First shots fired in Playoffs: Ghirelli and Schober on Pole Position in Germany - Speedway Digest

The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Playoffs began in earnest with the Qualifying session for the 2024 NASCAR GP Germany. Qualifying has always been important, but at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben the session is more crucial than ever because it sets the grid for the first of the four double points paying races drivers will take on in the Playoffs. Familiar faces will line up first with Vittorio Ghirelli and Patrick Schober clocking the fastest lap and securing back-to-back Qualifying Pole Position Awards. The Italian and the Austrian will lead the field for the Semi Finals 1 on Saturday that promises to bring plenty of memorable moments for fans of NASCAR in Europe.

NASCAR GP GERMANY LINKS: INFO & TICKETS | SCHEDULE|ENTRY LIST|LIVE TIMING|WATCH LIVEEuroNASCAR PRO: Ghirelli continues perfect Qualifying Pole Position Award streak

Vittorio Ghirelli is literally unstoppable in Qualifying with his #24 PK Carsport Chevrolet Camaro. Having swept all five Qualifying Pole Position Awards during the regular season, the championship leader kept his record streak alive with a blistering Superpole time of 1:31.416 that was 0.650 seconds faster than his nearest competitor, Junior Trophy leader Liam Hezemans of Hendriks Motorsport. RDV Competition’s Paul Jouffreau lined up third to secure a 1-2-3 start for the top-3 drivers in the standings, a situation that makes EuroNASCAR PRO Semi Finals 1 a must watch for the spectacle that it’ll provide.

“It was a really nice lap,” said Ghirelli with his 12th career Pole Award in his hands. “The car was not the easiest to drive, but it was also very fast. PK Carsport did a really fantastic job, we fine tuned everything in Practice and this morning the car is flying. It’s not easy, but we made it. Six out of six is very good and I’m confident to bring it home. It’s always good to start on the front, but then the race is another story.”

Reigning champion Gianmarco Ercoli and Marc Goossens completed the top-5 positions. With double points on the line, the two veterans have a strong chance to gain ground from their rivals. Ulysse Delsaux and Vladimiros Tziortzis were sixth and seventh ahead of Ryan Vargas. The American showed that his experience at the 3.668 kilometer circuit from 2023 has been beneficial. Lucas Lasserre and Fabrizio Armetta rounded out the top-10 with Liam Lambert taking a surprise first place in the Challenger Trophy in 16th place.

EuroNASCAR 2: Spectacular late push for Schober

EuroNASCAR 2 has a reputation for unpredictability and Qualifying at Oschersleben exemplified the element that made the division so competitive. Thomas Toffel led for most of the session in the #34 Race Art Technology Chevrolet Camaro and was confident that his time of 1:32.378 would keep him at the top until the end. However, Patrick Schober of RDV Competition found an opportunity to make a late push in clean air. It was all or nothing for Schober, but the Austrian’s effort paid off as he beat the Swiss driver with a lap of 1:32.128 to take his second career pole position in consecutive rounds.

“I finally managed to find a lap where I had no traffic because in the first 10 minutes I struggled to find the pace and where to get a traffic-less lap,” explained Schober. “I then stayed behind a fast car and told myself that it had to be the lap. No mistakes, fully concentrate, and we managed to do it again. We worked on setup throughout the weekend and we found the perfect setup in our car on this track. I think it will be a good race and hopefully I can score a victory again.”

Gil Linster qualified a strong third ahead of Claudio Remigio Cappelli, who topped the Legend Trophy for drivers aged 40 and above. Championship leader Martin Doubek was only fifth, but the Czech driver is confident that he can maintain his advantage in the standings. Thomas Krasonis edged Victor Neumann for sixth, but the Frenchman was the fastest in Rookie Trophy. Thomas Dombrowski, Melvin de Groot, and Jack Davidson round out the top-10. De Groot and Michael Bleekemolen completed the Legend Trophy top-3 with Mario Ercoli and Florian Richard trailing behind Neumann in the Rookie Trophy. The Lady Trophy was led by Luli del Castello in 19th.

The exciting Playoff 1 rounds for EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2 will see the drivers push their V8 powered EuroNASCAR machines to the limit. Be sure to tune in to EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel and several TV networks from all around the world when the broadcast goes live on 13:10 CEST and 16:50 CEST.