For more than six turns, Lasse Soerensen and Loris Hezemans were side-by-side in the battle for the lead of EuroNASCAR PRO Round 7. In the end it was the Dane who grabbed his second EuroNASCAR PRO career win in what was his very first race at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The Danish giant reduced his gap from the championship leader Alon Day to 5 points, with 3 races left in the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season.
EURONASCAR PRO RESULTS: FIRST PRACTICE | FINAL PRACTICE | QUALIFYING | ROUND 7
After being the first EuroNASCAR 2 champion to ever win a EuroNASCAR PRO race in his first year among the best European NASCAR drivers, Soerensen is now aiming at another historic milestone: winning both NWES titles.
It was an eventful race for Soerensen at the wheel of his #66 DF1 Racing Chevrolet Camaro. The 23-year-old went off track on lap 2 after a contact in the pack and had to fight his way back up front. On lap 4, the Aalborg-native passed Lucas Lasserre for fourth and afterwards Lady Luck was on his side: Day, who started from the pole, received a drive through penalty for a collision with Gianmarco Ercoli in the first lap of the race. Stienes Longin was comfortably leading but the Belgian had to park due to an issue with his clutch.
Those events left Soerensen and Hezemans battling for the lead and it was a tremendous duel. After a daring move on the outside by the DF1 Racing driver, the two spent the majority of lap 11 side by side for first place. In the end it was Soerensen who grabbed the lead and won the race after 18 thrilling laps of pure racing. Reigning NWES champion Hezemans ended up second at the wheel of his #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang.
“It’s always good to win”, said Soerensen, who also won the Junior Trophy. “I thank my team for the great car. We had some engine problems but the setup is very good. All the mechanics did a great job to make this car running. The battle with Loris was amazing. There was a lot of respect between us and I think we put up a very good show.” After being asked about his title ambitions, he answered: “I’m not thinking about that at the moment. I just want to give my best and make the most out of this weekend. On Sunday, we will see where we will be.”
Mishumotors’ Lucas Lasserre completed the overall podium after a strong run at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The Frenchman had a solid pace and mastered the 4 kilometer track with all his experience to score his second podium finish of the season after Vallenga. Another racing veteran ended up fourth: CAAL Racing’s Marc Goossens. The Belgian came from sixth on the grid and gained several positions.
After having been shuffled to the back of the field after the incident with Day on lap 1, Ercoli fought his way up the ranks to close the top-5. The Italian was also second in the Junior Trophy classification. After serving his penalty, Day fell back to twelfth place but the Israeli kept pushing to finish in a solid sixth place.
Justin Kunz completed the Junior Trophy in seventh ahead of 2019 EuroNASCAR 2 runner-up Giorgio Maggi. Davide Dallara topped the Challenger Trophy classification for the fourth time in 2020 by finishing ninth, while Dutch newcomer Olivier Hart was ranked tenth after a 10-second penalty for a contact with Soerensen.
With three races left in the 2020 EuroNASCAR PRO season, two of which awarding double points, Day is leading the champion by 5 points over Soerensen. Hezemans and Ercoli are tied for third place, 21 points behind the Israeli.
The EuroNASCAR PRO Round 8 of the NASCAR GP Spain will start on Saturday at 8:40 am CET. The second EuroNASCAR 2 race is scheduled for 3:55 pm CET on Friday. All races of the Valencia Super Speedweek will be broadcasted live on EuroNASCAR’s social media profiles, Motorsport.tv and Kreator TV.
NWES PR
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