Max Lanza was grateful and satisfied with his Challenger Trophy win in Autodrom Most after securing a last-minute drive for the round in Czech Republic.
Max Lanza expressed his “immense satisfaction” and “gratitude” after he brought the No. 89 CAAL Racing Chevrolet Camaro to a Challenger Trophy victory in the 2025 NASCAR GP Czech Republic.
Lanza secured a last-minute deal to race in the No. 89 car for Most. He came close to sitting out the event because his original car, the No. 88 Avangarde Group Camaro, had not been fully repaired from its monster shunt at Brands Hatch.
The weekend in Czechia started slowly for Lanza. He failed to set any lap time in the dry during Friday Practice due to troubles with the No. 89 Camaro.
This lack of data hurt Lanza’s Qualifying, who only managed to qualify 18th fastest. He beat Federico Monti on pace, with Ulysse Delsaux and Julien Rehberg sidelined with mechanical problems.
Lanza then received a stroke of luck for the Saturday race. Davit Kajaia and Thomas Toffel had recurring mechanical problems, which opened the path for Lanza to finish runner-up in the Challenger Trophy.
On Sunday, things went even better. Lanza survived a race of attrition to bring home his first top-10 finish of the season, securing a Challenger Trophy win in the process.
“What should have been a weekend in front of the TV turned into one of the best experiences of my career,” said Lanza in his post-race press release.
“Jumping into the #89 at the last moment and immediately bringing it to the podium and then to victory was an immense satisfaction.”
“It’s a beautiful sports story, and I’ll never stop being grateful. I want to dedicate this weekend to all those who have always supported me and helped me never give up, even in these very difficult weeks for us.”
While he was officially credited for his Challenger Trophy results, Lanza actually did not score points in the Czech round.
That’s because he agreed to help Hoosier develop the 2026 developmental tires in his races. Running a non-spec tire made him ineligible to score championship points, but he’s pleased with how the 2026 rubber is running – at least, the ones brought to Most by Hoosier for the weekend.
“It’s very good,” said Lanza after Race 2. “I was testing the new tires, but I have to wait because there’s too much traffic.”
With Lanza not scoring any points, the Italian still has a total of 122 points in the standings.
However, Kajaia and Claudio Remigio Cappelli both had a challenging weekend themselves. Their issues meant that Lanza is only 38 points behind Cappelli in the Challenger Trophy race heading to the double points Playoffs in Oschersleben and Zolder.
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