Victor Neumann scored the overall win in the Rookie Trophy in the very last race of the season – It’s the second consecutive class win for Marko Stipp Motorsport
Marko Stipp Motorsport proved to be the perfect team to start a career in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, as the German team captured its second consecutive Rookie Trophy in EuroNASCAR 2. Victor Neumann lifted the trophy at Circuit Zolder in Belgium after a strong charge to the top of the specialty standings. The Frenchman was the most consistent rookie in the 2024 playoffs, beating Florian Richard by 14 points at the end of a thrilling battle for the Rookie Trophy. The 26-year-old finished tenth in the EuroNASCAR 2 standings.
In the first half of the season, Neumann worked hard to find his feet in a powerful V8 EuroNASCAR car without any electronic support, and raised his game in the second half of the season. A total of two class wins at Brands Hatch and Oschersleben and consistent results throughout the season earned him first place in the Rookie Trophy. In the final race of the season, he overtook Richard for the title. Marko Stipp Motorsport won the trophy in 2023 with Jack Davidson and was instrumental in helping another rookie win a major title in Europe’s official NASCAR championship in 2024.
Richard couldn’t defend his lead at Circuit Zolder, but finished a strong season with Speedhouse in second in the class and eleventh overall. The Frenchman climbed a steep learning curve in Lucas Lasserre’s young driver development program at Speedhouse. Bremotion’s Julien Rehberg finished third after dominating the special classification in the first half of the season. In the second half the German suffered crashes and problems that hampered his campaign, but a solid final weekend cemented his place on the Rookie Trophy podium. He finished the season in 13th place overall.
Granducato Speed and Veeti Rajala were both rookies on the EuroNASCAR grid in 2024, but the Italian team and the Finnish driver took important steps to become more and more competitive as the season progressed. Rajala finished the season fourth in the Rookie Trophy standings ahead of Vict Motorsport’s Mario Ercoli, who began his EuroNASCAR career in 2023 at the age of 16. The Italian has scored three Rookie Trophy wins in total and has shown the potential to be a regular top-10 driver in the years to come. Being a rookie at the age of 34 is rare, but Dominique Schaak entered EuroNASCAR in 2023 with plenty of GT experience. The Bremotion driver has been on the podium several times in the class and rounded out the top-5 in the class.
Another driver with a lot of potential is Simone Giussani at the wheel of the Double V Racing Ford Mustang. The Italian was unlucky and had to settle for sixth place ahead of Club Challenge runner-up Reza Sardeha of Team Bleekemolen. Giovanni Faraonio, Valero Marzi and Federic Perriat completed the Rookie Trophy at the end of a thrilling 2024 EuroNASCAR 2 season with a total of 34 drivers classified in the standings. With the DRP program scheduled for December 10 at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, home of EuroNASCAR’s NASCAR GP Germany, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series expects another epic battle for the Rookie Trophy in the 2025 season.
Featured image by NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
