Martin Doubek finally scored a victory on his home race at Autodrom Most, a feat that allowed him to beat Thomas Ferrando’s record for the most EuroNASCAR 2 wins in history.
It has taken years for Martin Doubek to find his way to the Victory Lane on his home track at Autodrom Most and when he finally did so in the 2024 NASCAR GP Czech Republic, he did it in the best way possible.
Following a hard fought battle against Melvin de Groot in Race 2 on Sunday that resulted in Doubek’s first home victory, the Czech driver has become the new undisputed leader of all-time wins in EuroNASCAR 2 with 13 career victories.
Doubek already had a chance to do so in Race 1 on Saturday, but Patrick Schober denied him by taking the checkered flag instead. It’s the Austrian’s first win with RDV Competition in EN2, fittingly at the track where he scored his first overall podium last year.
Race 1 Recap
The EN2 competitors took their place on the starting grid for the first race on Saturday. However, just as the commands to start the engines were given, Veeti Rajala’s No. 90 Wihuri Camaro had an oil leak and marshalls had to quickly put in quick dry sand to remove the fluids.
Eventually, the formation lap went on without Rajala. While mechanics from Granducato Speed rushed to the Finn to see if his car was still capable of racing, Schober led the field to the green flag only for chaos to immediately break out on the chicane.
Both Julien Rehberg and Reza Sardeha misjudged their braking point and ran into the side of their opponents, creating a multi-car pile-up that took Sardeha out immediately.
Moments later, just as the field was neutralized with a Full Course Yellow, Luli del Castello rammed the rear-end of Thomas Dombrowski. Dombrowski was able to keep his car running sans his rear bodywork, but del Castello was also eliminated right on the spot.
With two stranded cars and plenty of debris scattered, the Hyundai i30 N Safety Car was brought out to circulate the field for three laps. Rehberg, Sardeha and del Castello were slapped with a 20 points penalty as a result of their shenanigans.
Schober was able to maintain his lead on the restart at lap 5. With the race extended from 14 to 17 laps, there was some additional work to be done by the Austrian, but the 20-year old driver handled the situation just fine.
Schober successfully kept de Groot and Doubek at bay to secure his second career EuroNASCAR 2 victory, his first in 2024. Doubek finished second with de Groot third after his tires ran out of grip on the latter stages of the race.
“The first 8-10 laps were so tough because I had so much pressure behind me, but I managed it perfectly and finally got my first win for RDV Competition!” said Schober in the Victory Lane.
“They’ve done a great job in setting up the car, Paul [Jouffreau] did a great job in his race and I’m really proud to finally be back here! There’s still halfway to go in the season, so anything’s possible.”
Thomas Toffel and Claudio Remigio Cappelli ran a solid race to complete the top-5, although the latter was beaten by de Groot in the Legend Trophy battle.
Sixth was Gil Linster, the Luxembourger being unlucky once again because he was the driver that Rehberg hit in the start incident. Thomas Krasonis was seventh ahead of Mario Ercoli, who took his first Rookie Trophy win in eighth place.
Victor Neumann and Michael Bleekemolen rounded out the top-10 positions. Dombrowski recovered to finish 12th, just ahead of Florian Richard who lost nearly half of his car’s bodywork in the start crash.
Further down the order, Granducato Speed’s mechanics were able to send Rajala out to start his race. While the Finn did retire after completing just 10 laps, his lap times were good enough to secure a top-10 start in Race 2.
Race 2 Recap
On Sunday morning, 21 drivers were strapped in their cars as they went off for Race 2 in Czechia. Martin Doubek started on pole after he set the fastest lap in Race 1, to the delight of the fans that arrived early.
Race 2 started off with a deja vu thanks to yet another opening lap crash. Reza Sardeha and Arianna Casoli collided at the Orlen Bridge and with both cars stuck on the gravel, the Safety Car was called to help the extrication process.
After one full lap of FCY and two laps behind the Safety Car, the race was restarted with 12 laps to go – the distance being extended by two laps.
Casoli was able to rejoin the race, but Sardeha once again had to sit from the sidelines as his Team Bleekemolen-entered No. 11 Anyone.com Ford was craned away by the trackside tractors.
The restart went well for Doubek, who barely hung on from the challenge that Melvin de Groot presented at the chicane. Both drivers had the best cars and quickly set off to the distance for a race-long battle.
De Groot trailed Doubek from lap after lap, but overtaking was a challenge due to how evenly matched they were. Doubek was faster in some parts, while in others it’s de Groot that had the edge.
Only a mistake from Doubek could cost the Czech driver, but he ran a perfect race and fended off the Dutchman by 0.260 seconds to secure his long awaited first victory at home and a record-breaking 13th career victory in EN2.
“It was under control,” said Doubek in the Victory Lane. “It was a really good race and Melvin was really fast. I really heard the fans cheering for me on the grandstands. That was really motivating. I have no words. I’m fucking happy.”
Schober’s race was compromised after he missed the chicane on the restart and dropped down to eighth. The Austrian had a slow recovery, but he made up ground as the laps went by and passed Toffel with two laps to go to secure third position.
Toffel ran third for most of the race, but the tires were finished in the final laps and had to contend with a fourth place finish. Completing the top-5 was Jack Davidson, who bounced back from a Race 1 retirement.
Krasonis quietly cruised to sixth ahead of Mario, sweeper of the Rookie Trophy at Czechia. Dombrowski was eighth with Rajala in ninth, further proving that Granducato Speed’s No. 90 Wihuri Camaro had good speed.
Michael Bleekemolen completed the top-10 to help secure a 1-2 Team Bleekemolen finish in the Legend Trophy. The 74-year old Dutchman was proud that he was still able to secure strong finishes at such an old age.
Casoli’s decision to rejoin the race paid off in the end. Even though she finished two laps behind and lost the Lady Trophy win to del Castello, the 50-year old Italian brought home an additional trophy podium from the Legend Trophy.
Cappelli was forced to retire after he lost the rear bumper of his No. 5 Cremona Gronde Ford in a battle with Toffel and Linster, which caused handling issues that were too severe to fix.
Linster was also forced to retire due to yet another case of luck abandoning him. A bump from Toffel on the penultimate lap caused his No. 50 Hoosh Toyota to suddenly lose all drive.
Linster limped to the pits to retire, which undoubtedly caused more frustration to the Luxembourger given that he already had so many bad luck moments this season.
Championship Standings
Martin Doubek’s amazing consistency throughout the regular season – with six wins, eight podiums and only one DNF – allows the Czech driver to easily clinch the regular season title with 310 points.
A staggering gap of 49 points separated him from Patrick Schober in second, a difference that’s hard to overcome even with the double points in Playoffs. Seven points behind the Austrian is Thomas Toffel, who maintained his outside chance for the title.
Gil Linster’s continued misfortune has now dropped him to fourth, 63 points behind teammate Doubek. The two Thomases Krasonis and Dombrowski completed the top-6.
Jack Davidson and Melvin de Groot, the new Legend Trophy overall leader, were level on points for seventh with 228 points. The Scotsman is classified ahead as he had a better finish – first at Brands Hatch to de Groot’s runner-up at Most.
Michael Bleekemolen and Claudio Remigio Cappelli rounded out the top-10, just ahead of Florian Richard who claimed the Rookie Trophy lead following Julien Rehberg’s penalty. Arianna Casoli is in 18th position entering what would be her 100th start at Oschersleben.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.