Gil Linster with momentum ahead of the NWES final with the first podium on his tally
Gil Linster set two personal records at Circuit Zolder: The Luxembourg won his first Pole Award and scored his maiden EuroNASCAR 2 podium
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (NWES) will kick off its hot phase on October 29 and 30, 2022. The final of both championships is pending on the Automotodrom Grobnik in Croatia and because there are double points at stake, the drivers can still make big steps in the overall ratings. Gil Linster took up a lot of momentum at the finale of the regular season at Circuit Zolder in Belgium, after which the drivers have dropped their two worst results. He not only celebrated his first EuroNASCAR 2 pole, but also his maiden podium.
Saturday was a good day for the Luxembourg. On the still damp track, the racing driver from Frisange went into qualifying on Slicks and clocked the fastest lap in the final phase of the session. Since the asphalt dried and no other rain came, the CAAL Racing poker worked and Linster received the Pole Award for the first time in his NWES career. In the race, the 28-year-old was among the top driver at the front and secured his first podium with second place.
On Sunday, however, technical issues hold him back. The #56 Chevrolet Camaro didn’t really work, which is why Linster missed the start of the race. With numerous laps down, the Luxembourg was ultimately only ranked 23rd. Logically, Linster speaks to ‘leadlap.net’ of a racing weekend with “ups and downs”. “The engine has caused problems, already on Saturday, but I had to start from the pit lane on Sunday,” he reports.
“Nevertheless, it was a very good weekend for us with the Pole Award and the podium on Saturday, even if we didn’t score as many points in the championship as we had planned,” continues Linster, who is, after dropping his two results in the regular season, at 226 points on his account in eighth place in the EuroNASCAR 2 overall standings. 80 points separate him from leader Alberto Naska in first place. Since double points are awarded in the finale, Linster can theoretically still get a maximum of 176 points.
“I am really looking forward to the EuroNASCAR finale in Croatia and we are set to really attack again there,” says Linster, who’s living in the Saarland in Germany. The Luxembourg hopes to make the leap into the top-5 and thus end the 2022 season in a solid position. He’s only separated 26 points from Vladimiros Tziortzis, who is fifth in the classification after his violent crash at Circuit Zolder. For Linster, there is still a lot at stake at the finale in Croatia.
