Team Bleekemolen were left wondering at what could have been possible at Valencia after they were caught in multiple incidents during the 2024 EuroNASCAR season opener.
Valencia NASCAR Fest did not go well for Race Planet Team Bleekemolen, to say the least. The Bleekemolen family team were caught in one incident after another, leaving them frustrated at what could have been possible in the 2024 EuroNASCAR season’s opening round.
The speed that the No. 69 Toyota Camry had was highly promising. Both Sebastiaan Bleekemolen and Melvin de Groot performed well on both Friday Practice and Saturday Qualifying.
Both Sebastiaan and de Groot knew that they had a fast car in their hands, but bad luck would come to bite them. It started on Sebastiaan’s first race, where a rear-right shock absorber failure put him out of the race on lap 12.
De Groot then had two crashes in his two races. In Race 1, he made contact with Claudio Remigio Cappelli on lap 2. His chances for a comeback in Race 2 were undone after he tagged Double V’s Simone Giussani into a spin on the opening lap.
Team Bleekemolen’s mechanics worked hard to fix the car for Sebastiaan’s second race, but the effort was all for naught as he was one of the five drivers that were immediately taken out in the Big One.
“We were super fast and the updates worked well,” said Sebastiaan on Team Bleekemolen’s post-round recap. “In Valencia we are always fast, but now we are really fast.”
“In Race 1 I was in second position when I crashed out due to a broken shock absorber. The podium would certainly have been possible and so would the win. In Race 2, there was some kind of snowball effect and I was hit in the rear left.”
“The car wobbled up and I wasn’t able to steer, I had nowhere to go. We had a lot of damage, although the chassis is pretty good and we should be able to fix it all.”
“For the #69 car, it became nothing at all as a result, as Melvin also crashed out twice. It really sucks, because the speed was really good.”
The Valencia weekend also welcomed two newcomers to the Dutch team: Marc Goossens, long-time partner of the Bleekemolen family in sportscar racing, and Reza Sardeha, the Dutch tech entrepreneur.
Sebastiaan was pleased to have both signed to the team for the 2024 season, although he admits that Sardeha still has a long way to go in his fledgling EuroNASCAR career.
“We are happy to have him on board,” said Sebastiaan on Goossens and Sardeha’s arrival. “Marc and I have known each other for more than 25 years and have driven the 24 Hours of Zolder together and in America for Riley [Motorsports]. Racing together with friends is great, I’ve seen that for years with Melvin.”
“There was also the motorsport debut of Reza Sardeha this weekend. He is still a little too slow, but if you have never driven these cars before, it is very good that he is already driving at the pace he had. Moreover, he is super enthusiastic and eager to learn.”
Goossens came close to the overall podium finish, but ultimately came short in both races. Michael Bleekemolen did secure one Legend Trophy podium though, ensuring that Team Bleekemolen had something to be showcased back at their headquarters after the race.
“I’m the only one in the team with a trophy,” said Michael on his weekend in Spain. “Almost everything was against us, although the speed was fine. We were unlucky with an oil leak and had to use a new engine.”
“That wasn’t ideal because the engine hadn’t been used up to that point. Nevertheless, I was still on the podium once, which was positive.”
Goossens and Michael’s efforts were also enough for the No. 72 Toyota Camry team to secure third in the Endurance Teams Championship, EuroNASCAR’s new format for the Teams title in 2024.
Another solace for the team came from Thomas Dombrowski, who secured two strong finishes in EuroNASCAR 2 onboard the re-liveried No. 66 Race Planet Chevrolet Camaro.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.