Young drivers in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series compete for the Junior Trophy in EuroNASCAR PRO. The special classification for racers under the age of 25 is delivering one of the most unpredictable title battles of the 2023 NWES season, and with five drivers within ten points of each other after four races, there are plenty of protagonists looking to take home the Junior Trophy at the end of the year. Despite a rough start to the season, Race Art Technology’s Giorgio Maggi leads the championship by one point over Ulysse Delsaux in his Speedhouse Ford.
In the first race at the American SpeedFest X, Maggi ended up second in the special classification with sixth place under the checkered flag. A collision in the final lap of the second race dropped the 25-year-old back to 15th place and the Swiss was not present on the podium. His pursuers were able to close the gap and make the battle for the Junior Trophy incredibly close. Despite the setback on Sunday, Maggi was able to defend his lead as the Hergiswil native has 110 points on his tally and sits seventh in the standings.
2018 EuroNASCAR 2 Champion Ulysse Delsaux is second with 109 points. The Speedhouse driver scored his second career Junior Trophy race win in Valencia and his consistency has earned him one podium at the 1.9-kilometer Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. The Frenchman took the bronze medal once, scoring important points in the overall standings. The 25-year-old is level on points with Sebastiaan Bleekemolen in eighth place, with the third-placed driver just seven points behind.
A brand new EuroNASCAR PRO race winner is third in the Junior Trophy standings: Liam Hezemans. The Valencia winner is one of the hottest contenders for the title, but two DNFs have dropped the Dutchman way down the standings. The 20-year-old clashed with Gianmarco Ercoli at Valencia, while at Brands Hatch the Hendriks Motorsport driver had problems with the power steering and had to park the car. On Saturday, the reigning EuroNASCAR 2 Champion scored a lot of points with a Junior Trophy victory and third place overall, which is why he’s only eight points behind Maggi in eleventh place overall.
Tied with Hezemans on points is Vladimiros Tziortzis, the Cypriot who’s doing double duty in the 2023 NWES season, having won all four EuroNASCAR 2 races so far. Just like Hezemans, the Academy / Alex Caffi Motorsport driver has experienced setbacks in EuroNASCAR PRO and has a lot of work ahead of him to close the gap. After a DNF on Saturday due to technical problems, the 26-year-old in his final season of Junior Trophy eligibility started last on Sunday, but made an amazing comeback to finish eighth in the race, grabbing his first Junior Trophy win. He also scored the four bonus points for the most positions gained in the race, which allowed him to tie his points tally with Hezemans.
Just one point further back in the standings is Marko Stipp Motorsport’s Thomas Krasonis. The Greek has 101 points and is tied for 13th overall with Frederic Gabillon. A veteran of the NWES despite being only 21 years old, Krasonis has been a consistent points scorer throughout the NASCAR GP UK and remains in a solid position to challenge for the top spot in the Junior Trophy. Driving the No. 46 Chevrolet Camaro, Krasonis is improving race by race as the German team looks to help their driver finish in the top-10 in every EuroNASCAR PRO race. Neo Lambert is sixth ahead of Thomas Dombrowski and returnee Tobias Dauenhauer, who scored a Junior Trophy podium with Bremotion in the team’s NWES debut.
The 2023 NWES season will resume on July 8-9 at the Autodromo di Vallelunga near the Italian capital of Rome. Qualifying and all races will be streamed live on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and multiple television networks around the world. Which youngster will take the next steps closer to winning the Junior Trophy race?
NWES PR
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