Our third and final Race Preview for the EuroNASCAR Finals takes a look at what can be expected from the EuroNASCAR 2 title and Trophy battles at Zolder.
The 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season will reach its conclusion with this weekend’s EuroNASCAR Finals at Circuit Zolder. This year’s running marked the return of Zolder as the venue for the season finale after Valencia, Vallelunga and Rijeka hosted the Finals in the past three years.
The 4.011 kilometer circuit at Heusden-Zolder has provided fans with fantastic action ever since it was introduced to the calendar in 2015. This year promises to be the same and with the crowning of a new champion on Sunday, there’s more reason to tune in to this year’s Finals.
To welcome Zolder’s return as the host of the EuroNASCAR Finals, a total of 27 teams and 46 across all three divisions will be ready to compete for the grand finale of the dramatic 2023 season.
This EuroNASCAR Finals Preview article is going to be the final part of a three-part series, covering the title contenders from EuroNASCAR 2 and what to expect from the junior division in the championship deciding round.
Like with previous rounds, Part 1 was focused on all of the changes listed in the Entry List while Part 2 was focused on our preview for the EuroNASCAR PRO races.
A total of 25 drivers are set to compete in the final round of the 2023 EuroNASCAR 2 season, but the main attraction is going to be focused towards the ‘Big Three’ of Vladimiros Tziortzis, Alberto Naska and Paul Jouffreau.
They have consistently finished inside the top-3 and scored 9 out of the possible 10 race wins. With only 4 points separating them entering the Finals at Zolder, each driver is going to have a real shot to become the champion in the junior division.
Leading the ‘Big Three’ is Vladimiros Tziortzis, who was the clear favorite for the title in the first half of the season. The Cypriot scored four consecutive victories to open the year and added another victory at Most, but two retirements and non-starts in the last three races nearly cost him the lead in the championship.
Tziortzis’ recent inconsistent form can be a problem, but he will not go down without a fight. One thing that will be in his favor is that he has the support of Academy Motorsport, a team that has scored crucial victories in Finals races before with Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Lemarié.
The 26-year old driver had a simple statement to say when asked by euronascar.com’s André Wiegold on his outlook for the Finals: “I am fully prepared to take what we really deserve. The setback in the NASCAR GP Germany is already in the past!”
Three points behind him is his main rival, CAAL Racing’s Alberto Naska. The YouTube superstar acted as the “chaser” for most of the season, but perhaps that could alleviate some of the pressure away from the Italian.
Naska knows just how important it is to win the season finale races as he experienced it through his defeat to Liam Hezemans in the 2022 Finals at Rijeka. He also pointed out about the wet weather forecast, which he thinks will add more spice to this year’s championship decider.
“The battle is so close and the double points are so decisive,” states the 33-year old to Andre Wiegold. “It’s that simple: whoever wins the races is the champion. Period.”
“I’m pretty sure that Zolder will be the toughest battle of the year. I’m super excited, I can’t wait to race. The forecast is also calling for four days of rain. Can you imagine that? It will be an unforgettable weekend!”
Another driver that’s aiming for the wins at Zolder is RDV Competition’s Paul Jouffreau. He’s definitely a driver to watch for as the 19-year old has been on fire ever since he became a double duty competitor.
With two wins in both EuroNASCAR 2 and EuroNASCAR PRO – the first driver to win races in both classes on the same season – in the last four rounds and impending promotion to a Grade A driver rating for next year, there’s going to be little doubt that the Frenchman wants to win it all on his final race as an EN2 competitor.
“I feel really good and I’m confident,” said Jouffreau. “The performance of the team is getting better and better after each race, so we are going to Zolder prepared like never before.”
“I want to win both races, I want to become champion and I don’t want to be on the grid for the last race with a complex math problem with a lot of possibilities!”
The trio will be on the spotlights for the Finals, but let’s not take away the outside title contenders that could do a Joey Logano and steal the trophy away: Gil Linster and Patrick Schober.
Gil Linster seems to be eternally stuck to fourth place in finishing positions, but there’s a reason why he is called “Mr. Consistency” by André Wiegold.
Those constant top-5 finishes meant that the Luxembourger is only 28 points away from Tziortzis after he dropped his two worst results away. It will be a tough ask for him to bring home another championship title for Hendriks Motorsport, but nothing is impossible with the right amount of effort and luck.
The phrase “nothing is impossible” has certainly applied to Patrick Schober, who took advantage of top contender’s misfortunes at Oschersleben to secure a shock victory for the underdogs Double V Racing.
A 42-point deficit will be a tough one to overcome, but the Austrian has been building a huge momentum in the second half of the season and will no doubt want to continue his winning ways at Zolder.
The battle for the sub-classifications is expected to be just as fierce, although Claudio Remigio Cappelli would enter Zolder as the leader of Legend Trophy with a hefty 30-point advantage from Melvin de Groot.
De Groot’s multiple retirements have caused a setback in the reigning Legend Trophy winner’s plans for 2023, but it will be anyone’s game as Zolder is a track where both Cappelli and de Groot scored a podium finish last year.
In Rookie Trophy, the regular season’s “best 8 of 10” format has significantly increased the stakes for the battle of the best debuting driver in the division. With dropped points in place, Thomas Dombrowski enters the Zolder showdown with 239 points while Jack Davidson follows behind with 234 points.
The Frenchman has consistency as his main weapon, but the Scotsman’s higher peak finishes could turn the tide to his favor, especially with double points being on the line in the Finals.
Unfortunately, the Lady Trophy battle will be an afterthought as Arianna Casoli is guaranteed to become the winner of the sub-classification once more. With no other female drivers entering the Finals, the Italian SpeedHouse driver will be unopposed to secure her first overall Lady Trophy win since 2021.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.