results | EuroNASCAR 2 Results
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