Vittorio Ghirelli was awarded victory in the opening race of the weekend for the NASCAR Euro Series’ premier V8GP series at American SpeedFest this afternoon (Saturday). The Italian was third on the road on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, but benefitted from penalties handed to others to earn his spot in Victory Lane.
American Garrett Lowe started from pole position alongside Frenchman Paul Jouffreau, but both drivers saw their hopes of a victory challenge end within the opening seconds. Gianmarco Ercoli made an attempt to pass both, and both front row starters had to detour through the Paddock Hill Bend gravel trap as a consequence.
This left Italy’s Ercoli at the head of the field, but he was swiftly handed a 10-second time penalty for his involvement in the incident. So this allowed Ghirelli, who worked his way into second behind his compatriot, in a prime position to take the win.
As the race wore on in slippery conditions, it was Jack Davidson who was a man on the move in front of his home crowd. He dispatched Nelson Piquet Jr, contesting his first SpeedFest, before finding his way past Ghirelli late in the race. The Brit was handed a five-second penalty of his own, but his pace promised to at least threaten Ghirelli’s position.
Any chance of a late Davidson charge to the line was halted, however, when Giovanni Cartechini exited the race and came to a stop in the Paddock Hill gravel. This resulted in a full course yellow, safety car, and eventually a premature close to the race.
Once the penalties were taken into account, with the result being declared from lap 29 of the scheduled 38, Ghirelli was awarded the victory, with Piquet Jr slotting into second. Davidson hung on to third with Ercoli ending up fourth.
Jordan O’Brien was fifth, one place ahead of Lowe, who recovered to sixth, limiting his losses after his earlier drama too. Jouffreau, too, mounted a spirited comeback before dropping out of the race midway through.
Behind Lowe, Thomas Krasonis, Vinnie Meskelis, and Vladimiros Tziortzis were seventh, eighth and ninth. The final spot in the top 10 was claimed by Marc Goossens, the experienced Belgian driver who won the Formula Ford Festival at the Kent circuit earlier in his career.
NASCAR Euro Series, V8GP, Brands Hatch, Race 1
- Vittorio Ghirelli, Chevrolet Camaro
- Nelson Piquet Jr, Ford Mustang, +1.940s
- Jack Davidson, FJ Racecar, +3.592s
- Gianmarco Ercoli, Ford Mustang, +3.712s
- Jordan O’Brien, Ford Mustang, +5.981s
- Garrett Lowe, Chevrolet Camaro, +9.686s
- Thomas Krasonis, Chevrolet Camaro, +10.605s
- Vinnie Meskelis, Team Bleekemolen, +11.092s
- Vladimiros Tziortzis, Ford Mustang, 11.623s
- Marc Goossens, Ford Mustang, +13.065s
Click here to view the full results from this weekend.