EuroNASCAR 2: Dauenhauer Prince of Brands Hatch, Deodhar with maiden win
Tobias Dauenhauer was crowned prince of the track at the EuroNASCAR 2 race at Brands Hatch with a win and a second – Advait Deodhar won his first ever NWES race
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (NWES) visited Brands Hatch in the UK on July 3-4. On the 1.94-kilometer Indy Circuit, it was Tobias Dauenhauer from Germany who was crowned the “Prince of Brands Hatch” with a win and a second place. In addition, Advait Deodhar from India won his first ever EuroNASCAR 2 race.
Deodhar makes EuroNASCAR history
CAAL Racing driver Deodhar is the first Indian in NWES history to win a EuroNASCAR 2 race. Although the 31-year-old led all the laps, it wasn’t an easy win for him as Dauenhauer of Hendriks Motorsports put some mighty pressure on him. The London-based Indian fended off all attacks and crossed the finish line as the winner.
“I will never forget this moment in my life”, said Deodhar, who posted the fastest lap and thus also secured pole for the race on Sunday. “I need to pinch myself because I cannot believe I have won. It was a tough race with Tobias at my back bumper during all laps of this round. Thanks to CAAL Racing for giving me an awesome car. It was only the second win of my life and it’s something very special to score one here at Brands Hatch.”
Completing the podium was young DF1 Racing driver Simon Pilate from Belgium. Francesco Garisto actually finished third, but he was penalized due to an avoidable collision, which is why he was relegated to seventh.
Winner in the rookie classification was Alberto Panebianco in the service of Not Only Motorsport. Miguel Gomez of Marko Stipp Motorsport and Alina Loibnegger of Solaris Motorsport joined the Portuguese on the podium of the special classification.
It was the second podium of the race day for the young Austrian, as she finished second in the Lady Trophy behind the experienced Italian Arianna Casoli of CAAL Racing. Victory in the Legend Trophy also went to a CAAL-Racing driver: Max Lanza won ahead of Yevgen Sokolovskiy and Ian Eric Waden.
Dauenhauer takes victory and the lead in the standings
Sunday’s EuroNASCAR 2 division race was all about Hendriks Motorsport driver Dauenhauer. The 23-year-old got off to a good start and immediately pushed past previous day’s winner Deodhar. He did not lose this lead until he crossed the finish line and also took over the overall lead from his teammate Martin Doubek, who won both rounds in Valencia.
“It was just amazing”, said Dauenhauer, who scored the fourth EuroNASCAR 2 win of his career. “To score the first victory of the season is just awesome. It was also great to have some fans back at the race track and hopefully we entertained them all here on the grandstands. The team did an amazing job and gave me a great Ford Mustang. We showed a really good pace and I’m so thankful.”
Pilate, who started from third on the grid, also slipped past Deodhar on the 27th lap, resulting in a solid third-place finish for the Indian. Local hero Shaun Hollamby, at the wheel of the #77 DF1 Camaro, secured the Legend Trophy win with a respectable sixth overall. Behind them followed CAAL Racing driver Max Lanza and Sokolovskiy from Marko Stipp Motorsport.
The rookie classification was won by Finn Leevi Lintukantu of Iceboys-DF1-Racing. Panebianco and Gomez completed the podium. Loibnegger in the service of Solaris Motorsport secured the Lady Trophy victory ahead of CAAL Racing driver Casoli.
The next NWES races will be held on August 28-29 at the Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic. Both the races and qualifying will be broadcast live on the Facebook page of Leadlap.de / Leadlap.net.
