Two strong races at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, paved the way for two SpeedHouse drivers to settle in the top-5 of the EuroNASCAR PRO standings. Team owner Lucas Lasserre and French NASCAR star Ulysse Delsaux scored enough points in the races to move up to third and fourth in the overall NASCAR Whelen Euro Series standings. In EuroNASCAR 2, Florian Richard, Arianna Casoli and Eric Quintal made good progress to find the right pace to attack in their classes: the Rookie Trophy, Lady Trophy and Legend Trophy.
EuroNASCAR PRO
Lasserre made it into Superpole in EuroNASCAR PRO Qualifying and secured eighth place on the grid, while Delsaux had to fight his way up from 16th in Q1. Both had a strong race on Saturday, showing just how good the #33 and #14 Ford Mustangs are on the 4.005-kilometre track under the Spanish sun. Lasserre made it onto the podium in third place to bring home the first trophy for SpeedHouse in the 2024 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season. Delsaux made a phenomenal comeback from 16th to sixth in the 18-lap race, demonstrating his incredible race pace at the wheel of the 400hp V8 beast. On Sunday, Luasserre again started from eighth place, while Delsaux had to perform another miracle from 15th on the grid. Both Frenchmen had a great race again and brought home strong results: Lasserre finished fifth, just ahead of Delsaux, who once again impressed with many passing maneuvers during the race, which had to be red-flagged due to a « Big One » at the start. Lasserre is third in the standings, level on points with Marc Goossens in second. They are just nine points behind championship leader Vittorio Ghirelli. Delsaux is fourth, 13 points behind the Italian leader.
Lucas Lasserre : « I am happy with my race weekend because we had two strong races with good starts. In the first race I took every opportunity to overtake my rivals and score good points for the championship. P3 and P5 after the penalty in the second race were solid results. I only lost one position and one point, that’s nothing. It was really important to start with a good performance and get those points. All in all, it was a really good weekend for me. »
Positions: 3rd & 5th – Overall: 2nd – Points: 66
Ulysse Delsaux : « I was able to move up from 16th to sixth on Saturday and I had some great battles towards the end of the race. It was great fun! On Sunday, I was involved in the Big One at the start of the race, but I was able to get the car back into the pits so my crew could repair the damage. I was 18th on the restart and worked my way back up to sixth. I limited the damage well and was very careful when overtaking. It was a great weekend and a great start to the 2024 season. Thanks to the whole SpeedHouse team, my partners and my family. I’m now looking forward to racing again in Vallelunga, Italy. »
Positions: 6th & 6th – Overall: 4th – Points: 62
EuroNASCAR 2
In EuroNASCAR 2 SpeedHouse entered three cars for Richard, Casoli and Quintal. Stepping up from the Club Challenge to EuroNASCAR 2 was Richard, who finished 16th in Qualifying, while Casoli ended up 23rd ahead of Quintal in 24th. Richard was fourth in the Rookie Trophy standings and maximized his result in Saturday’s race. After an intense race, the Frenchman took the checkered flag in 14th place to finish in the top-5 in his class. Italian pilot Casoli had a good pace and climbed up to 18th in the end to win the Lady Trophy race. Quintal followed his teammate to finish a solid 19th overall and eighth in the Legend Trophy. On Sunday, Richard missed out on a podium finish in the Rookie Trophy by just a few centimeters, but the youngster again showed strong development in the season opener: Starting 18th, he battled his way up to twelfth overall and took a strong fourth place in the special classification. Casoli again won the Lady Trophy in 17th place, while Quintal finished sixth in the Legend Trophy in 19th place.
Florian Richard : « I am very happy with the result and the way the weekend went. We have done a great job developing the car and for me personally it was a great first EuroNASCAR 2 race. Thanks to the whole SpeedHouse team for the good mood, the great spirit and the great work of our crew. »
Positions: 14th & 12th – Overall: 12th – Points: 48
Arianna Casoli : « It was a great weekend, but I struggled a bit with allergies and also with the problems I have had with my arm since last year. Still, I think I had my best race weekend at Valencia in nine years. The lap times were good and Lucas helped me to improve every session. I’m really happy and enjoyed every second with my team in the beautiful weather. I want to thank everyone for a great weekend. I also had the chance to talk about my project. I meet young girls and the new generation about racing and inspire them to fulfill their dreams. »
Positions: 18th & 17th – Overall: 19th – Lady Trophy: 1st, Points: 39
Club Challenge
Two SpeedHouse drivers took part in EuroNASCAR’s regularity test, the Club Challenge. Former Club Challenge champion Andreas Kuchelbacher made his comeback, while Spanish youngster Dani Briz enjoyed his home event and NWES debut. The latter had a strong start to the season, missing the podium by just a few points. Briz had a strong run and finished fourth in his Club Challenge debut, just ahead of Kuchelbacher who completed the top 5. Two SpeedHouse drivers in the top-5 was a solid start to the season and the title challenge in the EuroNASCAR world.
Dani Briz : « First of all, I would like to apologize to the teams for not being able to stay for the whole race weekend, but I had to go to Malaga for a kart practice session right after the Club Challenge sessions. I watched my team mate’s races online and cheered on the SpeedHouse team. It was a great weekend and thanks for the warm welcome to the team. You are already part of my family. »
Positions: 4th – Overall: 4h – Points: 68
Andreas Kuchelbacher : « I am happy to be back at SpeedHouse, the atmosphere in the team was really good. The car, the runs and the weather were great, so I enjoyed the weekend a lot. I had some good laps in my Club Challenge sessions, but I needed more laps because I made some mistakes. P5 in the end was okay, we scored important points for the championship. I’m looking forward to racing at Vallelunga. I have good memories of the track, I won there in 2021. My goal is to finish on the podium in Italy. »
Positions: 5th – Overall: 5th – Points: 65
Lucas Lasserre, Team Owner : « Florian did an amazing job in his first race, adapting to the rolling starts and all the rules. He managed the car really well and did a phenomenal job in the second race. He was already strong in the first race but was able to push a lot more in the second. It was a very strong performance. Ulysse was just unbelievably strong when he overtook a lot of cars. He made about 20 passes, which was totally crazy. He’s now P4 in the championship and it’s unique to have two cars in the top-5. Arianna was also strong, taking the wins in the Lady Trophy, but more importantly she improved her lap times a lot. It was her strongest weekend since joining us two years ago. Eric was amazing: always there, always smiling, it’s very important to have my close friend in the team. Andreas and Dani did a great job, but we need to improve as a team. Dani has raw talent and Andreas just needs more track time after his long break. Overall I could not be happier and I would like to thank all my crews, mechanics, engineers and partners for making this a unique race weekend. We are now preparing for Vallelunga to confirm the momentum we have gained. »