Hezemans on eighth place in Most: Pit stop was too slow
Pit stops tipped the scales at the Autodrom Most for the first time in NWES history – Loris Hezemans lost valuable seconds during his stop – On Sunday, the Dutch team struck back
Loris Hezemans is not satisfied with eighth place in the first EuroNASCAR PRO race at Autodrom Most. The Dutchman started on slicks from pole position last Saturday , but then came into the pits to change to rain tires due to a rain shower at the end of lap four. Then, the Hendriks Motorsport squad was too slow, which is why the championship leader fell far behind.
“I’m absolutely gutted because I started from first place and kept the first place over the whole stint in the dry,” Hezemans said on his Facebook profile. “Then coming to the pits, the team lost 45 seconds on our pitstop compared to our competitors, which made me drop from first to 16th.” Remember: There are no planned pit stops in EuroNASCAR during normal races.
Hezemans critizises, the team reacts
The problems didn’t stop thereafter: the windshield wiper wasn’t working properly, while the floodgates in the sky kept opening. “I then fought my way up to eighth place in the final four green flag laps, but I’m absolutely gutted as the win was thrown away.”
Team boss Roy Hendriks promptly replied, “Apologies to you Loris. We dropped the ball on that one big time. Let’s learn from it and come back stronger.” No sooner said than done: on Sunday, the 2019 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series champion started the second EuroNASCAR PRO round from third on the grid and made up one position on Sebastiaan Bleekemolen.
Double win for Hendriks Motorsport
Hendriks Motorsports celebrated a strong one-two finish with Vittorio Ghirelli in first place, conquering his first win in the PRO category as the reigning EuroNASCAR 2 champion, and Hezemans in second. The latter thus traveled back home as the championship leader. Currently, Hezemans has an 18-point lead in the overall standings over his teammate Ghirelli from Italy.
The next EuroNASCAR round will be held on September 18 and 19 in Rijeka, Croatia. The Automotodrom Grobnik was added to the calendar in 2020 and enjoys a high level of popularity in the paddock. Last year’s winners there were Stienes Longin, who no longer competes in the NWES, and the current champion Alon Day.
