Drivers left a positive feedback on the “Discovery Day” event that Marko Stipp Motorsport hosted at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben on 28 November 2025.
Marko Stipp Motorsport’s “Discovery Day” event on 28 November 2025 was a success. Four drivers – Thomas Pourrain, André Wiegold, Henrik Peters and Marius Schäfer – received the chance to test MSM’s EuroNASCAR vehicles in an action packed day at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.
The test event is overseen by Marko Stipp himself, assisted by notable members of his team such as team manager Chris Liemann.
“Successful outing at our NASCAR Euro Series Discovery Day at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben!” posted MSM through social media on 29 November 2025.
“We had a fantastic mix of talent behind the wheel, getting valuable seat time and testing the limits. Great to see Thomas Pourrain, Henrik Peters, and Marius Schäfer putting in the work.”
“Special shoutout to NASCAR commentator André Wiegold for swapping the microphone for the steering wheel to get a taste of the action firsthand!”
Out of the four, Pourrain is the only one with prior experience with the EuroNASCAR stock cars. The Canadian had competed with MSM in the Rookie Challenge rounds at Oschersleben and Zolder.
For Pourrain, “Discovery Day” gives him the opportunity to log in more laps as he prepares for a possible EuroNASCAR OPEN campaign in 2026.
“I’m using this session as a Free Practice and so far it’s going great!” said Pourrain on the day of the event. “Today’s special because we get the track all to ourselves, so it gives us the opportunity to work on our skills and understand the cars.”
As mentioned above, none of the other three drivers had previous driving experience with the EuroNASCAR cars. However, Wiegold is someone who’s already familiar with the reporting and business side of things.
Wiegold had worked as a regular writer and commentator for the NASCAR Euro Series since 2017, be it officially or through other platforms like the local German broadcasters in Motorvision.
However, the “Discovery Day” marked the first event in which Wiegold was allowed to drive the stock cars at full power.
“I don’t even know where to begin!” said Wiegold in a post-event video that he published for his independent publication Leadlap.
“First of all, the sequential gearbox is extremely cool and easy to drive. I had no indicator showing which gear I was in, but I didn’t need it at all because the car itself tells you exactly which gear it wants to drive.”
“This car also tends to straighten out if you don’t quite get the steering wheel perfectly straight before accelerating. The rear end naturally wants to slide out and you’ll feel it immediately.”
“It gets a little harder to make it go, but it’s super easy to catch it again. I have to say that you have to fight the car pretty hard, but it’s really doable.”
While this was Wiegold’s first time driving an EuroNASCAR stock car, he had previously gained insight on how to drive it from a simulator training with RDV Competition’s Paul Jouffreau.
“I did an iRacing training session with Paul Jouffreau [earlier this year] and he explained to me a little bit how I have to drive such a car here, especially how to brake into the corners in order to get the weight forward onto the front wheels,” added Wiegold in the video.
“That’s exactly what I tried to implement, especially when I went for another go. “It was my first time driving an EuroNASCAR car and on a track like Oschersleben and I immediately felt comfortable and was able to push and get faster every lap.”
“I don’t even know what to say, it was an incredibly awesome experience. Many thanks to everyone here at Marko Stipp Motorsport for letting me experience this.”
Henrik Peters could find himself with the opportunity to interact with Wiegold in future EuroNASCAR race weekends.
Peters is just starting his racing career at the ripe old age of 48 years, but he sees EuroNASCAR Rookie Challenge as a future destination in his adventure.
“I’m actually here at the “Discovery Day” hosted by Marko Stipp Motorsport at EuroNASCAR in Oschersleben,” said Peters after his sessions.
“The track isn’t entirely unfamiliar to me, but what was completely new was driving a lap in a EuroNASCAR car. And what can I say? My lap times were quite respectable, it was a blast, and I’m already looking forward to the next time.”
“Of course, I’m here to meet cool people and have fun. However, I’m here to lay the groundwork for joining and competing in the EuroNASCAR Rookie Challenge next year.”
Marius Schäfer, a local racer from Oschersleben, embodied the spirit of “Discovery Day” by joining the event to see how the EuroNASCAR stock cars handle in comparison to the touring and rally cars that he competed with.
“I started in the 318 Ti Cup in 2019, drove there for four seasons, then switched to the SC GT with a SEAT Leon, where I became champion,” said Schäfer to Wiegold. “In 2024, I moved on to rallying, driving [in the ADAC Clubsport] Rallye Sprint and finishing second in the championship.”
This year I drove Rally Sprint again, finished first in the championship, and now I wanted to try out the V8 EuroNASCAR.”
“The conditions are, of course, very cold, but the car is still incredibly easy to drive, which I hadn’t expected. It’s really a lot of fun, a pure driving experience.
“I would describe the car as different from perhaps the other current racing series. There’s a lot of sliding, a lot of oversteering out of corners, it’s a lot of fun. It’s also more tiring than I thought it would be because the steering is relatively heavy.”
American Gramm Nixon also registered for the “Discovery Day”, but injury prevented him from fulfilling his driving duties.
The success of the “Discovery Day” showcased that interest for EuroNASCAR is at an all-time high, allowing even regional test events hosted by the teams to attract drivers looking to join the series in the future.
“So far the feedback has been super good,” said Liemann on the event’s success. “There’s a really wholesome product that we can offer to our recruitment drivers, it’s been well received and we’re really happy to have this opportunity here.”
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.