The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series returns this week for the inaugural OMV MaxxMotion NASCAR Show, the first Euro Series race week held in Czech Republic and the fourth round of the 2019 season. The Friday of race week saw both the familiarization Private Practice and Free Practice sessions being held and once again, it was championship leader Alon Day that would set the early pace in Practice.
Day would lead the Practice sessions with a best lap time of 1:41.443 set in the first Free Practice session. He also led the Final Free Practice session with a best lap time of 1:41.802. Behind Day in the combined Practice time sheets is his closest championship rival, Stienes Longin. Longin’s best Practice time of 1:41.595 puts him 0.054 seconds ahead of Loris Hezemans as Gianmarco Ercoli sits in fourth as the last driver to set a lap time under 1:42, with the Italian setting a best Practice time of 1:41.708.
Ulysse Delsaux has an impressive day yesterday, as the defending Elite 2 champion slots himself in fifth place with a best lap time of 1:42.026. Sebastiaan Bleekemolen ends Practice as the sixth fastest driver with a best lap time of 1:42.116, while Henri Tuomaala finishes in an impressive seventh place with a best lap time of 1:42.158 despite having transponder issues in the first Free Practice.
Nicolò Rocca finishes just 0.003 seconds behind Tuomaala in eighth, while Lucas Lasserre and Jacques Villeneuve completes the Top 10 with a lap time of 1:42.208 and 1:42.279 respectively.
The winner of Race 2 in Brands Hatch, Frédéric Gabillon, finishes in 11th with a best lap time of 1:42.306, just ahead of Francesco Sini who finished in 12th with a lap time of 1:42.318. Romain Iannetta is in 13th position with a lap time of 1:42.354, while Christophe Bouchut finished 14th in his return to the series with Alex Caffi Motorsport.
Alexander Graff completes the Top 15 with a lap time of 1:42.533, while Ander Vilariño struggled to find pace once again this week, as the 3-time champion and the winner of both Valencia rounds only finished in 16th place with a best lap time of 1:42.740. Home driver Martin Doubek completes his Elite 1 Practice duties in 17th place with a lap time of 1:42.825, just ahead of Thomas Ferrando whose lap time of 1:42.858 puts him in 18th place at the combined time sheets.
Mauro Trione finished in 19th with a lap time of 1:43.421, while Kenko Miura completes the Top 20 with a lap time of 1:43.667 despite the Japanese driver had a spin in the first Free Practice session that brought the first Red Flag of the session.
Eric de Doncker’s best lap time of 1:43.889 puts him in 21st position, while Salvador Tineo Arroyo struggled to find pace in the No. 70 Mishumotors SS this week, as his best lap time of 1:44.835 is only enough for 22nd place. Dario Caso managed to rebound from a heavy crash in FP1 to finish in 23rd place with a lap time of 1:45.033, and Ellen Lohr completes the time sheets with a lap time of 1:45.285.
Four drivers that are entered for this round – Lasse Sørensen, Luigi Ferrara, Ant Whorton-Eales, and Simone Laureti – did not set a lap time during Practice. Sorensen and Laureti’s car are on Most and ready to compete, while Whorton-Eales and Ferrara could be withdrawing from this round as there hasn’t been any sign of the No. 46 MSM Ford and No. 42 42 Racing Ford this week.
Combined Practice Time Sheets
| RANK | DRIVER | FP1 TIME | FP2 TIME |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Alon Day (54) | 1:41.443 | 1:41.802 |
| 2. | Stienes Longin (11) | 1:41.595 | 1:41.949 |
| 3. | Loris Hezemans (50) | 1:41.649 | 1:41.945 |
| 4. | Gianmarco Ercoli (9) | 1:41.708 | 1:42.155 |
| 5. | Ulysse Delsaux (36) | 1:43.019 | 1:42.026 |
| 6. | Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (69) | 1:42.525 | 1:42.116 |
| 7. | Henri Tuomaala (23) | 1:42.158 | 1:42.597 |
| 8. | Nicolò Rocca (24) | 1:42.165 | 1:42.161 |
| 9. | Lucas Lasserre (33) | 1:43.624 | 1:42.208 |
| 10. | Jacques Villeneuve (32) | 1:43.594 | 1:42.279 |
| 11. | Frédéric Gabillon (3) | 1:42.306 | 1:42.733 |
| 12. | Francesco Sini (12) | 1:42.913 | 1:42.318 |
| 13. | Romain Iannetta (88) | 1:42.380 | 1:42.354 |
| 14. | Christophe Bouchut (1) | 1:42.409 | 1:43.339 |
| 15. | Alexander Graff (77) | 1:42.533 | 1:43.439 |
| 16. | Ander Vilariño (48) | 1:42.817 | 1:42.740 |
| 17. | Martin Doubek (7) | 1:42.825 | 1:42.985 |
| 18. | Thomas Ferrando (27) | 1:43.048 | 1:42.858 |
| 19. | Mauro Trione (31) | 1:43.528 | 1:43.421 |
| 20. | Kenko Miura (2) | 1:43.667 | 1:44.401 |
| 21. | Eric de Doncker (98) | 1:43.889 | 1:43.976 |
| 22. | Salvador Tineo Arroyo (70) | 1:45.673 | 1:44.835 |
| 23. | Dario Caso (8) | No Time | 1:45.033 |
| 24. | Ellen Lohr (99) | 1:45.285 | 1:46.126 |
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will hit the track for Round 7 and Round 8 of the 2019 season on 29 June and 30 June respectively. The green flag for this year’s edition of Autodrom Most NASCAR Show will be waved at 1:25 PM CET on Saturday for Race 1, and at 2:25 PM CET on Sunday for Race 2.
All races for this season will be aired live on FansChoice.tv, Motorsport.tv, and the official Facebook page and YouTube channel of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.
Unless noted, all photos used in this article are courtesy of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Stephane Azemard.