The December 13-14 second leg of the 2019 NWES Drivers Recruitment Program at Italy’s Autodromo di Franciacorta featured an international lineup of 28 drivers, ranging from affirmed GT and touring car veterans to young karting talents approaching a race car for the first time in their career.
All the participants had the opportunity to complete several runs at the wheel of a Euro NASCAR car and meet the NWES organization, competing to receive support for their debut season in NASCAR. They also had the opportunity to exchange informations with three race winners from 2018 – Lucas Lasserre, Loris Hezemans and Gianmarco Ercoli – and 1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve.
The Canadian announced his full-time participation to the 2019 NWES season on Sunday.
All reactions to the Recruitment Days were simply enthusiastic, confirming the unique specifications of the NWES car to fit to every kind of driver, from absolute beginners to world-class top drivers.
“It was the first time for me in a car like this. I drove almost every GT car you can imagine but this is really different. It’s raw, it’s fast, it’s slippery, it’s everything you love as a racecar driver,” GT veteran Sebastiaan Bleekemolen said.
“It’s totally different from what I was used to and it’s so fun! It’s so easy to approach and the noise is fantastic,” said Porsche Cup driver Gregor Burkard, to which his brother Ricardo added “You need to work a lot and it makes it really fun to drive. It’s just great.”
Alongside the above mentioned, the list of drivers who took the wheel at Franciacorta included: Former F1 driver Michael Bleekemolen, Emile Van Vesting, Giorgio Maggi, Alex Fontana, Niccolò Schirò, Naveh Taylor, Alessandro Perico, Warren Knipper, Riccardo Piergentili, Santtu Valtteri, Thomas Krasonis, Andre Castro, Steven Dewulf, Alina Loibnegger, Michaela Dorcikova, Felipe Espinosa, Mattia Vita, Nives Armetti and Silvia Simoni.
Formula 2 & 3 team owner and former Formula 1 driver Adrian Campos, with co-owner Salvatore Gandolfo, also visited the Autodromo di Franciacorta in occasion of the December 13-14 Recruitment Days.
Four karting drivers also earned the opportunity to drive a Euro NASCAR by participating in the Italian NasKart Series supported by NWES: championship winner Moreno Di Silvestro, Alessio Bacci, Christian Castelli and Alessandro Brigatti. With the NasKart title, Di Silvestro won a full season seat in the ELITE 2 Division in 2019 on a Racers Motorsport car.
As the NWES organization continues to strive for the best mix in terms of driving pleasure and parity among the competitors, a development car also completed two full days of flawless testing, bringing to the track the new General Tire tyres that will equip the Euro NASCAR grid in 2019 alongside a a set of suspension updates and a new spoiler.
The final technical and sporting packages for the 2019 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will be unveiled soon.
NASCAR Euro Series PR
