VALENCIA, Spain – Past NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Champion Loris Hezemans completed a sweep of the EuroNASCAR Pro races at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Spain with a victory on Sunday.
The Dutchman’s performance rounded out a perfect weekend for the No. 7 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang, which won all four NASCAR Whelen Euro Series-sanctioned features at the Valencia circuit during the weekend.
It marked the first time in series history the same car swept the Pro and EuroNASCAR2 classes. Martin Doubek won the two undercard races.
The 23-year-old Hezemans led all 18 laps after an intense battle at the start against Alon Day in the No. 88 CAAL Racing entry, which made contact with Hezemans and was shuffled down the order as a result.
It was Hezemans’ ninth career win and his third at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. He’s only one win short of tying two-time series champion Anthony Kumpen in fourth place on the all-time winners list. The Dutchman leads the EuroNASCAR Pro championship standings with 80 points.
“We really started where we left last year when we won the last race of the season in Valencia,” said the race winner. “I’m very happy with this result and now just ready for the next race! Of course I’m fighting for my second championship ring. Every time I get in a car I want to win and I think we are really there setup-wise.
“We’ll see how the season will develop; every track is different, but we are definitely there.”
Day suffered a setback after the contact he made with Hezemans in the first lap. The Israeli did not turn into the pits and ended up 19th under the checkered flag.
Gianmarco Ercoli inherited second place at the wheel of the No. 54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet Camaro. The Italian, who wants to play a role in the Euro Series title battle, had a strong run and crossed the finish line 1.839 seconds behind Hezemans. The 26-year-old also topped the Junior Trophy standings.
Sebastiaan Bleekemolen completed the overall podium with an impressive third place in his No. 69 Ford Mustang. After a difficult debut season in 2019 and the break due to the pandemic in 2020, the Dutch team came back stronger than ever. The 42-year-old also won the race in the Challenger Trophy.
Reigning EuroNASCAR 2 champion Vittorio Ghirelli, driving the No. 50 Hendriks Motorsport Mustang, ended up fourth.
DF1 Racing’s Nicolo Rocca rounded out the top five and collected important points for a championship battle in which consistency will be key.
Euro Series veteran and 2010 champion Lucas Lasserre followed in sixth in his No. 64 Speedhouse Camaro. Academy Motorsport and Alex Caffi Motorsport driver Thomas Ferrando took the checkered flag in seventh and climbed the second step of the Junior Trophy podium. Giorgio Maggi completed the special classification’s top three in eighth overall.
Jacques Villeneuve finished ninth to score his second top-10 result of the season ahead of Marc Goossens, who’s wearing the DF1 Racing colors this year.
Italians Fabrizio Armetta and Dario Caso battled for the second place in the Challenger Trophy, which went to Armetta in the No. 55 Club Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro.
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will return in June with the NASCAR GP Czech Republic.