Venray, Netherlands – Vittorio Ghirelli secured his fourth consecutive pole position in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series on the spectacular Venray oval. Once again, the PK Carsport driver displayed superior pace compared to his competitors, evidenced by his powerful pole position achieved within the only two laps allotted to each driver.
In the race, however, Ghirelli was unable to capitalize on the high potential of his #24 Camaro due first to a violent collision caused by the driver of the #54, which nearly sent Vittorio crashing into the wall, and then by the failure of the power steering on lap 15 of 100. “It wasn’t our day. It’s a shame because we showed that we were the fastest on the track even here on the oval. Unfortunately, the race took a turn for the worse from the start. First, Ercoli tried to send me into the wall with a very stupid maneuver, especially early in the race, and then he cut across my line on the straight, risking sending us both flying into the middle of the pack and getting seriously hurt. Then the power steering failed on the fifteenth lap, forcing me to muscle through 85 laps like a bodybuilder,” joked Vittorio, who remains firmly at the top of the championship standings before the summer break. “We could have finished on the podium, but the restart five laps from the end cost us another position. In those conditions, it was definitely difficult to drive, so I settled and brought home a safe result. Let’s look on the bright side: we gained a lot of points, we are leading the championship. It’s disappointing to miss out on an opportunity, but we’ll come back stronger after the summer.”
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will return to the track at the end of August at the Czech circuit of Most, for the last round of a regular season dominated by Ghirelli. The driver from Fasano will then have to give it his all in the season finale, when the SemiFinals at Oschersleben and the Finals at Zolder will offer double points.
