After victory in Valencia (ESP), 21-year-old Swiss Giorgio Maggi took the championship lead after the second NASCAR race at Franciacorta in Italy
Young Swiss Giorgio Maggi enjoyed yet another successful race weekend during the second NASCAR round of the Whelen Euro Series at Franciacorta in Italy. In the first Elite2 race on Saturday, he showed a spirited drive in the field of 30 cars with his 400hp strong #50 NASCAR Ford Mustang, ran by Dutch team Hendriks. The result was a podium finish as he ended up in third place.
“Competition in our races is quite tough, you have no time to relax. You have to be totally fit from start to finish, because there are no technical driver aids in the car. It is pure racing, only the driver that counts, as all NASCAR race cars are almost equally fast at around 250 km/h, with a weight of 1225 kg and powered by a 5.7 litre engine with around 400 hp! The chassis and the technical equipment are identical on all cars. I like such battles!”
In the second Elite2 race on Sunday, Giorgio again was in contention for victory throughout. However, he slid out in the first corner with four laps remaining and his rivals benefited. Classified fourth, he just missed out on another podium finish.
“Towards the end, my tyres rapidly degraded and that is how I made this little mistake after start and finish. Nevertheless, I was very happy with my two races and the fact that I am now leading the championship makes me really proud. A good position to be in for the next round at Brands Hatch on 1 and 2 June.
” As the Brits love the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in particular, over 80,000 spectators are expected again, like in 2018 already.
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (NWES), the European competition from the famous NASCAR Series in the US, is run with identical stock cars with tubular frames and 5.7 litre V8 engines. Only the silhouettes are different, either representing Toyota Camry, Chevrolet Camaro or Ford Mustang. All drivers have equal chances in terms of equipment. Electronic driver aids like ABS and ESP are forbidden and there is no BoP. Gearshift is done manually, pure racing style. Here, it is the driver who decides, not just the technology!
Post-race celebrations for the race winner are different, too: the winner is driving his race car into victory lane where he can celebrate in front of the crowd.
