Schober gains momentum: Is the Austrian ready for the top 5 in EuroNASCAR 2?
Patrick Schober is making a good impression in his rookie season in the NWES – The Austrian had a phenomenal comeback on Sunday in Most
From 23rd to seventh: Patrick Schober had an amazing comeback in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (NWES) race at the Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic. The Austrian, who was born in Spain and is at home in Slovakia, made up important points ahead of the regular season finale at Circuit Zolder in Belgium on October 8 and 9.
But is the EuroNASCAR 2 rookie ready to make the move into the top-5 yet? Currently, just 23 points separate him from fifth place and, in addition, the two worst results of each driver will be dropped after the race at Zolder. So there’s still everything in it for Schober to make the leap into the top-5.
In the Rookie Trophy, he is fourth behind the two title contenders Alberto Naska and Liam Hezemans as well as the young Frenchman Paul Jouffreau. While Naska and Hezemans will probably decide the championship between themselves at the top, third place in the special classification is still within Schober’s grasp, because it is Jouffreau, who is currently fifth overall.
“It was my first time at the Autodrom Most and it was gigantic,” Schober tells ‘Leadlap.net’. He also explains why he suffered a setback on Saturday: “We started in 13th place and then retired due to technical problems. Because of brake problems I had a spin and crashed into the guardrail. Fortunately, the damage wasn’t that severe.”
Then came the comeback on Sunday, which was not an easy one, as Schober was unable to burn a lap time into the asphalt on Saturday and thus had to start from the back. “I worked my way up to ninth place and still inherited seventh place because of penalties against the drivers in front of me. I even made it onto the Rookie Trophy podium with that, which made me very happy.”
Schober praised his Italian team Double V Racing, which “worked through the night” to rebuild the car for the race Sunday. “Then in the race I made it happen,” Schober continues. “That was really great, I really enjoyed the weekend.” He also thanks the EuroNASCAR fans for their “great support” at the track and in front of the screens.
Schober is preparing for the next round in early October which will take place at Circuit Zolder. Due to the dropped results, the race in Belgium is enormously important in order to get a good starting position for the finale in Grobnik, Croatia, on October 29 and 30, where double points are awarded. One thing is for sure: Schober has arrived in the NWES and is always good for a surprise with his consistency.
