Bremotion continues to adapt to the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series after the team’s lead driver Tobias Dauenhauer qualified third and scored a double top-10 finish in Vallelunga.
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series debutants Bremotion continued to leave their mark in the 2023 season after the German team scored two top-10 finishes in the American Festival of Rome at Autodromo Vallelunga.
For the round in Italy, Bremotion competed only in EuroNASCAR PRO because Gordon Barnes, who drove the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro in EuroNASCAR 2 at Brands Hatch, put his focus in the EuroNASCAR Club Challenge division with Marko Stipp Motorsport. Barnes went on to win the round and the recap of his victory can be checked here.
Dauenhauer’s weekend started on a strong note after he finished sixth in the combined Friday Practice times. The 26-year old driver went one step better in Saturday’s Qualifying thanks to a third place finish, something that Bremotion’s Managing Director Patrick Brenndorfer described as an “important starting position for the first race.”
The team was confident that they would be able to translate their second row starting position into a podium finish at the end of the first race. Sadly, this was not to be. Dauenhauer crossed the line in sixth, but received a 5-second time penalty for a bump and run on Vladimiros Tziortzis that relegated him to tenth place in the final results.
The penalty was the least of the team’s worries though. Bremotion mechanics later discovered that the car had a crack in the fuel line, causing the engine to misfire during the race. The problem was fixed for Sunday morning’s Warm-Up session and after Dauenhauer finished second, the team was confident that they had fixed their fuel line issues.
Sadly, the engine problems returned during the race on Sunday afternoon. Dauenhauer, who started tenth, struggled to advance forward and had to contend with a tenth place finish after he failed to find a way past Marc Goossens in the final few laps.
“The penalty in the first race cost us a better result, but two top 10 places are quite satisfactory,” said Bremotion’s Managing Director Patrick Brenndörfer. “Third place in qualifying was a highlight that proved our competitiveness. We are still in the learning phase and making continuous progress, so we are looking forward to the upcoming races!”
With the double top-10 finish secured, Dauenhauer now moves up to 18th place in the overall standings. He had a deficit of 109 points to championship leader Gianmarco Ercoli, but Dauenhauer will have a chance to get maximum points at Oschersleben thanks to the dropped points system.
“Two top-10 placements is not a bad result, but still my aim is to fight for the win,” said Dauenhauer to ThreeWide. “We showed in the practices and qualifying that we can set the fastest times.”
“The extremely hot temperatures have bothered our engine and we will check where these problems come from so that we can be fully competitive again at the next race.”
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