NASCAR: Flying blind around the oval course 🎥
MAGGI WITH HANDIKAP In the only NASCAR oval race in Europe, Giorgio Maggi from central Switzerland was on pole position. This resulted in only a fifth-place finish due to an oil-smeared disc. On the second weekend in July, the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series returned to Venray Raceway in the Netherlands. Venray is a half-mile oval (880 meters), built in [...]
The second weekend of July saw the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series return to Venray Raceway in the Netherlands. Venray is a half-mile oval (880 meters), built in 2010 and 2011, and features progressive banking between 10 and 25 degrees. The average speed is around 160 kilometers per hour.
For the first time, the only oval race in Europe also featured a new format. Each division - Elite 1 for Pro/Semi-Pro drivers and Elite 2 for Amateur, Rookie and Legend drivers - completed its program with practice, qualifying and the only race on one day. Elite 2 kicked off on Saturday, starting with another coup by Giorgio Maggi.
First engine failure in free practice, then ride to pole position
In qualifying, the driver from Nidwald managed the perfect lap with a new engine in his #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang. With the best time of 19.636 seconds, he secured pole position in the field of 16 Elite 2 drivers, as he did last time in Most, Czech Republic.
Giorgio Maggi: "I led at the beginning but then dropped back to fifth place. It was an intense battle for the top position, but I made it in the last stint. The car felt good, although I had some understeer. In the race I have to be careful because Vittorio and of course Myatt are very fast."
Bad start and poor visibility
That's how it turned out: Vittorio Ghirella won the nearly 24-minute, 70-lap counterclockwise sprint, with American Myatt Snider coming in second after a slipstream duel with the Italian.
There were two reasons why Giorgio Maggi was unable to take part in the fight for victory this time despite being in an ideal starting position. At the start, he let the wheels spin and lost a few positions as a result. The only Swiss in the field fought to keep up with the leading group until a car in front of him lost oil, which spread evenly over the windshield of Maggi's Mustang.
Flying blind around the oval
So it was just a matter of limiting the damage. Fifth place, just under 20 seconds behind the leader, still earned him enough points to maintain his position at the top of the standings.
Giorgo Maggi: "Suddenly I had almost no visibility, even the windshield wiper was no help. So I had to look for my line half out of the side window lap after lap. It was no longer possible to attack the front runners. I was happy to stay on the track at all. That's why I'm satisfied with fifth place."
The highlights of the Venray Elite 2 race are shown in the following video:
Heading into the playoffs as league leader
With seven top-5 and eight top-10 finishes - more than any of his Elite 2 opponents - Maggi now leads the series with 278 points ahead of Ghirelli (269) and the Dane Lasse Sörensen (263). The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series does not resume until September 21 and 22.
In the first semifinal at Hockenheim, with two races of 16 laps each on the GP circuit, there will be double points twice. How does "Maggi Magic" see his further chances?
Giorgio Maggi: "Hockenheim is one of my favorite tracks. Our Ford Mustang should be strong there. The tips from motorsport legend Toine Hezemans, with whose son Loris I share the car, have also been helpful for me so far. A great combination. Of course, I now want to stay in front in the championship, so I'm already enormously motivated for Hockenheim."
