Vittorio Ghirelli converted his fifth place starting position into his second victory of the 2026 V8GP season – The Italian became the first winner of NASCAR GP France in eight years and improved his title defence chances
– Vittorio Ghirelli took the checkered flag in V8GP’s first race at Le Castellet
– Hendriks Motorsport teammates Jordan O’Brien and Martin Doubek completed the podium
– Contact between Thomas Krasonis and Paul Jouffreau changed the race’s complexity
Circuit Paul Ricard proved itself as a great venue for the NASCAR Euro Series following a great first impression with V8GP Round 3, the first race of the 2026 NASCAR GP France. The highly demanding track in Le Castellet delivered plenty of twists and turns in the 13 lap race that unfolded. French fans witnessed a great spectacle that was won by Vittorio Ghirelli, the king of V8GP for the past two seasons. Ghirelli kept his head cool and masterfully carved his way ahead from fifth on the grid, securing his second win of the season to extend his advantage in the overall standings and become the first driver to win an official NASCAR championship race in France since Alon Day in 2018.
The Italian first moved up in lap 2 when he passed American hotshot Jordan O’Brien. A lap later, Vinnie Meskelis suffered an unfortunate mechanical issue that led to the Team Bleekemolen driver’s early retirement. Ghirelli stayed cautious behind early leaders Thomas Krasonis and Paul Jouffreau and when the two collided on lap 4, the PK Carsport took the opportunity and never looked back.
It was very good! » said Ghirelli, who now has 20 V8GP wins under his belt. « I had a very good start when I got the inside of the #6 [of Tziortzis]. I had a lot of pace, but I was losing straight line speed. We have to check out the data, but I did a few nice moves and then I was lucky with the #3 and the #13 touched. We made a bit of a comeback after my lap was deleted from Superpole. I hope the fans enjoyed it and had a great show! »
O’Brien validated his impressive Spain performance with his first podium finish in just his third V8GP race. The Hendriks Motorsport driver was 4.798 seconds behind Ghirelli and was accompanied by his teammate Martin Doubek, who completed the podium following a long recovery journey. The Czech driver fractured his hand in a crash in Valencia and had to undergo surgery in order to be ready for the round in France, but the top-3 finish confirmed his intention to fight for the championship in the top division of the series.
Doubek held off Thomas Toffel and Vladimiros Tziortzis, who engaged in a close multi-car battle for the final podium position. Toffel and Tziortzis finished fourth and fifth respectively, with Toffel securing the victory in Challenger Trophy for elite amateurs. Davit Kajaia claimed his career-best finish of sixth, improving from his previous best of seventh in his debut season in 2025. The Georgian driver also took second in the Challenger Trophy, missing on the classification win by just six tenths of a second.
Garrett Lowe stormed through to take the Junior Trophy win in seventh, finishing ahead of Fabrizio Armetta who took the bonus points for most positions gained, climbing up six positions from his starting position of 14th. Jeroen Bleekemolen and Ulysse Delsaux completed the top-10 positions. Jack Davidson and Julien Rehberg’s hard fought drives were rewarded with second and third place silverware trophies in the Junior Trophy. Logan Bearden rounded the Challenger Trophy podium in 13th.
Krasonis and Jouffreau’s clash changed the complexity of the race, with Jouffreau receiving a penalty for an avoidable collision and Krasonis being forced to make repairs in the pits. The Greek will have the upper hand on the Frenchman heading to Round 4 as he took the fastest lap and therefore pole position for Sunday’s spectacle in Le Castellet.
The sounds from the roaring pure V8 engines at Le Castellet will be heard once again when the drivers from the OPEN division lined up on the grid for the start of their Round 3 at 18:00 CEST. What other excitement can be enjoyed from NASCAR Euro Series’ return to France? Find out through updates provided by the NASCAR Euro Series official website and social media accounts and the broadcasts that you can find out from www.nascar.eu/watch.
Reza Maulana,