MOST, Czech Republic – Reigning EuroNASCAR 2 Champion Vittorio Ghirelli is officially an EuroNASCAR PRO race winner.
The Italian led all 17 laps Sunday at Autodrom Most to deliver another win – the fourth of the season – for Hendriks Motorsport and propel himself from fourth to second in points.
Ghirelli survived a wild start and tried to pull away from the pack, but Sebastiaan Bleekemolen put plenty of pressure on the Fasano native. Ghirelli had a very strong pace and also took advantage of the battle for second between Bleekemolen and points leader Loris Hezemans. While the No. 50 Mustang pulled away at the front, Hezemans took second ahead of Bleekemolen, who scored his third podium of the season.
“It was a fantastic win,” said Ghirelli. “We led every single lap and I got into a good rhythm. We were able to control the race and manage the gap. What can I say? The Hendriks team did an amazing job. The championship battle is on and we keep believing and keep pushing.”
Ghirelli’s teammate Hezemans made the decisive move on Bleekemolen on lap 11. The Dutchman not only took second place but also retained the championship lead. In the closing laps, Bleekemolen defended his place on the podium from a charging Jacques Villeneuve, who simply ran out of laps to chase down the driver of the No. 69 Ford Mustang. Villeneuve settled for fourth, scoring a solid top-five result for Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport.
On lap 15, Lucas Lasserre got past Giorgio Maggi to round out the top-five of an action-packed race at the 4.1 kilometers long home of the NASCAR GP Czech Republic. With his sixth place under the checkered flag, Maggi grabbed the win in the Junior Trophy for drivers aged 25 and under. Veteran Frederic Gabillon followed in seventh ahead of his RDV Competition teammate Ulysse Delsaux, who was also second in the Junior Trophy classification.
DF1 Racing’s Henri Tuomaala from Finland ended up ninth and that put him in first position of the Challenger Trophy standings for bronze and silver drivers in EuroNASCAR PRO.