Vladimiros Tziortzis will embark on a new journey in 2023 after it was announced that the Cypriot will step up to the EuroNASCAR PRO class next year as the new ENPRO driver of Academy Motorsport’s No. 5 team.
A new opportunity awaits NASCAR Whelen Euro Series’ Cypriot star Vladimiros Tziortzis in 2023 after it was announced earlier today that he will be receiving a promotion to the EuroNASCAR PRO class.
Tziortzis, a three-year veteran in the EuroNASCAR 2 division, will be staying with Academy Motorsport for a third season for his debut season in the EuroNASCAR PRO category. Tziortzis is set to drive the team’s No. 5 EuroNASCAR FJ, replacing EuroNASCAR’s oldest race winner Patrick Lemarie whose status for next year is currently unknown.
“The PRO category is the last step before NASCAR in the USA, the second most popular motorsport in the world after Formula 1,” said Tziortzis at the press conference in Cyprus, as quoted by car.com.cy. “I would like to race in the USA but that’s only possible by winning the European Championship. That is the goal for 2023, but in motorsport not everything depends on the driver. First I want to be consistent in every race and in the end we will see where we are.”
“Of course I want to win the EuroNASCAR PRO Championship and represent my beautiful island in the best way possible. What I like about EuroNASCAR are the close battles with the fastest guys in the series and I always get goosebumps when the Grand Marshal say the magical words: ‘Drivers, start your engines!’” further explained the Cypriot in the press conference, as quoted by euronascar.com.
Tziortzis has gained a reputation as one of the series’ hottest young stars ever since he made his debut in the pandemic shortened 2020 season. He finished fourth on his debut year with Alex Caffi Motorsport’s No. 1 Remedica Ford with two podium finishes in the season finale at Valencia.
The good run of form continued in his second year as Tziortzis became a consistent challenger for podium finishes in EuroNASCAR’s junior division. His breakthrough came in 2022 when Tziortzis finally secured his first career EuroNASCAR victory in the season opening round at Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
Several misfortunes, such as his post-race penalty at Valencia 2 and his crash and subsequent DNS at Zolder, would ultimately eliminate him from the title race, but he still finished third in the championship after a double podium finish at Rijeka’s Automotodrom Grobnik.
With a record of one win and 15 podiums in the EuroNASCAR 2 division along with the full support of Academy Motorsport and organizations such as the Cyprus Sports Organization and Deputy Ministry of Tourism, Tziortzis is certainly more than ready to fight in EuroNASCAR’s top division.
“It was a good season for me with my maiden EuroNASCAR 2 race win in Valencia and seven podiums over the whole year,” said Tziortzis on his 2022 season in a prior interview with euronascar.com.
“We were capable of battling for the wins at many tracks, for example in Vallelunga where the engine blew when I was leading the race. The pace was really good and in the end we lost the championship because of little technical issues and little details like the crash in Belgium and the penalty in Valencia.”
“In Brands Hatch I made a little mistake when I lost first place in the very last lap – this was the only mistake made by myself! I’m happy with my performance and third place in the championship. We hope to keep the momentum for 2023.”
Disclaimer: Unless noted on the photo, all photos used in this article are courtesy of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Bart Dehaese / Klemen Sofric.
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