Our third Race Preview for the NASCAR GP Germany takes a look at what can be expected from the EuroNASCAR 2 drivers at Oschersleben.
The 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season is about to reach its climax with the final round of the regular season, the NASCAR GP Germany at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, scheduled to be held this weekend.
This year’s NASCAR GP Germany will be the fourth edition of the event and the first since 2019, held at the Hockenheimring circuit in Baden-Wurtemberg. EuroNASCAR’s return to Germany will present a new challenge to drivers and teams as they will venture to the only new track of the season: Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
Built in 1995 and opened in 1997, Oschersleben is one of the biggest motorsport venues in the former East Germany region. With practically no race data available to be used as a reference, it will be a challenge to master the 3.668-kilometer long circuit that was known for its smooth and fast layout.
The passionate German race fans will be treated to the sight and sound of the V8-powered EuroNASCAR stock cars entered by 26 teams, which will have 45 competitors ready to drive them across all three classes based on the data provided by the provisional Entry List.
This NASCAR GP Germany Preview article is going to be the third of a four-part article, which focuses on our preview for the EuroNASCAR 2 races. Like with previous rounds, Part 1 was focused on all of the changes listed in the Entry List while Part 2 discusses on our preview for the EuroNASCAR PRO.
Because NASCAR GP Germany is the round where drivers have to drop their two worst results in the regular season, the upcoming Part 4 will highlight the impact that dropped points is going to have in the 2023 championship.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
The championship battle in EuroNASCAR 2 shakes up considerably after the events of NASCAR GP Czech Republic at Autodrom Most. A retirement from Vladimiros Tziortzis and a tough round for Alberto Naska meant that they and Paul Jouffreau are now separated by just six points.
With a very close gap between the ‘Big Three’ contenders, it’s anyone’s game on who’s going to be the driver that leads the standings at the end of the regular season. A strong finish will be a must have as it will allow the trio to replace their worst results so far.
Tziortzis, who has won five races, will have the biggest advantage as his retirement at Most meant that he would have a chance to drop a 21st place finish away. Naska could also earn plenty of points, but his maximum points haul is less than what Tziortzis had.
For Jouffreau, the points situation is more critical. Because he has finished in the top-5 in all races so far, the 19-year old Frenchman will not have the luxury of potentially replacing a poor finishing result in the previous eight races of the season.
As such, it is very important for Jouffreau and the RDV Competition team to take the victories at Oschersleben in order to minimize any disadvantage that they might have entering next month’s season finale.
The same goal would also be ideal for Hendriks Motorsport’s Gil Linster. Much like Jouffreau, Linster is 8-in-8 in top-5 finishes and will not have the opportunity to score plenty of points given the constraints of the dropped points system.
The Luxembourger is currently just 17 points behind Tziortzis thanks to his consistent fourth place finishes, but he would need to amp up his performance if he wants to have a shot at the title next month.
For teammate and former class champion Martin Doubek, the NASCAR GP Germany would be his last chance to put himself back into the title battle.
A DNF at Vallelunga and two finishes outside of the top-10 left him with a 57 points deficit from the leaders. Strong finishes at Oschersleben will cut those deficits away, but some bad luck to his opponents would also be needed as well.
Sandwiching Doubek in the standings are two drivers who have two things in common: Leaders in their respective trophies and having an outside shot for the EuroNASCAR 2 championship.
The one who’s ahead of Doubek is Team Bleekemolen driver and Rookie Trophy leader Thomas Dombrowski. He currently holds a comfortable lead of 33 points in the sub-classification for debuting drivers, but does have a 53 points deficit to Tziortzis on the overall standings.
The young Frenchman has proved himself to be a consistent top-10 contender, but he has yet to finish inside the top-5 in 2023. Thus, he’ll be hoping to score his first top-5 finish of the year at the track where Team Bleekemolen did their pre-season testing.
Legend Trophy leader Claudio Remigio Cappelli fills the “bottom layer” spot of the Doubek sandwich. Cappelli is 68 points behind in the standings, but he has the opportunity to rectify his two self-inflicted poor finishes away at Oschersleben.
One thing that can help the Italian is if rain somehow arrived in Germany this weekend. While sunny weather is forecasted for the races on Saturday and Sunday, the rain will be a great tiebreaker for Cappelli after he proved himself as one of the fastest drivers in the wet conditions at Most.
Another driver with an outside shot at the title is Double V Racing’s Patrick Schober, who will have the opportunity to put his DNS at Brands Hatch and one of his DNF’s away. The Spanish-born Austrian had scored his first career podium finish at Most and is certainly going to chase for a second one this weekend.
Jack Davidson would enter the round in Germany with a big smile on his face. The Scotsman had a weekend to remember at Most after he swept the Rookie Trophy honors and scored his first top-5 finish in EuroNASCAR. In addition, he also gained his first laps in the top class at the Czech Republic.
He and Dombrowski would be expected to lead the contingent of seven drivers in Rookie Trophy, which will see the debut of Gianmarco Ercoli’s younger brother Mario Ercoli onboard the No. 8 Italicus Camaro of Vict Motorsport.
Another driver set for their first EuroNASCAR outing this week is home crowd favorite Dominique Schaak, who has been signed by Bremotion to race the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro in the team’s first ever home race.
In Legend Trophy, there will be ten drivers fighting for the supremacy of drivers aged 40 and above. One driver to watch for is Melvin de Groot as he has the chance to score the maximum 88 points because he missed the first round at Valencia.
Others to look for include home driver Matthias Hauer, the returning Kenko Miura and the most experienced driver in the field Arianna Casoli, who once again will be the sole contender for the Lady Trophy at Oschersleben.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.