HOCKENHEIM, Germany – Lasse Sorenson closed the gap on Giorgio Maggi in the battle for the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series ELITE 2 title with a victory Sunday at the Hockenheimring.
The Dexwet-Df1 Racing rookie grabbed the lead right after the start and fended off Maggi in the early stages of the 16-lap race, surviving two restarts to grab his fifth win of the season.
“It was a really good race today, as my plan was to catch Maggi right from the beginning,” said the 22 year old Dane, who managed to position himself in the title hunt despite missing the season opener in Valencia. “The plan worked out really well but I had to defend my position after the two cautions, which was not that easy. I managed to have three good starts and it seems like I was very quick in the first 2-3 laps after each restart. Now I want the title, which was the goal even before the start of my season in Italy. We will get there.”
Debutant Hugo De Sadeleer grabbed his second podium in two starts by finishing right behind Soerensen. The Swiss took over second place in his No. 88 Racing Engineering Ford Mustang on lap 14 with a bold maneuver on championship leader Giorgio Maggi, who had to deal with brake issues in the closing stages and settled for fifth under the checkered flag.
Racers Motorsport’s Alessandro Brigatti ended up third and earned himself his first podium finish.
The safety-car was deployed two times, the first on lap four after 16-year-old Ben Creanor hit the wall in the famous Motodrom. The second caution came on lap seven due to a multi-car crash. Andre Castro, Mirco Schultis and Pol van Pollaert were all involved in the accident and had to retire from the race. On the following restart, Soerensen took the lead in turn one and never relinquished it, bringing home the win in the NASCAR GP Germany.
Jesse Vartiainen confirmed Saturday’s strong pace by finishing fourth. The Alex Caffi Motorsports driver took advantage of Maggi’s technical problems in the closing stages to pass the Swiss in the last lap. Maggi contained the damage and brought home his No. 50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang in fifth place, preserving the championship lead by nine points on Soerensen.
Brigatti’s teammate Nicholas Risitano ended up sixth ahead of CAAL Racing’s Advait Deodhar and Martin Doubek at the wheel of the No. 7 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang. Deodhar’s teammate Pierluigi Veronesi finished ahead of American NASCAR veteran Myatt Snider, who closed the top-10 in his No. 48 Racing Engineering Ford Mustang.
Memphis Racing’s Ian Eric Waden grabbed another Legend Trophy win at the Hockenheimring, bringing his season total to five and setting up a tight battle for the over-40 classification in Zolder. At the wheel of her No. 54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet, Arianna Casoli, who also won the Lady Trophy classification, was second among the Legend drivers ahead of points leader Michael Bleekemolen.