A victory in Race 1 at Circuit Zolder gave Vittorio Ghirelli enough points to survive a “wild” encounter with Gianmarco Ercoli in Race 2 to be crowned as the 2024 EuroNASCAR champion.
A year full of crushing domination for Vittorio Ghirelli has culminated in the Italian’s crowning as the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion in the EuroNASCAR Finals at Circuit Zolder, the home of his team PK Carsport.
Ghirelli took a pole-to-win victory in Race 1 and that gave him enough buffer to escape from a first lap collision with outgoing champion Gianmarco Ercoli in Race 2 with the title in his hands.
Paul Jouffreau was the main benefactor of the Race 2 drama as he went on to take his second win of the year. The Frenchman just missed out on the title, but he remains pleased with how his year has turned out on-track.
Race 1 Recap
The excitement was building up nicely before the first Finals race on Saturday. Thousands of fans flocked to the front straight to witness the cars and drivers up close, creating an immersive atmosphere that suits the finale well.
All 24 drivers took part, but Thomas Toffel dove into the pits just as Ghirelli led the field to the green flag. The Swiss driver had been battling engine issues all week long and it’s clear that Race Art Technology had not found a cure just yet.
Ghirelli’s race started dramatically because he had a poor start, allowing Anthony Kumpen and Marc Goossens to get alongside him entering Turn 1. Fortunately, Kumpen and Goossens left just enough space for Ghirelli to retain his lead.
Kumpen acted as Ghirelli’s rear gunner for a while, but contact with Paul Jouffreau dropped him down to eighth. Hopes for a win was then dashed when he received a 10-second penalty for a jump start.
Later on, Kumpen was forced to make a pit stop for some rear axle fixing. Jouffreau’s contact left some wounds on the No. 66 Heinz Performance Camaro and the Belgian expressed his frustration to the Frenchman post-race.
Jouffreau was judged to not be at fault and he found himself as Ghirelli’s closest opponent. However, the Frenchman struggled with his brakes and this gave Ghirelli the chance to secure his seventh win of 2024 in dominant fashion.
The only mistake Ghirelli made was done post-race, where a marshall miscommunication led the Italian to drive his No. 24 infitto.eu Camaro to the pit box instead of the Victory Lane.
“It was a very nice race at a very good pace,” said Ghirelli in Victory Lane. “There was a lapped car that blocked me and my rivals, but we managed to regain the gap.”
“We were very fast and I think we have got pole position for tomorrow also. It’s a fantastic season so far and let’s finish the job tomorrow!”
Jouffreau came home second to take the Junior Trophy win, beating Goossens who made the Belgian fans proud by taking the final podium position after a race-long battle with Gianmarco Ercoli.
Fabrizio Armetta had a clean race to take fifth ahead of Sebastiaan Bleekemolen and Liam Hezemans. Martin Doubek, Julien Rehberg and Ryan Vargas completed the top-10.
SpeedHouse had a mixed bag of results: Ulysse Delsaux climbed ten places and took the bonus points for most positions gained, but Lucas Lasserre was eliminated from the title battle after he received a 30-second time penalty for triggering a first lap incident.
Kenko Miura felt relieved to finish first in the Challenger Trophy. The Japanese driver, back on a NASCAR grid for the first time since Chicago, had issues with the No. 74 Team Japan Needs24 Toyota that minimized his Free Practice outings.
Liam Lambert was dominating the Trophy race in the early stages and even ran in front of both Hendriks drivers. However, mechanical gremlins then hit the No. 21 GT Omega Camaro and he slid down the running order before he called it quits with just three laps to go.
Despite this, the Brit still got third in the Trophy behind Miura and Dario Caso because Max Lanza and Toffel – who rejoined intermittently – had already retired due to mechanical issues of their own.
Also joining the retirement list was Frédéric Gabillon, who was ordered to park Team FJ’s 2025 EuroNASCAR test car after 13 laps of racing.
EuroNASCAR PRO Race 1 Results
Race 2 Recap
The stage was set for Ghirelli to take the title in Sunday’s race, which started at approximately 14:08 AM CEST with only 22 drivers taking the green flag.
Sebastiaan failed to start after his car suffered a broken driveshaft on the formation lap, while Martin Doubek was not present on the grid at all – perhaps too busy partying after he clinched the EuroNASCAR 2 title earlier that day.
However, things quickly went south for Ghirelli. Jouffreau had a great launch and tried to close the door on him at Turn 1. Ghirelli reacted quickly, but Gianmarco didn’t anticipate this and clanged the rear end of Ghirelli’s Camaro.
The end result was Ghirelli being sent into a spin in front of Kumpen. A separate incident involving Lasserre, Rehberg, Armetta and Vargas also took place, eliminating Lasserre and Rehberg on the spot.
A Safety Car period was called to recover the two stricken cars away, but the restart didn’t go smoothly. Dauenhauer squeezed Toffel and both drivers made contact, bringing out the Full Course Yellow.
All of this was a blessing for Ghirelli, who moved up to 14th place during the second FCY period – exactly the position where he can secure the title no matter what his rivals do.
With a wounded car, Ghirelli played safe and hung back behind Miura to secure a tenth place finish. His victory in Race 1 proved to be crucial because a gap of eight points decided the title in his favor.
Ghirelli was understandably livid to Gianmarco and he made it clear in his post-race interview. “He’s a fucking loser really! Turn 1, he didn’t brake and he pushed me off,” said the new champ to Andre Wiegold.
“I was stuck in the gravel and I had stones getting stuck on the throttle, it was really a nightmare. But I managed to get the points and we got it! They were slower by one second all year, so they better catch up next year!”
Gianmarco was initially penalized with a 30-second penalty, but a further review on Jouffreau’s role led the penalty to be rescinded. Ultimately, the first lap incident was determined as a racing incident.
In any case, Jouffreau and Gianmarco were the ones to contend for the race victory. Jouffreau kept his lead on both restart periods, but he lacked short run pace and lost out to Gianmarco on lap 10.
Jouffreau’s tires went alive towards the end, however, and the Frenchman made a successful overtake with just two corners to go. The win meant that Jouffreau secured second in the overall championship.
“Of course I’m really happy with this race,” said Jouffreau in Victory Lane. “I was starting second and my goal was to win.”
Jouffreau also took the opportunity to mend some things with Ghirelli following their heated moment in Oschersleben. More on that in a separate report that’ll come later this week.
Goossens took a double podium in third, but behind him there’s plenty of unexpected finishers. Marko Stipp Motorsport gained a double top-5 finish with Thomas Krasonis and Victor Neumann, both drivers securing their career-best finish in ENPRO.
Delsaux and Vladimiros Tziortzis had to fight with Lambert to take sixth and seventh. Lambert still finished eighth, beating Miura to take the Challenger Trophy win as well as the Brit’s first career top-10 finish. Dario Caso completed the Trophy podium in 14th place.
Vargas recovered to finish 12th, but Armetta was not so lucky and retired on lap 12. Toffel and Dauenhauer also retired from the race shortly after their incident. Gabillon in the test car was the last finisher in 17th place.
EuroNASCAR PRO Race 2 Results
Championship Standings
Seven wins and a record of 11 pole positions carried Ghirelli to his first ENPRO championship title with 555 points. Jouffreau was second with 547 points, securing the Junior Trophy honors in the process.
Gianmarco came third with 534 points while Liam in fourth ended his year with 497 points. Despite missing the Brands Hatch round, Goossens tied his career-best standings finish of fifth position with 475 points.
Lasseree, Delsaux, Krasonis, Doubek and Vargas completed the top-10 positions. Toffel’s Race 2 drama gave Caso just enough points to steal the overall Challenger Trophy win away from the Swiss driver.
Caso finished the year in 17th position with 338 points. His winning margin was very narrow: Lanza was just three points in 18th, with Toffel an additional point behind in 19th place.
2024 EuroNASCAR PRO Final Championship Standings
It’s clear from the way the 2024 season unfolds that Ghirelli is the man to beat in EuroNASCAR PRO. Not only is the 30-year old driver very fast, he rarely makes mistakes and when he does make one, it’s usually caused by someone else’s trouble.
All of this allowed Ghirelli to build such an advantage that he was able to control his own fate in the Finals. And control it he did, because the combo of Ghirelli and PK Carsport will be a tough one to beat in the future.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.
Last Updated: 27 November 2024