Lucas Lasserre has been part of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series since 2009 and was always one of the strongest drivers on the highly competitive EuroNASCAR PRO grid. After winning the championship in 2010, the Frenchman grabbed his first official NASCAR win in 2018 at Autodromo di Franciacorta. The 2019 season was a difficult one for the Pau-native and Mishumotors, but the whole team fought back to step on the podium this year in the season opener at Autodromo di Vallelunga, Italy.
The driver of the #33 EuroNASCAR FJ qualified seventh for the first race of the 2020 season that kicked off in September due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. Lasserre missed the podium in the first race by only one sport and after a strong run at the new home of the NASCAR GP Italy. He then made his breakthrough in the second race at the end of an intense battle with former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve and finished third ahead of two-time champion Alon Day.
“It was great to be back on the podium after a difficult 2019 season,” said Lasserre. “We struggled to interpret the tires and my teammate crashed the car three times last year, so it was not an easy campaign for us. We had a good start to the season at Valencia, but from then on it was a tough season. This year we can definitely fight for the top positions and I think we can end up inside the top 5. We didn’t test before the season opener in Vallelunga, so I think we are in good shape compared to the other competitors.”
Rounds 3 and 4 at Circuit Zolder were not easy for the 42-year-old race driver, who has 34 starts in the EuroNASCAR PRO championship under his belt. He qualified 13th and was stuck right in the middle of the pack, finishing 14th in the first of two races in the forests of Limburg. In the second race he had an intense battle with his fellow countryman Thomas Ferrando and was fighting for a spot inside the top 10, but a late incident sent him back to 14th.
“Zolder was not really easy as it was raining all the time,” said Lasserre, who had no practice before on the damp track in Belgium and serves as his own crew chief. “With two 30-minutes sessions it was not easy to find the right setup and act. We now have a clear vision of what the problem was and I also think we found a solution. I’m working alone at Mishumotors on the #33 car this year, the #70 of team owner Mirco Schultis is not racing at the moment, but maybe he will be back for the Finals in Valencia. I organise everything at Mishumotors but we have a good spirit inside the team. I’m the engineer, the coach and the driver, so I’m very busy during the weekend but I really like that. I want to win the championship with this organisation. We aim for a strong result in the upcoming season.”
After four races of the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season, Lasserre sits in eighth in the overall point standings just 29 points shy of championship leader Alon Day. With a strong performance in Grobnik and Valencia, the Frenchman can definitely be a title contender in the 2020 season.
“It was tough at Circuit Zolder and we had some issues while fighting for the top spots”, said Lasserre. “If I would have finished sixth, I would now be in fourth in the championship, but I’m eighth. At this point the last rounds of the season will be very important due to the double points awarded. I need to take my time and work event by event. I have to squeeze the full potential out of the car and make no mistakes. When we do that we’ll see where we end up. We have the potential to score a good overall result this season but it’s important to stay relaxed and work as hard as in Vallelunga and Zolder.”
In the current challenging times, it’s crucial to have partners to rely on in the championship. Mishumotors can count on the support of Tigha in the 2020 season. The brand continues its long-term partnership with the German organization, team owner Mirco Schultis and a polyedric Lucas Lasserre.
“All the partners stayed with Mishumotors despite the challenging situation for all of us,” Lasserre explained. “Mishumotors is like my family. Mirco and all crew members are just phenomenal persons. I want to build a successful team in the long term with the same partners. We do our best to keep them. It’s important to stay close to the partners, to share the same spirit and produce a great picture for the brand. We focus on the championship to have a good team presentation with Mishumotors.”
EuroNASCAR Rounds 5 and 6 will take place at Automotodrom Grobnik in Croatia – the replacement for the Autodrom Most in the 2020 season. It’s the first time in the history of EuroNASCAR that the series will visit the country and Lucas Lasserre and Mishumotors for sure aim to be the first to win a race on the 4.168 kilometer long track close to Rijeka.
