With a spectacular performance in EuroNASCAR PRO Round 4, Alon Day secured his first win of the season at the wheel of the #24 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro. The two-time NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion passed his teammate Stienes Longin with 12 laps to go and went on to grab his first win of the season. When the checkered flag waved, Day had a 2,656 seconds advantage on Gianmarco Ercoli in second position.
For the Israeli it was the sixth win at Circuit Zolder in 12 starts – Day boasts an impressive 50 percent winning rate at the Belgian track – and the 21st of his career, one shy of Ander Vilarino’s all-time record.
“It was a good one!”, said Day, who left Zolder as the new EuroNASCAR PRO points leader. “It has been a while since I started next to my teammate. I have to thank Stienes for the great race we had. We had so many duels in the past and it’s not taken for granted to have such clean fights in so many years of competition. I really appreciate that. The team did an amazing job and gave me an incredibly fast Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro.”
After having to surrender the lead, Longin tried to fight back but he was put under pressure by a charging Gianmarco Ercoli. The Italian, who came from fifth on the grid, passed Longin when the Belgian went off track at the Jacky Ickx chicane on lap 14 and went on to finish second. Ercoli also won the race in the Junior Trophy classification for drivers aged 25 and under.
While Longin dropped down the order, Belgian racing icon Marc Goossens was a solid third under the checkered flag. It was the second consecutive podium for the new CAAL Racing driver. Loris Hezemans, who struggled with an injury to his right hand, limited the damage and closed the top-5 at the wheel of his #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang.
Thomas Ferrando finished sixth after having a moment with his teammate Goossens during the race. The Frenchman was also second in the Junior Trophy classification, while EuroNASCAR 2 double winner Martin Doubek was seventh and completed the Junior Trophy podium. He was followed by Francesco Sini at the wheel of the #12 Solaris Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro.
Lasse Soerensen entered the race as the points leader and was meant to start from seventh place on the grid but it took his DF1 Racing team all the time allowed to fully repair the #66 Camaro after a EuroNASCAR 2 crash. The Dane had to start from the very back of the grid and once again drove through the field to finish ninth under the checkered flag.
NWES rookie Davide Dallara closed the top-10 and won the Challenger Trophy race edging Dario Caso in twelfth and Mauro Trione in 13th. Jacques Villeneuve, who started third and was poised to finish on the podium, had issues during the race: in the opening lap a contact with Luigi Ferrara shuffled him back and ultimately his car stopped on lap 8.
The EuroNASCAR PRO championship will be back on track on November 14-15 at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic. All races will be broadcasted live on EuroNASCAR’s social media profiles and Motorsport.tv.
UPDATE: Post-event Penalty Report
Following post-race investigations, race control issued the below penalties:
- # 66 Lasse SOERENSEN – Work on the car in the “fast lane” before the Start EuroNASCAR PRO Race 2 – Drive Through (equivalent add 30 seconds to the elapsed time of the Race 2)
- # 66 DF1 Racing Team – Work on the car in the “fast lane” before the Start EN PRO Race 2 – 15 Team Championship points
- #05 Jacques VILLENEUVE – The Driver caused an avoidable collision with Car #12 in Turn 12 during EuroNASCAR Pro Race 2 – The Driver of Car #05 is deducted 3 Championship Points, is under probation for Race 1 of the Most Event and is awarded 2 Behaviour Warning Points.
As a result, Soerensen drops to 10 points behind championship leader Alon Day, while Jacques Villeneuve drops to 35 points behind Day. The #66 Df1 Racing team drops to 64 points behind Teams Championship leader #50 Hendriks Motorsport team.
