SAINT-DENIS-SUR-LOIRE, France – Four NASCAR Whelen Euro Series stars will hit the virtual track on Monday by competing as special guests in the Italian iRacing Cin Cup Series.
Reigning champion Loris Hezemans, two-time champion Alon Day, EuroNASCAR 2 runner-up Giorgio Maggi and up-and-coming Italian talent Alessandro Brigatti will compete against local simracing veterans like Antonio Miccolis, Alessio Fabbri and Matteo Bortolotti, as well as many other esports enthusiasts.
The first step of the NWES project to increase exchanges between EuroNASCAR and the sim-racing world, the showdown will take place at the virtual Watkins Glen Int’l on Monday, March 23.
For the occasion, the event counting towards the i-CIN regular season has been branded as the NWES 110 at the Glen and will be streamed live on the EuroNASCAR and SimRacingLeagueTV YouTube channels.
The NWES 110 at the Glen will represent the perfect opportunity for the Italian NASCAR sim-racers to fulfill their dream of competing against real-life NASCAR drivers, while for the Euro Series drivers, it will make for a special moment to share with the fans.
“I am very excited about joining the I-CIN for the upcoming Cin Cup Series race at Watkins Glen,” said Hezemans. “So far Alon, Giorgio and I joined the training sessions and the competition from the front guys looks pretty good. It’s really nice that even in these difficult times we are able to still enjoy our passion for racing in some way and share it with the fans.”
“We are going through hard times right now all over the world. I feel so sad to see motorsports events getting cancelled and postponed, but this is the reality and I am happy to see that Italians haven’t given up and they keep the flame of the passion alive,” added Day. “I came into racing through simulators, and racing virtually is the same for me as reality, so all I know is that I will give my best to win everything I can. But more important than anything else right now is to keep everybody safe and healthy so we can go back to the car as soon as possible.”
Dating back to 2002, i-CIN is the oldest sim-racing league in Italy, and Fabbri has won the championship three times in his career.
“It’s really exciting to be able to race against drivers coming from the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, some of which also had real life experiences in NASCAR in the U.S.,” said Fabbri. “At the same time, it is also a great opportunity for all of us sim racers.
“I can’t wait to be on track with them on Monday.”