After a forced break in the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season, the EuroNASCAR V8 beasts are finally back in the Czech Republic! The Autodrom Most will host the third event of the 2021 NWES season and mark the halfway point of the EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2 Championships. In addition, the Club Challenge will be back in action on Friday morning. The championship battles are on and who’s gonna leave the Czech Republic as the points leader with the red Whelen banner?
EuroNASCAR PRO: Hezemans the man to beat
Loris Hezemans leads the EuroNASCAR PRO standings after four races between Valencia and Brands Hatch. The Dutchman, who’s piloting the #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang, scored three wins and a second place so far. That puts him in the lead with a 20 point advantage on CAAL Racing’s Gianmarco Ercoli. Reigning Champion and CAAL Racing returnee Alon Day has to show his comeback qualities as he sits only in eighth despite having won Round 3 at Brands Hatch.
Hezemans has mixed memories of the Autodrom Most: the Dutchman suffered a blown engine in the first race of 2019 but came back with a remarkable win on Sunday. Day on the other side speaks of the “worst memory of his racing career” when he thinks about the first NASCAR GP Czech Republic. The Israeli had to retire in both races back in 2019 and therefore has a score to settle. Ercoli’s best finish at Autodrom Most so far is a seventh place in the Saturday race of 2019.
But there is also a strong title contender named Nicolo Rocca: In 2019, the Italian won the first race at Autodrom Most that put him right in the title battle for the season. In 2021, Rocca is third in the overall standings with a 25-point deficit on Hezemans. The Turin native wants to confirm his strong form at Autodrom Most with two solid results and maybe his first win with DF1 Racing. With EuroNASCAR 2 Champion Vittorio Ghirelli and the “Flying Dutchman” Sebastiaan Bleekemolen lurking in fourth and fifth, there are two more hot candidates for the first EuroNASCAR PRO wins of their careers.
NWES veterans Lucas Lasserre and Frederic Gabillon follow in sixth and seventh. Both Frenchmen are also eager to add another win to their records, while Giorgio Maggi, who’s tied with Day in eighth, wants to bring his brand new designed #18 Ford Mustang with the colors of Switzerland into Victory Lane. Marc Goossens is tenth in the overall standings and also hungry to climb the ranks.
EuroNASCAR 2: Tobias Dauenhauer versus the local hero?
2020 runner-up Tobias Dauenhauer is leading the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship after scoring his first win of the season at Brands Hatch. The German Hendriks Motorsport driver sits 9 points ahead of Most’s local hero Martin Doubek, who dominated the season opener at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia with two wins. Will the German and the Czech be battling for the overall lead or will there be a surprise winner like Advait Deodhar in the UK?
One of those possible first time winners could be Vladimiros Tziortis at the wheel of the #1 Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport Ford Mustang. With three top-5 and four top-10 results so far, the Cypriot is only 15 points shy of the Championship leader. Brands Hatch winner Deodhar follows in fourth with a 20-point deficit. Double V Racing’s Pierluigi Veronesi is fifth, only 1 point behind the Indian in the CAAL Racing colors.
Israel’s Naveh Talor is another dark horse for the NASCAR GP Czech Republic. The Not Only Motorsport driver shone with one top-5 and three top-10 results so far and is eager to score his first EuroNASCAR 2 win. Simon Pilate and Alberto Panebianco will make their Most debuts at the upcoming weekend, while Justin Kunz from Germany has scored one top-5 and two top-10’s at Most in the 2019 season. Youngster Francesco Garisto rounds out the top-10 of the overall standings.
The NASCAR GP Czech Republic at Autodrom Most takes place on August 28-29. Qualifying and all races will be broadcasted live on the EuroNASCAR social media platforms – YouTube, NWES App, Facebook and Twitch – as well as on Motorsport.tv.
EuroNASCAR PRO
Alon Day wants to finish his first race at Most – After retiring in both races of the 2019 NWES season, the Israeli wants to see the checkered flag for the first time at Autodrom Most in a EuroNASCAR car. With two strong results, the CAAL Racing driver could get back right into the championship battle to defend his title.
The Trophy battles are on fire – While Gianmarco Ercoli dominates the Junior Trophy for drivers of an age of a maximum of 25 ahead of Giorgio Maggi, the top-4 of the Challenger Trophy for bronze and silver drivers in EuroNASCAR are only separated by 9 points. Marko Stipp Motorsport’s Yevgen Sokolovskiy leads the special classification.
Jacques Villeneuve back on the grid – The 1997 Formula One World Champion had to skip the NASCAR GP UK due to his obligations on TV. The Canadian will be back on the grid at Autodrom Most with Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport.
EuroNASCAR 2
Alberto Panebianco the rookie to beat – The Italian has a strong advantage in the Rookie Trophy standings after four solid runs at Valencia and Brands Hatch. The Not Only Motorsport driver leads the special classification ahead of Miguel Gomes and Alina Loibnegger.
2 points separate the Legend Trophy top drivers – Yevgen Sokolovskiy and Max Lanza are only 2 points apart in the Legend Trophy for drivers aged 40 and more. Ian Eric Waden follows in third with a small 10-point deficit on the special classification’s leader from the Ukraine. In the Lady Trophy, Arianna Casoli leads Loibnegger by 5 points.
A new track for several top drivers – Due to its cancellation in the 2020 NWES season, a lot of top drivers of the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship will get to know Most for the first time. Dauenhauer, Tziortzis, Pilate and Garisto are among the debutants in EuroNASCAR. Deodhar, Veronesi, Talor and Kunz, on the other hand, already have important experience on the 4.1 kilometer long track.
