The results from Valencia Super Speedweek left Speedhouse’s Team Manager Estelle Lombard to declare that they are “back in the game” after Lucas Lasserre secured 4th place in the overall standings, showcasing the improvement that the team has made in 2020 as they now set their focus for the upcoming 2021 season.

“We are back in the game”, it’s what Speedhouse’s Team Manager Estelle Lombard said in the team’s post-Valencia press release after a strong performance at Valencia Super Speedweek saw the team claimed 4th place in the overall EuroNASCAR PRO class driver standings with Lucas Lasserre.

“What more can be said from the drivers!” said Lombard in the press release. “They’ve all been there. They never let anything go, just like the mechanics and everything was decided in the last race.”

Team founder and star driver Lucas Lasserre left the Valencia doubleheader with perhaps the biggest smile out of the three Speedhouse drivers, as two podiums and Top-10 finishes in all four races of the doubleheader meant that he managed to secure 4th place in the overall driver standings.

Lasserre’s championship finish meant that he improved 13 places from where he finished in the overall standings last year and just one position shy of his best overall standings finishing position in the NASCAR-sanctioned era of the series.

“Simply an incredible weekend!” said Lasserre in the press release. “It seemed to last six months because there were so many twists and turns and door-to-door fights.”

“I skipped all the details, but after arriving in Spain 7th in the championship I leave with 4th place, 2 more podiums, and a crazy race where I started P15 to finish P3. In short, a great end of the season after our bad luck at Zolder and Rijeka.”

Lasserre’s teammate in Mishumotors’ No. 33 Tigha Camaro, Eric Quintal, enjoyed a less than stellar moment at Valencia after a heavy crash at the exit of Bernat Martinez late in the second EuroNASCAR 2 race on Friday left the team with an overnight job to fix the car for the rest of the weekend.

Despite this, the results from Valencia meant that he claimed 14th place in the EuroNASCAR 2 driver standings and 3rd in the Legend Trophy classifications on Quintal’s first full-season campaign in the series since 2014, despite it was briefly interrupted when he was forced to miss the previous round at Rijeka due to a positive COVID-19 test.

“Obviously it’s a Speedweek with twists and turns!” said Quintal on the press release. “After my mistake, I was deeply sorry for the team and for Lucas, but we managed to put the car back on track. When I think about it, it was quite a moment.”

“I progressed well with the coaching of Lucas and the atmosphere in the team has no equivalent. I will come back stronger and better prepared next season and of course, with the same people. A big thanks for the whole team.”

Mishumotors’ owner Mirco Schultis, who returned to the series in the previous round at Rijeka, had an interesting Super Speedweek as he showcased an impressive pace that was left mostly unrewarded after experiencing a collision-filled weekend at Valencia.

He also made a last-minute entry in the final PRO class race of the year where he scored a surprise 10th place finish, leading to a humorous moment where he wore a Christmas jumper for the Challenger Trophy podium ceremony.

“What a race meeting!” said Schultis in the press release. “I was left in the middle of the pack every time and it was really a contact sport, a bit too much from my point of view but I had a lot of fun.”

“I was able to participate exceptionally well in the last PRO race and I had a lot of fun there. I also loved to see Lucas’ races as a spectator and the race where he climbed 12 places was just superb. A hell of a weekend with the whole team.”

While Speedhouse – and Mishumotors – haven’t set foot in the Victory Lane this year, the improvement in results this year left Lombard with an optimistic feeling for the upcoming 2021 season as she announces their plans to return to the Euro Series grid next year.

“We still have to push together and improve in all areas but this season has been good,” said Lombard on his review for the team’s 2020 season campaign. “We are back in the game after a tough 2019 season and we now need to take it to the next level.”

“Thanks to all the partners, thank you to the entire Mishumotors team and a big thank you to Mirco (Schultis). See you next year.”

Disclaimer: Unless noted, all photos used in this article are courtesy of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Stephane Azemard / Klemen Sofric and Speedhouse.

By Reza Maulana

Owner of World of EuroNASCAR. Official member of the EuroNASCAR media team. Long-time motorsport fan from Indonesia.

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