Fabrizio Armetta and Massimiliano Lanza will be the protagonists of a fantastic battle for Challenger Trophy in the EuroNASCAR Finals. The special classification for bronze and silver drivers in EuroNASCAR PRO is one of the most exciting in 2022 and the two Italians are tied at 194 points after dropping their two worst results of the regular season. The showdown at the Automotodrom Grobnik in Croatia on October 29-30 will for sure be a real thriller.
Last time out in Zolder, Armetta gained a lot of ground with two Challenger Trophy race wins and a fourth place overall in Sunday’s EuroNASCAR PRO race, his first top-5 finish since 2014. The Club Motorsport driver showed that the #55 Chevrolet is a competitive car in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series’ elite division and a true threat in the battle for the title in the special classification. The NWES veteran will face Lanza in the #88 CAAL Racing Chevrolet, who topped the Challenger Trophy standings already three times in the 2022 NWES season. With double points on the line at Grobnik, we’re up for an epic fight and plenty of emotions.
“I had a little problem with the engine this weekend, so we had the pace to do even better,” said Armetta. “We will now focus on the battle in the Challenger Trophy and I’m really looking forward to the showdown in Croatia.” Lanza added: “It was a very difficult weekend. Staying focused is not easy when everything seems to be going wrong. We did not give up and we kept our mind focused on the goal, even if sometimes we had to sacrifice the pure performance. We monitored our rivals and at the end we were right: we made it back to the top of the Challenger Trophy standings.”
But there are more drivers in the hunt for the trophy win: Two-time Challenger Trophy winner Henri Tuomaala is tied in points with NWES newcomer Cosimo Barberini. The Team Bleekemolen and Speedhouse drivers are at 182 points each, only twelve points shy of Armetta and Lanza. Marko Stipp Motorsport’s Yevgen Sokolovskiy follows in fifth, only 15 points behind the top-2. Riccardo Romagnoli and Claudio Cappelli on the other hand need a lot of luck to jump back in the title battle in Croatia, but they will try to maximize their results and hope for some fortune to go their way.
The 2022 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will take place at Automotodrom Grobnik with four thrilling double-point races scheduled on October 29-30. Qualifying and all races will be broadcast live on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and several TV services from around the world. All breaking news will be published on EuroNASCAR.com and social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
