Jack Davidson made history at American SpeedFest 11 powered by Lucas Oil by becoming the first British driver to win a NASCAR Whelen Euro Series race in the final EuroNASCAR 2 clash of the weekend this afternoon (Sunday).
It was Greek racer Thomas Krasonis who started from pole position with Italy’s Claudio Remigio Cappelli alongside as the field streamed two-by-two into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time. Saturday victor Martin Doubek slipped past Cappelli to take an early second place, but the leading trio were all eliminated from outright contention moments later.
Doubek and Krasonis collided at Druids on the second lap as the former lined up a pass under braking with the latter sliding off the track as a result. Doubek initially continued, but was tagged by Cappelli as they exited the hairpin and both ran off the track and onto the grass to hand Davidson the lead.
A safety car period promptly followed to clear up, and after finding himself in the lead, Davidson barely put a wheel wrong to lead comfortably at the head of the field. Another safety car threatened to erode the Scottish driver’s advantage, with Cappelli once again involved in an incident, this time with Roberto Benedetti, who was left stranded at Graham Hill Bend.
Davidson once again kept his cool once the race resumed however, setting an impressive pace to build a gap over the chasing Toyota Camry of Gil Linster. This allowed him to surge clear in the final laps and write himself into the history books as the first British race winner in either of EuroNASCAR’s race classes. Luxembourg’s Linster was impressive too, building a strong margin ahead of those behind to secure a comfortable second place.
The fight for the final spot on the podium went right down to the wire however, with Melvin De Groot seemingly on his way to the rostrum for much of the race. The Dutch ace started the final lap third, albeit under heavy pressure from Patrick Schober, before running off the circuit at Surtees, just corners from the chequered flag.
De Groot recovered to the circuit, but lost additional ground to Thomas Toffel and Thomas Dombrowski who respectively claimed fourth and fifth. Behind De Groot, Michael Bleekemolen was seventh with Florian Richard, Veeti Rajala and Reza Sardeha completing the top-10.
EuroNASCAR 2, Brands Hatch, Race 1
- Jack Davidson, Lux Motorsport, Chevrolet Camaro
- Gil Linster, Hendriks Motorsport, Toyota Camry, +2.916s
- Patrick Shober, RDV Competition, Ford Mustang, +5.766s
- Thomas Toffel, Race Art Technology, Chevrolet Camaro, +8.272s
- Thomas Dombrowski, Team Bleekemolen, Chevrolet Camaro, +8.646s
- Melvin De Groot, Team Bleekemolen, Toyota Camry, +9.311s
- Michael Bleekemolen, Team Bleekemolen, Toyota Camry, +19.568s
- Florian Richard, Speedhouse, Ford Mustang, +20.250s
- Veeti Rajala, Granducato Speed, Chevrolet Camaro, +20.540s
- Reza Sardeha, Team Bleekemolen, Ford Mustang, +21.053s
Click here for full race results from this event.