The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will enter the crucial part of the 2023 EuroNASCAR 2 season with the regular season finale at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben on September 23-24. Following the NASCAR GP Germany, all drivers will drop the two worst results out of ten regular season rounds before heading to Circuit Zolder for the EuroNASCAR Finals with double points on the line. In the EuroNASCAR 2 division, four drivers have emerged as title contenders so far, with only 19 points separating them at the top of the standings after eight races. Vladimiros Tziortzis continues to lead the championship, but his dominance looks less evident and a retirement at Autodrom Most allowed his chasers to close the gap.
Tziortzis scored his fifth race win of the season in the Czech Republic and the driver of the #5 Academy / Alex Caffi Motorsport EuroNASCAR FJ looked like the clear favorite in the title race once again, but a technical issues on his car on Sunday forced him to stop and opened the door for his pursuer to shorten the gap, reigniting the title battle in NWES’ most unpredictable division. The Cypriot left Most with 283 points on his tally, just three more than 2023 sensation Paul Jouffreau.
RDV Competition’s Jouffreau set two astonishing records at Autodrom Most. Racing in both EuroNASCAR championships, he became the youngest EuroNASCAR PRO race winner at the age of 19 years, 8 months and 29 days and also the first driver in NWES history to win in both categories in the same season. With a pair of runner-up finishes in EuroNASCAR 2 in the Czech Republic, the Blaye native now sits second in the overall standings, just three points behind Tziortzis. But there is another driver hungry for a title shot in 2023.
Alberto Naska, who finished runner-up in his debut season in 2022, had a mixed weekend at Most. He picked up his second win of the season on Sunday, but it was only after a contact with Jack Davidson on Saturday relegated him to 14th place. The 33-year-old is now third in the championship, just six points behind Tziortzis. The CAAL Racing driver will look to capitalize on the momentum gained in Italy and the Czech Republic to bounce back in the regular season finale at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in Germany, a track that’s new to all EuroNASCAR drivers and teams.
“Mr. Consistency” Gil Linster follows in fourth place, 19 points behind the points leader. The Luxembourg native, who lives in Germany’s Saarland region, scored his fifth and sixth fourth-place finishes of the season in the Czech Republic to keep his streak of eight consecutive top-5 finishes alive. Linster, a true NWES veteran, is looking to take the final step with Hendriks Motorsport, grab another podium after his first and only top-3 finish in Italy and earn his first EuroNASCAR 2 win when the series visits Oschersleben and Circuit Zolder in Belgium for the season finale.
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series returns to the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in Germany on September 23-24 for the regular season finale. Qualifying and all races will be streamed live on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and various television services around the world.
Featured image by NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
