Canadian ace Raphaël Lessard completes Alumitec Racing’s EuroNASCAR roster after he was announced as Gianmarco Ercoli’s teammate for 2026.
Raphaël Lessard has officially joined the NASCAR Euro Series full-time. A few months after he made his wildcard at Oschersleben, Lessard is set to contest the 2026 season as part of Alumitec Racing.
Lessard will race the No. 11 Ford Mustang as Gianmarco Ercoli’s partner in EuroNASCAR OPEN. The Canadian therefore completes Alumitec’s roster, joining Ercoli and the No. 48 team drivers Nelson Piquet Jr. and Ofek Eliyahu.
With the announcement, Lessard is also set for his first full NASCAR season since 2020. That year, Lessard had his sole full campaign in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series where he scored one win at Talladega.
“Really excited for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to race all around Europe with a great team and great group of people around me,” the 24-year old Quebecois said to nascar.eu.
“I will try to bring my experience to Alumitec Racing to make us all better! I know it’s going to be really challenging going to all new places, but I’m ready for the challenge!”
Lessard spent most of his post-Truck years racing in late models, primarily competing in the American Canadian Tour (ACT) series.
He also made part-time appearances in the NASCAR Canada Series, and it’s this association with NASCAR Canada that led Lessard to join EuroNASCAR in 2026.
Lessard was invited by NASCAR Canada to become part of the revived drivers exchange program in 2025, joining Vittorio Ghirelli who represented EuroNASCAR’s side.
Ghirelli received an opportunity to race in Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (GP3R), while Lessard joined the EuroNASCAR grid in Oschersleben. Lessard went on to finish 6th and 14th in the EuroNASCAR PRO races.
At the time, Lessard stated in an interview to Andre Wiegold that he would “love to come back next year” if sponsorship allows.
The announcement, therefore, confirms that the Canadian was able to secure the funds that he needed to compete full-time in 2026 – even if it’s in EuroNASCAR OPEN, the championship’s second division.
“Raphaël is a race winner,” said Alumitec COO’s Romain Iannetta to nascar.eu. “He brings speed, discipline, and a championship mindset.”
“His track record speaks for itself. We are building a program to win, and he is a key part of that vision.”
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