Perfect victory: Martin Doubek defends the red Whelen banner at the NASCAR GP Italy

The 2024 NASCAR GP Italy couldn't have gone better for Hendriks motorsport driver Martin Doubek. After his commanding victory on Saturday, the Czech driver started the fourth round of EuroNASCAR 2 in pole position and turned the best starting position on the 4.085-kilometer Autodromo di Vallelunga into a perfect victory. The championship leader was under constant pressure from teammate Gil Linster throughout the race and secured his third win of the season – the tenth of his EuroNASCAR 2 career – and further extended his lead in the overall standings.

Doubek got off to a good start and retained the lead in an exciting duel side by side with Linster on the first lap. The Luxembourger tried his best to get past his Hendriks Motorsport teammate, but Doubek's defense remained rock solid until the checkered flag. The driver of the No. 7 Ford Mustang took the win, capping off a fantastic weekend. Already the 2021 champion, the Czech driver from Litomsyl is vying for the chance to become the first to win two titles in EuroNASCAR's most unpredictable division.

“It's a nice feeling to be on the podium again!” said Doubek, who is now in second place on the all-time EuroNASCAR 2 winners list, after 15 laps of fantastic, close racing. “I won again so I'm really happy and there's one more race where I'll start from P3. I hope for another podium place and will do my best for it. I really liked this track, the fans are great too and it's really nice to have them here!”

The last podium place went to Melvin de Groot, who was finally able to put his bad luck behind him. The Dutchman from Team Bleekemolen also secured victory in the Legend Trophy. Thomas Krasonis had to fight hard to secure fourth place in a row in EuroNASCAR 2. The Greek rider, who was actually in third place in the early stages of the race, did everything he could to keep Vladimiros Tziortzis at bay and succeeded. Tziortzis ended up ahead of Thomas Toffel, who once again showed promising pace. The Swiss initially landed in fourth place, but a penalty for overtaking under FCY dropped him to sixth place.

Vict Motorsport drivers Valerio Marzi and Mario Ercoli gave the Tifosi a reason to celebrate: they secured a double victory in the Rookie Trophy for the best debutants in the series. They swapped places with their trophy colleague Florian Richard, who still took home a few silver medals as ninth overall and third in class. Michael Bleekemolen completed the top 10 and came second in the Legend Trophy for drivers aged 40 and over. Sven van Laere ended up on the special podium in twelfth place, while Arianna Casoli won the Lady Trophy again.

Full Course Yellow conditions slowed the race twice. The first neutralization was triggered by two separate incidents: Julien Rehberg retired in the final corner on lap 5 due to a technical problem, before Roberto Benedetti also abandoned his race for the same reason just one lap later. Veeti Rajala later retired on lap 11 and the “Full Course Yellow” was called to allow the Marshalls to retrieve the No. 90 Finnish Chevrolet Camaro entered by Granducato Speed.

The victory at the NASCAR GP Italy allowed Doubek to further extend his lead in the preliminary standings. With 155 points, the Hendriks Motorsport driver is now 24 points ahead of Toffel. Linster collected important points and is in third place, a further five points behind. Krasonis' consistency allowed the Marko Stipp Motorsport driver to retain fourth place, while Rehberg completed the top five despite failing to take the checkered flag.

There is still one race left in the 2024 NASCAR GP Italy: EuroNASCAR PRO Round 4, which goes live at 1:55 p.m. CEST. Follow the exciting action from Europe's best NASCAR drivers, broadcast live on EuroNASCAR's YouTube channel and numerous TV channels around the world.

EuroNASCAR PRO results | EuroNASCAR 2 results

NWES PR