A new powerhouse is set to debut in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (NWES) in 2022. Buggyra ZM Racing will expand its worldwide racing program to field two cars in the European NASCAR series for Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc. The two 17-year-old twin sisters will pilot a pair of Ford Mustangs, carrying number #29 and #47, in both EuroNASCAR championships.
Owned by Czech motorsport legend Martin Koloc, Buggyra ZM Racing is one of the most successful truck racing operations in the world. They won the European drivers title six times, the teams’ title five times, the Chinese championship three times and the Indian championship once. Founded in 1969, the team also won the 2021 Dakar in the T3 category and currently fields entries in GT Endurance racing and the FIA Cross Country Championship, operating from five different Technology Centers in Dubai (UAE), Jinan (China), the Czech Republic, France and Spain.
“Our NWES participation is our first step into NASCAR ‘territory’. We strongly believe in the NASCAR concept in terms of extremely competitive racing as well as a platform for young drivers’ development and diversity,” said Martin Koloc.
“We are very happy to welcome such a great team, which will also field two talented young ladies who were very impressive in their first testing sessions. We fully share Martin’s vision about NWES being the perfect platform to develop a young driver’s career, in NASCAR of course, but also in GT, prototypes, touring cars and more,” declared NWES President – CEO Jerome Galpin. “With 400 hp and no electronic aids, drivers really have to handle every aspect of their performance and with EuroNASCAR’s high level of competition and ‘Pure Racing’ rules, you know exactly where you are as well as what and how to improve”.
Young and successful racers: Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc
After taking part in the Club Challenge event at Most in August and testing the EuroNASCAR car at the NWES test track at Fontenay Le Comte in November with great results, Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc will become the youngest women to enter the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. By competing in both NWES championships, they will aim at maximizing track time and speeding the learning curve in the most competitive touring car series in Europe.
Despite her young age, Aliyyah Koloc broke several records in the last couple of seasons. She became the youngest ever winner in the French Truck Racing Championship in 2020 and she set two World Speed Records for trucks in the 500m distance. She also competed in GT3 and touring cars races.
“I’m so excited for this new challenge ahead of us! I tested a few times this year and enjoyed it a lot. I can combine my experiences from truck racing and GT racing together,” said the future driver of the #29 Ford Mustang.
Yasmeen Koloc will pilot the #47 Mustang. She started karting in 2019 and in the short span of two seasons proved herself in touring cars racing by winning the 2020 Endurance TC-2.0 Championship and debuting both in Formula 4 and GT4 where she won the last race of the ESET CUP season.
“I am very excited for the new challenge! It is going to be really fun to drive the NASCAR car, quite different from the GT4 but I’m really looking forward to this new experience and I think it’s going to be very fun!” said Yasmeen Koloc.
With less than five months until the start of the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season at the Hockenheimring in Germany, the Buggyra ZM Racing team is hard at work to gain the most experience on the EuroNASCAR cars.
The European NASCAR series will return to action on April 9-10, 2022, and will visit seven countries before crowning champions and trophy winners at Automotodrom Grobnik, in Croatia, on October 29-30, 2022.
NWES PR
