After an heartbreaking early retirement from the lead on Saturday, Florian Venturi took his #32 Go Fas Racing Chevrolet Camaro to a dominant win of the second ELITE 2 Division race of the NASCAR GP Italy. The 18-year-old Frenchman led all 24 laps of the race, grabbing his second career win, the first of 2019 with a 15 second lead on the rest of the field.
Starting from the pole, Venturi immediately took off and constantly gained ground, perfectly capitalizing on a strong pace and his fresher General Tire tyres.
“It’s very good for the team and myself,” said Venturi. “I wanted to win so bad. I’m so happy to get this win today after yesterday’s setback. Now I’m looking forward to Brands Hatch. I like the British track and I won my first ever NASCAR Whelen Euro Series race over there.”
As he did in the season opener at Valencia, Andre Castro took the second spot on the podium after having to retire from the lead on Saturday, continuing on his roller-coaster first part of the season.
“We’ve got the same result as we’ve got at Valencia,” said Castro. “My first win is just around the corner and I really want it. Second place is always good for the championship. If we keep getting on the podium and we get rid of the bad luck, we will be in the championship game.”
Lasse Sorensen, who grabbed his first NWES win in his first ever Euro NASCAR race on Saturday, finished third by passing Giorgio Maggi on lap 22. The Dexwet-df1 Racing driver put up another promising performance on the 2,5-kilometer long Italian track.
“It was a great first NWES weekend,” said Sorensen. “Yesterday’s win was fantastic. I had to take care of the car a little bit in the end but I’m satisfied with the podium in this second race. I had some nice really battles during this race. I think Giorgio struggled a bit on the brakes, so I was able to pass him. It was a great race.”
Maggi was fourth, missing the podium for just one spot. The Hendriks Motorsport driver will keep the championship lead after the NASCAR GP Italy over Vittorio Ghirelli, who rounded out the top-5 in the second ELITE 2 Division race.
Myatt Snider finished sixth ahead of Sorensen’s teammate Justin Kunz, NWES veteran Bert Longin, Advait Deodhar and Claudio Cappelli who closed the top-10. Cappelli also won the Legend Trophy ahead of Ian Eric Waden.
Scott Jeffs, who ended up twelfth, was the biggest mover in the second race. The Braxx Racing driver from Great Britain started 28th and his way up to twelfth with an impressive performance in his Chevrolet Camaro. He will get four extra points for gaining the most positions in ELITE 2 Round 4.
“I did only one lap in yesterday’s race so I’m really happy with this comeback,” said Jeffs. “I was aiming for a top-15 and I managed to make some good passes. I think it was possible to get into the top-10 but I didn’t want to risk anything and just took the finish. I want consistency as it’s really important in this championship.”
The ELITE 2 Division will be back in action at the famous American Speedfest at Brands Hatch on June 1-2. All races will be streamed live at Fanschoice.tv, the Euro NASCAR Facebook page and YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and a vast network of websites and social media pages from around the world.
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