EuroNASCAR 2021: Marko Stipp Motorsport signs Miguel Gomes
In about one month the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season will start in Valencia, Spain – With Miguel Gomes Marko Stipp Motorsport has announced another race driver for 2021
Originally, the new season of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (NWES) should have started next week at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. As it was the case last year, the coronavirus has put a spanner in the works of the series.
Instead, the season will now start on May 15-16 – also in Valencia. As is tradition, many rookies will again be on the grid, including Miguel Gomes, who will be driving the #46 car for Marko Stipp Motorsport in the EuroNASCAR 2 championship.
For the 41-year-old it is a debut with a delay, because the Portuguese had actually wanted to start in EuroNASCAR 2 Championship after his participation in the NWES recruiting program last year. In the end, however, he was unable to participate in the season.
NASCAR Gomes’ “passion”
But Gomes, who will be the first Portuguese to compete in NWES in full-time, didn’t give up. “NASCAR has been my passion since I was a small child and to be able to race in an official NASCAR series is like a dream come true,” explained the 41-year-old.
Last season, Gomes was also on the verge of a NASCAR debut with Marko Stipp Motorsports. After it became clear that the Portuguese would not be able to start, the contact with the German team did not break off.
For the stock car experienced driver – Gomes already competed in the VSR V8 Trophy and the resulting European Late Model Series – there were good reasons to race for Marko Stipp Motorsport.
#46 “his” number
“Besides being a very competitive team, they also have the #46 car available, the number I always run with. So that was a sign to choose Marko Stipp Motorsport as soon as the conditions were met to do a full season in 2021.”
It was also an easy decision for team boss Marko Stipp to sign the Portuguese: “As a team, we are always excited to help fresh talents in extracting the most out of their performance and to nurture them. In terms of age, Miguel is obviously not the typical young rookie. However, that comes with the benefit of him already being experienced and having a stock car racing background.”
As a rookie in the NWES, Gomes will be chasing points in the rookie standings. Due to his age, the 41-year-old is also fighting for the title in the Legend Trophy. After the signing of Yevgen Sokolovskiy for both divisions, Gomes is the second Marko Stipp Motorsport driver for 2021.
