With the current COVID restrictions in place in Europe, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series has decided to make adjustments to their season calendar to maximize the opportunity for fans to visit and spectate the races as the schedule for American SpeedFest VIII, now the second round of the season, was unveiled.
With many European countries still implementing restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series has decided to readjust their season calendar once more as the series aims to maximize the opportunity for fans to visit and spectate the races with the calendar shake-up.
“We always want to deliver the best possible racing to our fans, partners and competitors as well as to share our passion for Pure Racing all together in great American themed events! This is what this revised calendar is all about,” said NWES President/CEO Jerome Galpin in the official announcement.
“If the situation evolves in the way everybody expects, we should be able to run all these events with great attendance! We can’t wait to be in Brands Hatch on July 3-4 for the American SpeedFest which is every year a highlight of the season!”
As part of the shake up, NASCAR GP Czech Republic at Autodrom Most will be postponed to 28-29 August after it was initially scheduled to be hosted on 19-20 June. Most is now set to host the third round of the 2021 season, with American SpeedFest VIII at Brands Hatch now scheduled to host the second round.
The postponement of NASCAR GP Czech to August also meant that NASCAR Whelen Euro Series and FIA European Truck Racing Championship – who had scheduled their round at Most on that date since December last year – will now host their third round of the year on the same day and venue.
NASCAR GP Italy at Vallelunga, which was previously postponed to an unannounced date, has now received an official date as the revised calendar reveals that Vallelunga will be hosting the season finale on 30-31 October.
In addition, the COVID situation and restrictions in Germany also meant that this year’s NASCAR GP Germany will be cancelled once again. The cancellation of the round at Hockenheim meant that there’s now only 12 races and 6 rounds that will be hosted in 2021.
For championship implications, the Club Challenge division’ round at Hockenheim will be replaced with Vallelunga to keep Club Challenge’s initial plans of hosting five rounds this year. It is currently unknown whether EuroNASCAR will adjust their point scoring system or not, given that there’s now only ten races that forms the “regular season” portion of the calendar instead of twelve.
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series has also revealed the schedule for American SpeedFest VIII recently, confirming that the round at Brands Hatch will be hosted as planned on 3-4 July. The series will continue to use the traditional race week format and while there isn’t any confirmation on how many fans that will be allowed to visit Brands Hatch just yet, a grid walk and autograph session is currently planned for both race days.
Tickets for American SpeedFest VIII can be purchased from the link listed here. Single-day tickets for adult visitors are available from ₤20, with weekend tickets being made available from ₤39. Discounts are made available for fans aged 13-15 year old. In addition, free entry is guaranteed for fans aged under 13 year old.
American Speedfest promotors MotorSport Vision guarantees that tickets will be fully refunded if the COVID-19 situation in the United Kingdom worsened and the event are forced to be held behind closed doors.
Disclaimer: Unless noted, all photos used in this article are courtesy of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Stephane Azemard.