HEUSDEN-ZOLDER, Belgium – Stienes Longin and his PK Carsport team are back.
The Belgian led all 18 laps to score the EuroNASCAR PRO Round 9 win Saturday at Circuit Zolder in Belgium, the place where he scored his maiden EuroNASCAR PRO win in 2019.
“It’s amazing to be back in EuroNASCAR and to score my third NWES win here at my hometrack in Zolder is just fantastic”, said the 2016 EuroNASCAR 2 Champion. “The team did a great job and gave me a fantastic car. Of course I tasted blood for a full-time comeback and let’s see what the future holds for us.
“It’s also great to have the fans back here at the track in Belgium, now we can all enjoy the great American Festival NASCAR together here at Zolder,” Longin added.
Making his NASCAR Whelen Euro Series comeback at the wheel of the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro, Longin maintained control from the pole while drama struck behind.
In the opening lap, Yevgen Sokolovskiy got stuck in the gravel off the racing groove.
Meanwhile, Henri Tuomaala, Ian Eric Waden and Leonardo Colavita got together at the hairpin, triggering a safety car period.
On the ensuing restart on lap five, CAAL Racing drivers Alon Day and Gianmarco Ercoli made contact in turn five as Day tried passing Longin for the lead.
Day managed to finish the race in 17th and Ercoli was classified 21th. Both drivers were keen to take advantage of the absence of Loris Hezemans, who’s competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the Charlotte Roval in Charlotte, N.C., but found themselves out of the contention at Zolder.
Day posted the fastest lap and will start from pole in Sunday’s race.
Speedhouse’s Lucas Lasserre kept himself out of trouble and finished a strong second. The 43-year-old veteran acting as the team boss, engineer and driver of his team, settled behind Longin to score his first podium finish of the season.
Being back at CAAL Racing, Marc Goossens finished third at his hometrack with a last lap pass on Vittorio Ghirelli at the Jacky Ickx Chicane.
A title contender scoring important points in the championship battle was Vittorio Ghirelli.
The Hendriks Motorsport driver ended up fourth after the tremendous battle with Goossens. Coming from Fasano in Italy, the 27-year-old tried everything to collect the last spot on the podium but he came just short.
Nicolo Rocca collected plenty of points in the title race by finishing fifth.
Patrick Lemarie, who’s subbing for Jacques Villeneuve, ended up sixth.
Giorgio Maggi followed in seventh and therefore took the win in the Junior Trophy classification for drivers 25 and under.
The Swiss edged Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, who came from 15th-place on the grid. Bleekemolen made a strong comeback at the wheel of his No. 69 Team Bleekemolen Ford Mustang.
lysse Delsaux followed in ninth and took second-place in the Junior Trophy ranks.
Concluding the top 10, Davide Dallara took the win in the Challenger Trophy for bronze and silver drivers in EuroNASCAR PRO.
The Italian bested Pierre Combot in 12th and Dario Caso in 13th. Coming from the last spot on the grid, Francesco Sini finished 11th. The Junior Trophy podium was completed by Colavita in 19th.
While EuroNASCAR PRO Round 10 will start on Sunday at 3:55 p.m. Central European Time, the EuroNASCAR 2 stars will hit the track Saturday 4:50 p.m.