Our second Race Preview for the 2024 Valencia NASCAR Fest takes a look at what we can expect from the EuroNASCAR PRO drivers and Trophy battles at Valencia.
After a lengthy off-season period, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series is back in action for the start of the 2024 season. The series heads to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Spain for the traditional season opening round Valencia NASCAR Fest.
After celebrating the event’s tenth anniversary in 2023, the Valencia NASCAR Fest continues its festivity vibes as the 2024 event is part of the track’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
Plenty of memories have been made in the previous editions and this year is shaping up to be no different, facilitated by a Provisional Entry List that featured a field of 29 cars and 51 drivers across all three divisions.
Just like last year’s Preview articles, the Preview for the 2024 Valencia NASCAR Fest is going to be split into three parts.
Part 1 was focused on the Entry List while a dedicated preview for EuroNASCAR PRO was released on Part 2. EuroNASCAR 2’s preview will be released in Part 3.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
The 27 best drivers in European stock car racing will start their journey to the top in Valencia, headlined by the reigning champion Gianmarco Ercoli onboard CAAL Racing’s No. 54 Steelduxx/HPM Chevrolet Camaro.
The Italian has finally climbed to the top after a long, grueling journey, but he knows that he and CAAL has to fight harder this year thanks to a performance slump in the second half of the 2023 season that nearly cost him the title.
In addition, he also knows that the competition remains fierce as ever as there’s ten race winners that will be racing at Valencia. Chief among which is his closest title rival from last year, the 46-year old Frenchman Lucas Lasserre.
Lasserre bravely fought to the end and nearly stole the title from Ercoli’s grasp had it not been for a late incident that – ironically – was triggered by Ercoli’s younger brother Mario.
The SpeedHouse owner-driver has every right to be frustrated from the way it ended, but he holds no ill feeling to the Ercoli’s and is now focusing his mind for another shot at the title onboard the No. 33 Sud-Ouest Remorques Ford Mustang.
One driver that could shake up the competition greatly is the reigning EuroNASCAR 2 champion Paul Jouffreau. He only raced in ENPRO last year to substitute series legend Frédéric Gabillon, but to say that his campaign went well would be an understatement.
Jouffreau finished on the podium immediately and four races was all it took before he won for the first time. Coupled with his title campaign in EN2, he single handedly helped RDV Competition to claim the Team’s Championship – their first since 2018.
Now with a full-time promotion to EuroNASCAR PRO, Jouffreau is ready to give his all and show his true potential to the world by continuing his winning ways at his spiritual home race.
One team looking for a resurgence in 2024 is Hendriks Motorsport. After an uncharacteristically dry season in 2023, last year’s race winner Liam Hezemans and Martin Doubek are back to bring the taste of glory back to the Dutch powerhouse.
PK Carsport is also looking for more success in 2024 after they experienced their first winless season last year.
Owner-driver Anthony Kumpen will not be able to compete due to focusing his efforts in managing his son Henri-Constant, but he has signed a solid replacement for the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro: Vittorio Ghirelli.
Ghirelli enjoyed a breakthrough season last year with back-to-back wins at Vallelunga and Most that solidified his status as one of EuroNASCAR’s best drivers.
Now with the support of a four-time ENPRO championship winning team, the Italian hopes that the talents of PK’s mechanics will be the key that he needs to finally achieve his dream and win the biggest prize in European stock car racing.
Ghirelli’s move to PK does mean that there’s an empty spot to fill at Race Planet Team Bleekemolen. It was looking like they wouldn’t be able to find a replacement for the Italian, but fortunately they found one at the last minute: Marc Goossens.
“The Goose” is a constant presence in the podium battles ever since he made his debut in 2016 and he can still be a threat for the title at the age of 54, making him the ideal driver for Bleekemolen’s No. 72 Toyota Camry.
Another team to look for is Academy Motorsport as they have assembled a strong line-up of returning 2022 Rijeka winner Patrick Lemarié and 2023 EN2 runner-up Vladimiros Tziortzis, driving the No. 1 FEED Racing Ford and No. 5 Cremona Gronde Ford respectively.
Both drivers have shown what they can do in Valencia: Lemarié nearly claimed pole in 2022 while Tziortzis did so in both classes last year. Coupled with a positive pre-season test program for the Italian-Monegasque team, expect both Lemarié and Tziortzis to be in contention for the victory.
Bremotion is also one to watch thanks to the heroics they achieved last year. The German team was only six points away from finishing inside the top-5 last year and now with everyone knowing their potential, they’re ready to fight at the top with star driver Tobias Dauenhauer behind the wheel of the No. 99 IZECC Camaro.
In the battle for Trophies, Jouffreau and Liam would headline the Junior Trophy classification for drivers aged 25 and under. One driver to keep an eye on is Xfinity and Trucks regular Ryan Vargas, who is making his full-time debut with 3F Racing.
They will be joined by Lux Motorsport’s Jack Davidson, Team Bleekemolen’s Thomas Dombrowski, SpeedHouse’s Alessandro Lebourgeois and Marko Stipp Motorsport’s trio of Thomas Krasonis, Victor Neumann, and Nick Strickler.
In the Challenger Trophy, Fabrizio Armetta is ready to defend the Trophy overall victory that he gained in dominant fashion last year. Armetta’s nearest competitors Thomas Toffel and Riccardo Romagnoli are also ready to once again challenge him and the No. 55 Dinoil Camaro to its limit.
A total of seven drivers would be fighting for the top spot in the sub-classification for Grade C drivers. Top Trophy contenders Max Lanza and Kenko Miura will be joined by the ever-present veteran Dario Caso and debutant Reza Sardeha.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.