The 2023 NASCAR GP Czech Republic will get its own chapter in the history books of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series: Paul Jouffreau grabbed his maiden win in EuroNASCAR PRO and became the youngest race winner in NWES’ premier championship at the age of 19 years, 8 months and 29 days. The Frenchman at the wheel of the #3 RDV Competition Chevrolet Camaro bested championship contender Vittorio Ghirelli by just 0.583 seconds in a thrilling race, highlighted by changing weather and a variety of strategy calls that were made just minutes before the green flag.
With the track quickly drying, the grid walk minutes preceding the start of the race at Autodrom Most were frantic with action. Starting from second place right next to Saturday’s race winner Ghirelli, Jouffreau opted for slicks, as did Ghirelli. That turned out to be the right choice and the Frenchman made the pass on the Italian on lap 4 to build a comfortable margin in first. But it wasn’t over: Jouffreau got stuck in traffic with two to go and Ghirelli jumped immediately back to his bumper on the last lap of the race but the Blaye native defended the lead to write NWES history. It was the first time since 2019 that RDV Competition celebrated a race win in the EuroNASCAR PRO Victory Lane – Frederic Gabillon grabbed that win at Brands Hatch.
“What a race! We decided to put the slick tires on and I wasn’t really enthusiastic about it. I was just ‘Yeah, we will struggle in the first five laps and then catch the guys on wet tires’ but in the first lap the slicks were just as fast as the wets. I don’t know what to say, the car was just perfect. I have to thank the RDV team for putting this car together. I never had a car like that, I thought I would go too fast but the car was telling me that I could go flat out and was just amazing!”
Ghirelli had to settle for second despite showing a very strong pace in his #72 Team Bleekemolen Toyota Camry. The title contender from Fasano received the Tijey Fastest Driver Award – a beautiful titanium ring – by scoring the most points across the two EuroNASCAR PRO races. A race win and a second place brought him even closer to championship leader Gianmarco Ercoli, who suffered from a setback but defended his overall lead and therefore kept the red Whelen banner on the #54 Camaro. With two rounds to the end of the regular season, Ghirelli is just seven points shy of his fellow countryman in the general classification.
Third place went to Liam Hezemans, who struck back after a collision on Saturday that triggered a NASCAR-style “Big One” in turn 1. Having started 15th due to a 10-place grid penalty, the Dutchman at the wheel of the #50 Hendriks Motorsport Camry overtook Bremotion’s Tobias Dauenhauer on lap 14 when the German tried to block the inside line but couldn’t stop the car in time while on slicks on a wet patch. Dauenhauer went off track and was overtaken by Hezemans. The German finished fourth and rounded out the Junior Trophy podium behind Jouffreau and Hezemans.
After a contact with Davidson, championship leader Ercoli stormed back into the top-5 to limit the damage. The Italian experienced a tough weekend with CAAL Racing, but with his impressive comeback he kept the overall lead with 266 points on his tally. Lucas Lasserre, one of the gamblers on wet tires, followed in sixth. The Speedhouse owner-driver stayed second in the overall standings, just two points behind Ercoli. Fabrizio Armetta finished seventh to score the win in the Challenger Trophy for elite amateur drivers in EuroNASCAR PRO.
Vladimiros Tziortzis, Ulysse Delsaux and Thomas Krasonis rounded out the top-10, while Max Lanza and Riccardo Romagnoli came home in 13th and 14th respectively and closed the Challenger Trophy podium. Championship contender Anthony Kumpen was twelfth under the checkered flag on wet tires. Before the race, the Belgian driving the #24 PK Carsport Chevrolet Camaro joked about the tire choice and advised other drivers to change to slick tires. The two-time champion chose the wet tires and that turned out to be the wrong decision. Kumpen is fourth in the overall standings, 19 points shy of Ercoli.
The 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series continues with the regular season finale at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben on September 23-24. The NASCAR GP Germany will mark a crucial point of the season because drivers will drop their two worst results after the races at the debuting venue close to Magdeburg. Qualifying and all races will be broadcast live on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and several TV services from all around the world.
NWES PR
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