After being absent in the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Team Bleekemolen is preparing its EuroNASCAR comeback for 2021. The Dutch team will once again rely on Sebastiaan Bleekemolen in the EuroNASCAR PRO Championship and Michael Bleekemolen in the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship, who will share the #69 Ford Mustang.
The team made its official European NASCAR debut in 2019 and immediately made an impact in both championships. Sebastiaan Bleekemolen scored his first top-5 finish in Most after a strong run in the first race at the famous race track in the Czech Republic. Another top-10 followed in the second race at Autodrom Most. Despite the initial success in the NWES, the Dutchman sees a lot of room to improve the performance.
“For me personally EuroNASCAR is one of the nicest championships around and it’s a real challenge”, said the Aerdenhout native. “2019 was a learning year for us and we had some difficulties with the technique of the car, especially the brakes. It was not the start we wanted but we are prepared to do better this year. We will start testing next week and it will be my first time in the Ford Mustang since 2019. I’m really looking forward to firing the engine again.”
Sebastiaan’s father Michael may be the oldest driver on the grid with an age of 71, but the experienced racecar driver never lost a single bit of this competitiveness. In 2019 he celebrated his 70th birthday at Circuit Zolder by changing the teams car number from #69 to #70 for the event. He was a fierce contender to win the Legend Trophy in his EuroNASCAR rookie season but lost against Ian Eric Waden via tie-breaker as the two were tied in points. Michael Bleekemolen aims to win the Legend Trophy for sure.
“I will share the car again with my father Michael, who’s 71 years old right now”, said Sebastiaan, who’s very proud of his father. “He still has got the enthusiasm and fascination for racing like a teenager.”
That’s why the father-son team aims to improve the overall pace of the #69 car and to attack in both EuroNASCAR championships. The battle for titles and trophies will start on May 15-16 at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. Qualifying and all races will be streamed live on EuroNASCAR’s social media profiles – YouTube, Facebook and Twitch – as well as on Motorsport.tv.
