Vittorio Ghirelli and Bruno Mulders claimed pole position in Germany to secure the best starting position for the first race of the 2025 EuroNASCAR Playoffs.
Qualifying sessions at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben proved to be a thriller. Two drivers gained their first Pole Position Awards of the year after a solid Saturday morning drive.
Vittorio Ghirelli further extended his early advantage to Gianmarco Ercoli with a pole position in EuroNASCAR PRO, while Bruno Mulders claimed his first career pole position by a narrow margin in EuroNASCAR OPEN’s session.
EuroNASCAR PRO Qualifying Recap
Rivals Vittorio Ghirelli and Gianmarco Ercoli continued to fight at where they have been in the Oschersleben weekend so far.
Having topped the Friday Practice sessions, the two Italians once again found themselves 1-2 in Qualifying and like in Practice, Ghirelli was the one to have the last laugh.
A time of 1:31.877 was more than enough for Ghirelli to secure his third pole position of the year. It is Ghirelli’s first Pole Position Award of 2025, as his previous two pole positions happened in Race 2 at Vallelunga and Most.
“It was very good and I was very confident with the car,” said Ghirelli after qualifying. “The #24 PK Carsport Chevrolet Camaro was really flying and it’s always awesome to be here. I was on pole here last year and I love this track.”
“The Superpole was tricky because of the warmer track temperatures, but it was the same for everyone. I think I was three tenths clear, which is promising, but the battle is very long. I have to stay focused and try to get the job done.”
Paul Jouffreau and Bruno Mulders maintained their Practice form to qualify in the second row of the grid. Fifth went to Thomas Krasonis, who found some extra tenths to beat Liam Hezemans and Fabrizio Armetta.
Sebastiaan Bleekemolen was eighth ahead of new Team Bleekemolen teammate Michal Makeš, who made his first Superpole appearance in just his second EuroNASCAR weekend. Thomas Toffel, the only driver from Group 1 to advance to Superpole, completes the top-10.
Martin Doubek and Garrett Lowe both failed to advance to Superpole in spite of momentum from the previous round at Czechia. Challenger Trophy leader Claudio Remigio Cappelli was 13th, having qualified from the first Qualifying group.
First group drivers such as Cappelli, Jack Davidson, Raphaël Lessard and Alexander Graff did their best with what they had, but their times were not fast enough to advance to Superpole.
Vladimiros Tziortzis was doomed to 19th position after he made an unforced spin in his Qualifying runs.
His SpeedHouse teammates Ulysse Delsaux and Giorgio Maggi didn’t fare better either. They’re 20th and 21st respectively, only beating Challenger Trophy contenders Giovanni Faraonio and Kenko Miura.
Dario Caso and Yevgen Sokolovskiy were officially withdrawn from the NASCAR GP Germany. Caso and Sokolovskiy didn’t turn any laps in Practice and their continued non-presence on Qualifying indicates that they won’t be participating any further.
EuroNASCAR PRO Qualifying Results|EuroNASCAR PRO Superpole Results
EuroNASCAR OPEN Qualifying Recap
17-year old Bruno Mulders made the biggest leap forward in his career so far with a stellar performance in EuroNASCAR OPEN’s Qualifying.
Mulders, driving his No. 72 Race Planet Toyota Camry, set a lap time of 1:32.375 to secure his maiden career pole position. The Dutchman was a mere 0.015 seconds from Thomas Toffel; both are vying for their first career wins this weekend.
“I’m feeling very good,” said Mulders after qualifying. “I felt very good with this track ever since practice yesterday and had plenty of confidence for the races in PRO and OPEN.”
“Everytime I get in the car, I’m fully focused and try to get everything from it. I work a lot with the data and keep pushing for better results.”
Thomas Krasonis begins his Playoffs campaign with a strong third place, just ahead of last year’s winner Claudio Remigio Cappelli. Gil Linster rounds out the top-5 ahead of Thomas Dombrowski.
Patrick Schober, who also won here in 2024, had to make do with a seventh place result. Doubek’s Qualifying struggles continued as the reigning champion was only eighth. Club Competition’s duo of Valerio Marzi and Jordan O’Brien completed the overall top-10 positions.
One driver with a surprisingly low Qualifying result is Melvin de Groot, who was only 11th fastest. De Groot showed potential to make up a lot of ground as seen in the previous round at Most, but it will be a tough job for the Dutchman who’s currently third in the standings.
Loris Cencetti was unable to repeat his Practice heroics as he only put the No. 47 Marko Stipp Motorsport Camaro in 16th place. The same goes for Vanessa “Happinessa” Neumann, who was sidelined with severe mechanical issues in her No. 77 OnlyFans Camaro.
José Antonio Peñalta and Lessard also did not set any lap times in Qualifying. It remains to be seen if Peñalta and Lessard will compete in the upcoming races.
EuroNASCAR OPEN Qualifying Results
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