V8 Oval Series at Raceway Venray: Wouters takes the title, Bachor best German
The V8 Oval Series at Raceway Venray came to an end on 23 October 2022 – Frank Wouters took the title on his full-time return, the best driver from Germany was Philipp Bachor
The 2022 V8 Oval Series (V8OS) season at Raceway Venray is history: on his full-time return to the Late Model series on the 0.5-mile oval with around 25 degrees of banking, Frank Wouters took the title straight away, while Philipp Bachor was the best German in sixth place overall. On the final day of racing, however, only a total of nine drivers competed.
Wouters had two hot pursuers in the fight for the title in the form of local hero Barry Maessen and Ralph Verberkt, and the number 6 driver could not have started the decisive event any worse. In free practice Philipp Bachor spun in the newly acquired Dodge Challenger, which had previously been driven by Jeroen van Eerd. Another driver had to hit the brakes full on, which is why Wouters was unable to avoid him and slammed into the rear of the car.
With a destroyed car, the fight for the title was not possible, so without further ado Jeroen Hermans offered his services. Wouters was provided with the car with the starting number 94 and contested the race day in a vehicle that was completely unknown to him. But that did not stop the Dutchman: In the first race he had to let Maessen go in first place, but he still scored important points in second place.
The podium was completed by Bachor, who finished only about two seconds behind the top duo. In the second race, Wouters then took a big swing and won the race just ahead of Maessen and Bachor, who made it back into the top-3. With another win in the final, Wouters put the lid on it and secured the title. Maessen and Bachor were again on the podium.
In the day’s standings, Wouters prevailed with 125 points over Maessen, who collected five points less. Bachor was third with 100 points, while Jeffrey Hageman and Tino van Dijk completed the top-5. Hans-Jürgen Hummen finished eighth on the final day of racing, while V8OS rookie Bo Pepels gained important experience on her debut. Verberkt did not have a good day in seventh place in the daily standings.
In the overall standings, Wouters snatched the title with 1033 points on his account. The Dutchman scored 111 points more than Maessen in second place. The overall podium was completed by Verberkt ahead of van Eerd and Hageman, who took the championship win in the ASCAR standings. Bachor finished sixth, while behind him van Dijk and Colin White secured the remaining spots on the ASCAR podium. Hummen finished eleventh at the end of the season. A total of 25 drivers were scored during the 2022 season.
The 2023 season kicks off on April 10 on Easter Monday. Next year’s schedule includes a total of eight race days over six weekends. The V8OS will again compete on the big oval in Venray right on the Dutch-German border. The prestigious Eurocup in the V8OS is scheduled for September 24, 2023.
