Liam Hezemans and Thomas Krasonis led the Free Practice for American SpeedFest 12, but their feats were overshadowed by Thomas Dombrowski’s big crash at Paddock Hill bend.
American SpeedFest 12 starts off with a dramatic opening day. Free Practice sees Liam Hezemans and Thomas Krasonis leading in EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR OPEN respectively, but that was not the main talking point of the sessions.
The big talking point was the massive crash that Thomas Dombrowski suffered in the first EuroNASCAR OPEN Practice session.
Dombrowski was sent into the tire barriers at high speed due to a front-right suspension failure on his No. 24 infitto.eu / Rellumix Chevrolet Camaro. The car rolled three times and was left in a destroyed state after the crash.
Dombrowski walked away on his own and after a check at a nearby hospital, the Frenchman was medically cleared to compete. This, of course, all depends on whether the No. 24 car is ready or not.
PK Carsport is working hard to rebuild the car for Saturday and Sunday’s races. The Belgian team faces a tough task because reigning champion Vittorio Ghirelli is at risk of not competing if the car is unable to be repaired.
EuroNASCAR PRO Practice Recap
Free Practice was smooth sailing for Rette Jones’ Liam Hezemans. The Dutchman was fast right from the word “go” and led both sessions with a best lap time of 48.901.
Despite this, competition was close: Gianmarco Ercoli in second was only 0.035 seconds away from Liam. Krasonis is also within close distance of Liam, finishing his day with a best time of 48.980. Sebastiaan Bleekemolen continues his strong start to 2025 with a fourth place result
Fabrizio Armetta once again showed fantastic speed at Brands Hatch, the site of some of Club Competition’s best finishes in recent years. The Italian completed the top-5 with a best time of 49.041, just 0.140 seconds away from the top.
Home track advantage allowed Jack Davidson to put up a real strong fight in Free Practice. Already a race winner at Brands Hatch in EuroNASCAR OPEN, Davidson seeks for a surprise EuroNASCAR PRO podium result after he came home sixth ahead of Martin Doubek.
Bruno Mulders was given an unexpected chance to do double duty at the No. 72 Team Bleekemolen squad. The shake-up was last-minute in nature, but he was already eighth fastest in the combined times. This proved his potential as a talent to watch in the future.
Max Lanza and Claudio Remigio Cappelli led the Challenger battle in ninth and tenth, leading Garrett Lowe who was only eleventh.
Domborwski’s crash meant that Ghirelli had to sit out FP2, leaving the Italian twelfth in the combined times. Fortunately for Ghirelli, he was not the only major championship contender with big problems.
Paul Jouffreau was beset with engine issues on his No. 3 RDV Competition Ford. The Frenchman only completed six laps in FP1 and also failed to turn any laps in FP2, leaving him only 19th fastest.
Another driver with struggles is the debuting Jordan Wallace. Wallace struggled to adapt to the EuroNASCAR stock cars and found himself in dead last with a 1.2 seconds deficit to Federico Monti.
EuroNASCAR PRO FP1 Results | EuroNASCAR PRO FP2 Results
EuroNASCAR OPEN Practice Recap
Dombrowski’s crash overshadowed a close fight at the top of EuroNASCAR OPEN in Free Practice. The two race winners of 2025 – Krasonis and Doubek – traded the top spots, with Krasonis having the edge with a best combined time of 49.030.
Doubek was second with Mulders utilizing the extra track time to great advantage. The young Dutchman was third fastest and was first in the Master Trophy classifications.
Thomas Toffel and Melvin de Groot completed the top-5, the latter was the quickest in Legend Trophy. Debutant Jordan O’Brien put up a great fight by placing the No. 22 Club Competition Camaro in sixth overall.
Cappelli was seventh ahead of Matthew Ellis, who enjoyed his best EuroNASCAR outing as of yet. Valentino Gambarotto and Roberto Benedetti closed out the overall top-10 positions ahead of Sandro Tavartkiladze, who failed to turn a lap in FP1.
Twelfth place Andres Beers came to SpeedFest with a new look on his No. 1 Ford Mustang. Gone was the black – with red flames – from Academy’s sponsors Privengas and in was the striking yellow-white-blue from Beers’ own sponsor Icefactory Europe.
Dombrowski was classified in 13th ahead of Michael Bleekemolen, who made a one-off return to EuroNASCAR OPEN. Bleekemolen replaced Gil Linster, who was forced to withdraw due to the continuation of his illness from Vallelunga.
Davide Frulio and Mike Wise ended their first days in EuroNASCAR OPEN in 17th and 21st place respectively. Vanessa “Happinessa” Neumann got herself to 19th overall in the rebuilt No. 77 OnlyFans Camaro, but was worryingly five seconds off the pace in FP2.
EuroNASCAR OPEN FP1 Results | EuroNASCAR OPEN FP2 Results
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.