World of EuroNASCAR delves into the story of Granducato Speed, an aspiring entrant to the 2024 EuroNASCAR season that went unnoticed by virtually everyone until recently.
On 29 January 2024, a team visited the Autodromo Nazionale dell’Umbria to test the orange-and-white EuroNASCAR Chevrolet Camaro that the Bulgarian Team raced at Valencia in 2023. It may seem like the Bulgarian outfit is planning a return this year, but there is a problem.
That problem was the fact that it isn’t the Bulgarian Team. Instead, the team that did the test is an Italian-based outfit known as Granducato Speed and they have an ambition to enter the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season.
Another problem was that Granducato Speed’s existence was unnoticed by virtually everyone. It felt as if suddenly there’s a new team that’s looking to enter the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series from pretty much out of nowhere.
So who exactly are they? Why are they in possession of the No. 90 Camaro that the Bulgarian Team raced last year? How did they remain under the radar until recently?
With this article, World of EuroNASCAR will be uncovering the public information that is known about Granducato Speed to see if the team is ready to enter the championship in 2024.
What Exactly is Granducato Speed?
Granducato Speed may have looked like a brand new team that’s planning to enter EuroNASCAR, but in truth the team is not exactly a “new” outfit.
That’s because the team is essentially a rebrand of the Bulgarian Team. Granducato’s social media accounts are the same as what Bulgarian Team had last year, with the rebrand taking place on 19 November 2023.
Further confirming this is the fact that their social media profile maintains the photos that the Bulgarian Team posted when they raced at Valencia.
This would also explain why Granducato Speed is in possession of Bulgarian Team’s No. 90 Camaro as the owners of Bulgarian Team never sold it.
The chassis was kept by the owners and while the Bulgarian identity is now gone, the new owners are continuing their work to build a solid footing for a possible entry made by the team based in Montopoli in Val d’Arno.
Credits: Thomas Papa / @tommytfkracing on Instagram
Who Are the Key Members of the Project?
One person that is closely associated with Granducato Speed is an Italian driver named Thomas Papa, who was reported by Vastoweb to have been signing a three-year deal with the team on 18 November 2023.
Papa, who works as a mechanic in his hometown, was not an unknown to motorsport. The 32-year old from Schiavi d’Abruzzo raced minimotos as a kid and moved on to car racing in his adult life, competing in various amateur championships in his region.
It was through the amateur championships that he met Sergio Sambataro, an ex-touring car driver that reached his peak in the Super Touring era.
Sambataro has prior experience with driving EuroNASCAR stock cars as he entered the 2016 Trofeo Angelo Caffi that was held as part of the Bologna Motor Show exhibition.
The contest ended poorly for Sambataro with him only finishing seventh out of the eight entrants, but archive reports from the event revealed that he enjoyed the EuroNASCAR driving experience, as attributed from this statement.
“I discovered a really interesting and fun car to drive,” said Sambataro after the 2016 Trofeo Angelo Caffi to Cronaca Torino. “I was able to savor again that special feeling that only racing can give you, and I was also able to hug my many fans again, who once again showed me all their affection.”
It should be noted that there happens to be another driver named Sergio Sambataro that is also active in motorsport. However, this Sambataro was six years younger than the Sambataro that is crucial to the Granducato Speed story. He also only started racing in 2015, long after the Super Touring era had ended.
In any case, Papa met Sambataro in the middle of 2023 and quickly formed a friendship. They not only kept in touch with the local championships, but also with EuroNASCAR as Sambataro secretly held a desire to be involved in the series on an official basis.
An opportunity would come when they found out that the Bulgarian Team is in need of a driver. With Sambataro’s help, a deal was agreed by both sides and Papa was announced to be signed to the team on a three-year deal just one day before the rebranding took place.
With Papa and Sambataro now getting themself involved in the Granducato Speed project, what happens to the people behind the Bulgarian Team project?
Alfonso Bacci, one of Bulgarian Team’s owners, remains as the owner of Granducato Speed. Mechanics associated with Not Only Motorsport is also working with Granducato Speed too, as they are present in the Umbria test.
Gino Miedico’s name, however, is absent. In fact, nothing has been heard of Miedico ever since mid-2023 and it remains to be seen whether he’s going to make his name known to the motorsport scene again in the future.
How Did They Remain Under the Radar?
The team has made plenty of moves behind the scenes, but how did news of their existence go unnoticed to the greater EuroNASCAR community until recently?
There are two explanations that we feel can explain this. One is Granducato’s low social media activity.
In between 11 May 2023 and 29 January 2024, the team posted exactly one post on Instagram. Interestingly, it wasn’t a post about the team itself. Rather, it’s a post stating “Help us…”, with a picture of Alfa Romeo F1 Team’s Head of Race Strategy Ruth Buscombe uploaded as an attachment.
It wasn’t any better on Facebook where in between 13 May 2023 and 29 January 2024, they made a total of just six posts: Five on 19 November 2023 to reveal their rebrand and one on 27 November 2023 to repost EuroNASCAR’s 2023 Best Livery Battle announcement.
Another factor is the fact that Granducato, or Thomas Papa, never bothered to tag EuroNASCAR until their Umbria test.
As a result, everything that Thomas Papa has done to reach his deal with Granducato remains unknown to virtually the whole world until 29 January 2024, nearly two and a half months after it’s officially reported by Vastoweb!
Will We See Them on the EuroNASCAR Grid in 2024?
What is certain is that Granducato Speed has had better preparation than their previous incarnation Bulgarian Team.
Not only have they secured a driver in Thomas Papa, they also have begun their pre-season testing programme. It is a major contrast to the Bulgarian Team, who needed time until February to officially announce their 2023 program and only secured Michaela Dorcikova as their driver with one week before the 2023 season started.
But would they have what it takes to be a contender for the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season, like newly announced entrant Lux Motorsport?
If we’re honest, we don’t know yet and there are multiple factors that explain why.
The Vastoweb report of Thomas Papa’s signing made it known that Papa is seeking additional sponsors for the EuroNASCAR endeavor with Granducato Speed.
The shadows of the Bulgarian Team’s ill-fated entry is also still looming above their heads as it is uncertain on just how ready they actually are at this current moment in time.
Regardless of whether Granducato Speed will make it to the 2024 EuroNASCAR grid or not, it is clear that Granducato has been putting the effort that an aspiring EuroNASCAR team needs to have.
World of EuroNASCAR will be wishing them the best for the remainder of the pre-season months and we hope that we can cover what they can do in the biggest season of EuroNASCAR’s history.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.