Italian driver Vittorio Ghirelli has won the second NASCAR Euro Series race at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo with one of the weekend’s stars, Nelson Piquet Jr., in third place. More than 22,000 spectators throughout the weekend have made the Valencia NASCAR Fest one of the favorite weekends for Valencian fans.
After the start of the second race, Gianmarco Ercoli dominated the first lap from pole, but an accident forced a restart where the fastest was young Frenchman Paul Jouffreau, who moved to the front of the pack on the third lap.
From then on, the French driver, who trained in karting in Valencia, increased his lead over American Jordan O’Brien and Ercoli, until he suffered a blowout in his front right tire ten laps from the finish. O’Brien’s lead lasted two laps until he went off track, allowing defending champion Vittorio Ghirelli to take the race lead.
Behind them, Garret Lowe and Nelson Piquet Jr held their podium positions until the finish line. In his first competition weekend in European NASCAR, Piquet earned his first points with this third-place finish, as he was caught in a multi-car accident in the first race.
In the Open category, the victory went to Swiss driver Thomas Toffel, who completed a double win at the wheel of his Chevrolet Camaro.
Valencia footballer Arnaut Danjuma served as the Grand Marshal for the Euro NASCAR V8GP race. The Dutch forward started the race proceedings by inviting the drivers to start their engines with the classic “Drivers, start your engines!!”.
Truck Racing
The Spanish Truck Racing Championship once again drew a lot of public attention. Portuguese driver Eduardo José Rodrigues completed a perfect weekend with four victories. The MAN driver, who competes in the European championship, showed mechanical superiority ahead of Josy Vila and Jorge Vila, who completed the podium in each of the weekend’s races.
Solidarity on Wheels
The Solidaridad Sobre Ruedas Foundation has delivered eight more vehicles in its campaign to assist those affected by the DANA. With this delivery, the Foundation has handed over a total of 580 vehicles since the deliveries began in November 2024.
During the event, the Foundation received a check for €22,072 from helmet manufacturer MT Helmets. Last November, the firm launched a campaign selling a solidarity helmet featuring the image of the Cheste track. The proceeds from the campaign went directly to the Foundation, which continues its work trying to restore mobility to those affected by the tragedy.
The Circuit will welcome fans back on May 16 for the third edition of the Velas Marathon Grand Prix, a double running race of 4 and 10 kilometers held on the Circuit Ricardo Tormo Grand Prix track at sunset.
