Euro NASCAR: Maggi misses out on the title đ„
OVERRUNNED Giorgio Maggi came to the Euro NASCAR Series finale in Belgium as the leader of the standings. But at the last moment, the championship title he had longed for slipped through his fingers. At first, everything looked good. The Swiss started from pole position in the Hendriks Motorsports Ford Mustang and led the field of archaic V8 touring cars in the first [...]
At first, everything looked good. The Swiss started from pole position in the Hendriks Motorsports Ford Mustang and led the field of archaic V8 touring cars in the first of the two final races of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series at the Zolder circuit.
However, on the restart after the second safety car period, his title rival Lasse Sörensen managed to squeeze past Maggi in turn two. The Dane stayed in front for the remaining laps.
The highlights of the first races of the Elite 1 and 2 class (with Maggi) are shown in the following video.
Giorgio Maggi: "On the re-start I didn't get away so well, and because the guy behind was so close and Lasse was next to him, I couldn't pull away in the first corner. That's how Sörensen got past."
Tie before the final race
So on Sunday it came to the showdown between Maggi and Sörensen, who were separated by only one point in the championship. Since there were double points, as in the semi-final, this corresponded to a half position...
Because Sörensen set the fastest lap on Saturday, he was allowed to put his Chevrolet Camaro on the best grid position. Due to the rain, the start was made in single file behind the safety car after three warm-up laps.
As a result of a collision in the rear of the field, there was another brief caution period after a few laps. Maggi stayed on Sörensen's tail and kept up the pressure, but couldn't find a way past.
Thus, the 22-year-old from Aalborg won again ahead of the one-year-younger Nidwalden native. The highlights from the second race show how Maggi's attempts to attack failed and how close the outcome of the decisive race was.
Perfect timing of the opponent
The disappointment is still great several days later after the narrow defeat in the title race, especially since he had been ahead from the start of the season.
Giorgio Maggi: "The race was simply too short due to the many laps behind the safety car. I braked very late everywhere on the last lap, but it didn't work. It's really annoying. Unlike us, Sörensen didn't have a single problem with the car all season, but always had perfect timing in the races."
The latter is also reflected in the stastistics. Maggi set the fastest time in practice four times, while Sörensen never did. The Swiss is ahead in terms of top 5 finishes (11:10) and top 10 rankings (12:11). But the Dane took seven race victories, four more than Maggi - and that was the deciding factor in the end.
Promotion to the top class
Maggi is now planning to move up with the Dutch team to the Elite 1 class, in which his teammate Loris Hezemans won the title. Before that, he wants to gain further experience in NASCAR races in a lower category in the USA in spring 2020.
His Ford Mustang will be on display at the upcoming Auto ZĂŒrich Car Show from October 31 to November 3 in the Zurich-Oerlikon exhibition halls at the stand of the Foundation for Children in Switzerland (for which Maggi is an ambassador). Giorgio himself will also be present frequently and will be happy to provide information to interested parties
