An engine fire with 17 laps to go forced EuroNASCAR champion Vittorio Ghirelli’s retirement from his NASCAR Canada debut at Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres.
EuroNASCAR champion Vittorio Ghirelli’s maiden appearance in the NASCAR Canada Series did not end the way that the Italian had hoped for. Ghirelli was battling inside the top-15 when an engine fire forced his retirement from the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres with just 17 laps to go.
The reigning EuroNASCAR champion ran a conservative strategy in the 60-lap race at Trois-Rivieres. With only fuel stops being made mandatory, Ghirelli opted to save his one set of General Tire slicks in the challenging street circuit and wait until the end to bid for his winning ticket.
Starting from 14th, Ghirelli held his position throughout the first few laps. He took his fuel stop on lap 10, right in the middle of the first caution period. The caution was brought out as a result of Martin Goulet Jr.’s crash on lap 7.
On lap 30, Ghirelli narrowly avoided a three-car pileup at Turn 6. The Italian got through the wrecked cars of Donald Theetge and J.P. Bergeron, who both crashed after Theetge got squeezed to the inside wall by D.J. Kennington.
Simon Charbonneau, the third car involved, crashed on his own as a result of the rookie failing to stop his car in time.
The EuroNASCAR champion continued to run a steady pace until lap 43, when his throttle pedal got stuck. Shortly after, a fire started to break out from the right-front wheel well and it soon spread into the main engine bay.
All Ghirelli was able to do afterwards was to park the No. 50 Rousseau Metal Camaro in a safe position, which he did at the runoff area for the final corner.
“The throttle pedal broke completely, so I had no power,” said Ghirelli in his interview with REVTV’s Todd Lewis. “I think with all the heat, the car caught fire and I had to jump out very quickly.”
“I ripped out all of the water system because there was a lot of heat already and with the fire, there’s even more. It’s a pity because I want to finish the race.”
Despite this heartbreaking end, Ghirelli remains upbeat with his performance and is thankful to be given the chance to race in NASCAR Canada Series.Ghirelli will now set his sights on defending his NASCAR Euro Series championship title. He currently has a slim lead to Paul Jouffreau with six races still to go in the 2025 season.
“I had a good pace because I was saving tires and brakes throughout the race,” spoke Ghirelli to nascar.eu. “I wanted to save until the last ten laps before pushing and I think top-7 was possible, but so many things can happen in racing.”
“The guys at the #50 team, Rousseau Metal and Festidrag.tv did an amazing job all weekend to help me out and get me up to speed straight away. I have to thank them and the NASCAR Euro Series for making this happen.”
“I hope to come back some day! This experience was amazing, this track had so much history, the competitors were very strong and I really enjoyed my time.”
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