HEUSDEN-ZOLDER, Belgium – Naveh Talor put his name on the list of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series race winners Saturday in EuroNASCAR 2 Round 9 at Circuit Zolder and gave his team Not Only Motorsport its maiden win.
Talor made the race-winning move around pole sitter Vladimiros Tziortzis on the initial start to lead all 15 laps. Martin Doubek finished second and championship leader Tobias Dauenhauer finished third.
“I’m so happy, it has been a long time coming,” Talor said. “Since joining the series in 2019, I have been trying and trying. This year I’m way more confident in the car and the team gave me a great ride. I’m so happy and I want to thank my team Not Only Motorsport, my family and my girlfriend. I’m speechless and so, so happy.
“I focused on having a good start and as I never started from the front row, I studied the rules very carefully to prevent any kind of penalty,” he added. “I made the move and got the lead. From then on, it was the longest race of my life. I was looking at the lap counter, but it felt like the laps were not counting down. When I saw the checkered flag, it was just a relief.”
Hendriks Motorsport teammates Doubek and Dauenhauer were not able to catch up with Talor but scored important points in the title race by finishing second and third. Dauenhauer will start from pole in Sunday’s race thanks to the fastest lap in Round 9.
Brands Hatch winner Advait Deodhar overtook Tziortzis midway through the race to finish fourth at the wheel of his #56 CAAL Racing Ford Mustang. Tziortzis, meanwhile, slipped to fifth. Pierluigi Veronesi placed sixth ahead and Pol van Pollaert finished seventh.
Leonardo Colavita ended up ninth, scoring his maiden Rookie Trophy win in his third EuroNASCAR 2 start.
Massimiliano Lanza completed the top 10 and also won the race in the Legend Trophy ranks. Lanza edged Yevgen Sokolovskiy, who was second in the special classification for drivers 40 and over. Paolo Valeri rounded out the Legend Trophy podium, as well as the Rookie Trophy podium behind Alberto Panebianco.
Several drivers experienced trouble during the 15-lap race.
Melvin de Groot lost his Rookie and Legend Trophy lead on lap seven due to a technical issue. New Rookie Trophy leader Leevi Lintukanto couldn’t finish, while Justin Kunz, Gil Linster and Arianna Casoli had to retire early. In the end, Alina Loibnegger won the race in the Lady Trophy after an animated battle with Casoli.