With EuroNASCAR Club Challenge completing their third round of the season, the action moved to the Free Practice sessions of the NASCAR GP Czech Republic. The 4.212 kilometer long Autodrom Most posed a unique challenge to the drivers as they tackled the twisty circuit featuring 21 turns, each with their own different characteristics. After four sessions across both divisions, Team Bleekemolen’s Vittorio Ghirelli was the fastest in EuroNASCAR PRO while Gil Linster set the quickest combined time in EuroNASCAR 2 onboard the #50 Hendriks Motorsport Toyota Camry.
EuroNASCAR PRO: Two former EuroNASCAR 2 champions at the top
Vittorio Ghirelli picked up where he left in the previous round at Vallelunga. After breaking his winless streak to win in his home race, the Italian driver stayed in top form and set the fastest combined time in the two 30-minute Free Practice sessions. The 2020 EuroNASCAR 2 champion’s best lap time of 1:40.624 is 0.332 seconds faster than Junior Trophy leader and 2022 EuroNASCAR 2 champion Liam Hezemans, who ended up second. Both Ghirelli and Hezemans have scored a victory in the 2023 season so far and they will set their sights on another victory in the upcoming Round 7 and Round 8.
With two past outings in the Czech Republic, Vladimiros Tziortzis already knows his way around the track and he showcased his experience by putting in the third fastest lap time. That earned the Academy / Alex Caffi Motorsport driver a second place in the Junior Trophy. Tziortzis finished ahead of Anthony Kumpen, who topped the first session despite it being his first race weekend at Most in the 400 horsepower Pure Racing EuroNASCAR cars. Rounding out the top-5 positions is Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, who took his maiden victory here last year.
Martin Doubek was the sixth fastest ahead of Tobias Dauenhauer, who rounded out the top-3 position in Junior Trophy. The battle for the top positions among drivers aged 25 and younger was fierce as Paul Jouffreau was only 0.009 seconds behind the German. Thomas Krasonis and Lucas Lasserre completed the top-10 ahead of Fabrizio Armetta, who once again became the fastest in Challenger Trophy.
Top-3 positions in the special classification for elite amateur drivers were completed by Max Lanza and Riccardo Romagnoli, 15th and 16th overall respectively. A trip off track and a clash with a tire barrier for championship leader Gianmarco Ercoli meant that he was only 14th in the combined results after completing just three laps across the two sessions. Another top driver facing adversity during Free Practice was Giorgio Maggi, who ended up in 20th position.
EuroNASCAR 2: Gil Linster leads Vallelunga sensation Paul Jouffreau
Hendriks Motorsport will have plenty of fans cheering them in the Czech Republic as the team features Martin Doubek, the home crowd favorite from Litomsyl. Doubek gave the fans a strong performance in Free Practice, but it was his teammate Gil Linster who finished the day at the top of the board. A time of 1:41.207 was enough for the Luxembourger to lead Paul Jouffreau, who impressed at Vallelunga by scoring his first win in the EuroNASCAR 2 division. Doubek was only 0.070 seconds slower than the Frenchman, setting up an exciting fight for Pole Position in Qualifying.
Alberto Naska was fourth fastest despite only taking part in the second 30-minute session. The popular race driver from Italy failed to set a time in the first session while the CAAL Racing team was repairing the #54 Chevrolet. He led his closest championship rival and current championship leader Vladimiros Tziortzis, who was only fifth fastest onboard the #5 EuroNASCAR FJ. Melvin de Groot took the top spot in the Legend Trophy with a time of 1:42.143, the sixth quickest on the combined results.
Patrick Schober continues to be impressive in his sophomore season. He closed the day in seventh place overall despite experiencing clutch problems on his #27 Double V Racing Ford Mustang in the Club Challenge sessions. Thomas Toffel was the fastest of the Rookie Trophy drivers in eighth place, but he will have to serve a 10-position grid penalty in Round 7. Jack Davidson and Thomas Dombrowski rounded out the top-10 positions and the top-3 in Rookie Trophy. Roberto Benedetti and Michael Bleekemolen joined de Groot as the three fastest drivers in the special classification for drivers aged 40 and above. The Lady Trophy was led by the returning Alina Loibnegger in 18th ahead of Arianna Casoli and Stefani Mogorovic.
Saturday is shaping up to be a thriller at Autodrom Most as the Qualifying session and the first races of the weekend awaits the drivers in EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2. Qualifying and all of the races from NASCAR GP Czech Republic will be broadcasted live on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv, and on many TV services around the world.
NWES PR
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