Through two separate announcements, Race Art Technology announced that Giorgio Maggi, Claudio Remigio Cappelli and Thomas Toffel are set to compete in the 2023 EuroNASCAR season with the Swiss team.
Race Art Technology have announced the drivers that will be contesting the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series with the Swiss outfit. Through two separate announcements that was released on 23 April 2023, Race Art announced that Giorgio Maggi, Claudio Remigio Cappelli and Thomas Toffel are set to become the team’s drivers for 2023.
Giorgio Maggi and Claudio Remigio Cappelli, who became teammates on select rounds of the 2022 season, will now become full-time teammates in the No. 18 team. Maggi and Cappelli had proved themselves as successful teammates in the No. 18 team last year, scoring a collective total of five podium finishes on their first season together.
For Maggi, the 2023 season is set to be his fourth season in EuroNASCAR’s top division. Having joined Race Art in 2022 after switching teams from Hendriks Motorsport, the 2019 EuroNASCAR 2 runner-up enjoyed his best season in the top class to date as he scored four podium finishes on his way to finish fifth in the standings.
As such, it is no surprise that Maggi is aiming for bigger things in 2023. Maggi is still yet to win a race in the top class despite numerous close calls, but the 25-year old driver felt that he is ready to fight for the EuroNASCAR title this year.
“I want to win the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Championship,” said Maggi to euronascar.com. “I really like EuroNASCAR thanks to a combination of several factors.”
“For one, the cars are old school, which makes for close and exciting racing. The V8 beasts are also not as fragile as other modern race cars. The greatest invention of mankind is the H-pattern shifter. On the other hand, the fans experience a spectacular festival and get close to the cars, teams and drivers. The atmosphere is unbelievable.”
Vidby, a start-up company specializing in AI machine translation, is set to become Maggi’s primary sponsor in the No. 18 car for this year. Interconsulting Group, Lucerne Watch, Steinfels, Kontur, and Akon would also provide their backing towards Maggi and the No. 18 team.
Vidby will be joined by Cremona Gronde, the roofing company owned by the Cappelli family, as the joint primary sponsors of the No. 18 team in 2023. The team has also received a livery update, with Cappelli’s yellow now being featured prominently on the No. 18 car for this year.
Matching the yellow color’s prominence is Cappelli’s own driving skills, which he put to good use on his full-time EuroNASCAR debut last year. Racing for both Race Art and MK1 Racing Italia, Cappelli proved himself to be a consistent contender for top-10 finishes in both classes.
Despite challenges such as having to race for two teams at once and having the most DNF’s out of anyone last year, the popular Italian driver made the best of what he had at his disposal and brought home a podium finish in the fifth round at Zolder. Now with a full season participation under his belt, the Italian is ready to step up his game in 2023.
“I hope to make it into the top-5,” said Cappelli, who will be focusing his efforts solely in EuroNASCAR 2 for this year. “I love the excitement of the double file starts and restarts and I’m really looking forward to starting the season with Race Art Technology.”
Joining Maggi and Cappelli at Race Art this year is Thomas Toffel, who made his EuroNASCAR debut in last year’s season finale at Rijeka. Toffel is scheduled to race the No. 34 Race Art Technology car in both EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2.
Little information is known about Toffel’s past, but we do know that the 31-year old started his racing career through minimotos and made his first international racing debut in the 2015 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup season. Racing as a wildcard on Motos Vionnet’s BMW S1000RR, Toffel was forced to retire on his debut Superstock 1000 race.
Motos Vionnet signed Toffel in 2016 for a part-time participation in Superstock 1000, once again racing Motos Vionnet’s BMW S1000RR that now carried the No. 34 – the same number that Toffel will race with in EuroNASCAR.
Toffel then transitioned from two wheels to four wheels in the years that followed. According to euronascar.com, Toffel raced in touring cars and Legends cars before he made the move to EuroNASCAR in 2022.
Despite his status as a debutant in the championship, Toffel has set up an ambitious goal of becoming a regular front-runner in EN2 and a capable top-15 challenger in ENPRO this year.
“A top-5 finish in EuroNASCAR 2 and a top-15 finish in EuroNASCAR PRO are my goals for the 2023 season,” said Toffel to euronascar.com.
“I really love the Brands Hatch event with tens of thousands of fans watching the races and having a good time at the track with all the attractions. My strength at the wheel of a race car is my determination to overtake a competitor, even if I’m slower than him.”
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.