“There are no more excuses”: Team Bleekemolen set to improve in the 2022 NWES season
Team Bleekemolen wants to carry the momentum from the 2021 NWES season and establish itself at the top – To do so, the racing team is expanding to one full-time and one part-time car
The next piece of the puzzle for the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series (NWES) has been found: Team Bleekemolen is returning to the series, expanding its operation to two cars. While Sebastiaan Bleekemolen and Melvin de Groot will drive the #69 Ford Mustang in all races, Michael Bleekemolen will return to the series in the #72 car for selected events. Sebastiaan Bleekemolen is looking to build on last year’s strong foundation and further improve results in the 2022 season.
The Dutchman joined the series in 2019 and had his fair share of difficulties in his debut year – particularly with the brakes. The racing team then missed the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The comeback followed in 2021 and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen looked like a changed man: He took his first of three podiums at the season opener in Spain and finished eighth in the overall EuroNASCAR PRO standings.
“There are no more excuses,” says the Dutchman, who is looking forward to the NWES opener on May 14 and 15 at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia. He reports that the Ford Mustang has been “rebuilt” over the winter, so the technical conditions are definitely in place for the team’s first NASCAR win. The goal? A better result than last year and the first race win.
Melvin de Groot will take his seat in the #69 car in the EuroNASCAR 2 championship and contest his first full season. The experienced racer stepped in for the injured Michael Bleekemolen last season and scored a podium and three top-10 results in four races. In the Legend Trophy for drivers aged 40 and over, the Dutchman was at the top three times. De Groot says he wants to have “as much fun as possible” as the NWES has rekindled his fire for racing.
The #72 car has a very special meaning, as Michael Bleekemolen will set a new age record in NWES history, as he has done in the past two years. The former Formula 1 driver is now 72 years old and day by day he will ensure that it will become more difficult to replace him as the oldest driver in the NWES. The Dutchman will return to the EuroNASCAR 2 championship and thus the Legend Trophy at selected events.
