Support from the tifosi is the key that made the American Festival of Rome special to the hearts of the Italian EuroNASCAR competitors, as said by the drivers to euronascar.com.
The upcoming American Festival of Rome at Autodromo Vallelunga is the home round for a good majority of competitors in the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season and some of them speak out to euronascar.com on what made their home race special.
Most of them agreed that it’s the support of the tifosi that made them look forward to the race in Italy the most, as demonstrated by the current championship leader and last year’s Vallelunga race winner Vittorio Ghirelli.
“The enormous support is crazy,” said the PK Carsport driver. “I will have so many fans and friends here. My big sponsors will all join me in my home race.”
“All of this for sure creates some pressure, but I can handle it and I manage to transform all this energy into focus and concentration.”
In Ghirelli’s case, another aspect that made the American Festival of Rome special is the fact that it’s held at the track that started his racing career.
“There are particular emotions that go through my body when I lap around this circuit because here is where it all started,” added the former AutoGP and EuroNASCAR 2 champion.
“Here [is where] I learnt how to heel-toe downshift with a Mini Cooper in the parking lot before testing the Mazda RX-8 on track.”
Series veteran and EuroNASCAR 2’s most experienced driver Arianna Casoli from SpeedHouse Racing also shared a similar sentiment as she made her competitive racing debut at Vallelunga.
Casoli also enjoyed the layout of the 4.085 kilometer circuit, saying that the combination of the fast opening sectors and the slower ‘stadium’ section made for a challenging track to master.
“The track is fast and a really complete one in terms of a good mix of driving technique and fun sections,” said the 50-year old from Reggio Emilia.
“It features a really tricky and downhill section with long high speed corners, but also a low speed sector where the way you approach it can make the difference in terms of performance and race strategy.”
“In the past years I always worked to improve my performance on this track, which is the one where I raced many years ago for my first time ever in the Clio Cup Italy. Racing here is fun for the driver and fans, so I can’t wait to meet a lot of friends and fans in Vallelunga.”
Legend Trophy leader Claudio Remigio Cappelli agrees with his fellow EuroNASCAR 2 competitor on both the tifosi support and the track’s challenging nature, but the man with the best beard on the grid is focusing more on closing his gap towards the division leaders.
“I like Vallelunga, it’s a fast track, especially the first part where it’s a real challenge to do well,” said the Academy Motorsport driver, who will have Patrick Lemarié as his new teammate from Vallelunga onwards.
“Since it is the Italian round, for sure there will be friends and relatives watching me closely. My target is another podium position with a shorter gap from the one in Valencia.”
“We were supposed to have another test session but it was canceled because of bad weather, but I know that Academy Motorsport will do everything possible to give me a good car so I can fight even more with the guys in the front.”
Focusing on their on-track result is also in the mind of Double V Racing’s rookie Simone Giussani. After a tough debut at Valencia, Giussani wants to recover as much ground as possible on his first EuroNASCAR race at home.
“My goal in Rome is to make up for the points I lost in Valencia because of a puncture in race 1 and a contact at the beginning of race 2,” said Giussani.
“We are very confident in being able to do this because the car is going very well and I know the home track very well.”
The interviews on euronascar.com also revealed three Italian drivers that will join the roster for the 2024 edition of American Festival of Rome.
One of them is Davide Dallara, who is set to make his first start in nearly two years onboard the No. 64 Ford Mustang of SpeedHouse Racing.
“I’m so happy to be back after almost 2 years, especially in my home race,” said Dallara on his return. “I will not be at 100% because I need a bit of practice, but I’m sure that I will do a good job with the help of such a good team as SpeedHouse.”
“I expect to see a lot of Italian fans and I will be really happy to meet them and feel their cheers for me and the other Italian drivers!”
The other additions will be made by Granducato Speed, who will field two debutants to join Veeti Rajala in the No. 90 Chevrolet Camaro.
Former Superstars Series driver Mario Buscemi will race the orange-and-white Chevrolet in EuroNASCAR PRO, while Granducato’s pre-season driver Thomas Papa is set to make his first official appearance in EuroNASCAR Club Challenge.
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