Lucas Lasserre fully focused on winningAutodrom Most
Lucas Lasserre fully focused on winning the EuroNASCAR PRO title with Speedhouse The French team collected a total of four trophy at Autodrom Most
It's crunch time in the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season, and Speedhouse Racing from France still has a shot at multiple titles in all three championships. Team owner Lucas Lasserre is battling for the EuroNASCAR PRO title, while Ulysse Delsaux is leading the Junior Trophy title for drivers 25 and older. Arianna Casoli is dominating the Lady Trophy in EuroNASCAR 2, and her teammates Matthias Hauer and Eric Quintal are aiming for a top-3 finish in the Legend Trophy for drivers aged 40 and over. In the Club Challenge, Alain Mosqueron and Florian Richard are still chasing the title in the regularity-based series.
The Autodrom Most hosted the fourth edition of the NASCAR GP Czech Republic and in front of tens of thousands of spectators the Speedhouse drivers proved to be a force in Europe's official NASCAR series. Lasserre is not only the leader of the team, but also one of the title contenders in EuroNASCAR PRO after a strong campaign so far. The Pau native has closed the gap on championship leader Gianmarco Ercoli with two top-10 finishes and one top-5 result at the challenging 4.212 kilometers track, which was hit by heavy rain on Sunday. Just two points separate the Italian and the Frenchman at the top of the standings.
Lasserre scored a solid fourth place in Saturday's race and with the championship leader in trouble, the Frenchman reduced the gap to just one point in the overall standings. On Sunday, the Speedhouse driver-owner had to gamble as the track dried out after heavy rain in the morning. He opted for rain tires, which wasn't the right decision for the second EuroNASCAR PRO race. He finished sixth as the best driver on wet tires, losing just one point to Ercoli. "We could have been in the top-3 in this race," said Lasserre. "I scored strong points for the championship. I thought about switching to slicks, but sixth on the wets wasn't too bad. It's all about consistency in this championship.”
Another driver right in the thick of the championship battle is Delsaux. The young Frenchman joined the team over the winter and has found a wonderful home with "racing, style and good times”. The 2018 EuroNASCAR 2 champion took the lead in the Junior Trophy with a one-point advantage over Vladimiros Tziortzis. Delsaux finished sixth and ninth under the checkered flag, earning a podium finish in the Junior Trophy in the Czech Republic. "Two top-10 finishes overall and second place in the Junior Trophy rounded off a good weekend for me," he said. "It's always great to be at Autodrom Most, one of my favorite tracks on the NWES calendar. I'm focused on improving my driving to get more top 5 results and win the Junior Trophy.”
Neo Lambert experienced a rollercoaster of emotions with ups and downs at Autodrom Most. An early retirement on Saturday meant only 19th place for the fast Frenchman, who made the step from the Club Challenge directly to EuroNASCAR PRO in 2023. On Sunday, Lambert almost scored a top-10 result with an eleventh-place finish. "All the drivers did a great job," said Lasserre about the performance of his teammates. "I feel very sorry for Neo, we put a lot of effort into rebuilding the car after the crash in Vallelunga. I'm sure Neo will have a great time and we will do everything to be successful in the future.”
In EuroNASCAR 2, Casoli continues to dominate the Lady Trophy standings. The Italian is the winningest driver in the special classification with 38 victories to her credit. The three-time Lady Trophy champion set the sails for her fourth title with two more runner-up finishes in the Czech Republic. Casoli holds a more than 100-point lead over her pursuers and is eager to set another NWES record. "It was a pleasure to return to Most," she said. "It's a great track with a lot of passionate fans out there. I had a good weekend and made good progress compared to last year. But with the weather changing, I wanted to bring the car home safely rather than push it to the limit. We scored good points in the championship.”
Matthias Hauer was finally back on the podium in the Legend Trophy. The German finished twelfth in Saturday's race, completing the top-3 in the special classification for drivers over 40. On Sunday, Hauer had to retire early, but still enjoyed a weekend full of emotions and thrilling races. "Most is amazing," he said. "I loved every second of the event with its impressive support program. Our car was perfectly prepared and the team did a great job. We improved on the details of the CA setup, but the weather was quite difficult to deal with. Third place in the Legend Trophy was a reward for the whole team and Lucas.” Fellow Legend Trophy rider Eric Quintal was ill and had to skip the races.
In the Club Challenge, Richard and Mosqueron both finished on the podium in the regularity-based series. In three 30-minute sessions on Friday, the Speedhouse drivers impressed with their consistency to take home two more trophies. The two Frenchmen are still in contention for the title as they sit second and third in the overall standings, just 16 and 17 points behind the championship leader. With two more Club Challenge events to go, Richard and Mosqueron are looking to strike again and take the overall lead.
"I had high goals for the weekend at Most," said Mosqueron, a two-time Club Challenge champion. "It's a track I really like and a place where I have a good rhythm in the car. We had some problems with the brakes during the sessions, which affected my pace. We worked hard and got third place in the end. We are keeping the pressure on the championship leader and we are still in the mix to win the title in the 2023 NWES season. We will keep up the good work and do our best at Oschersleben and Zolder to take the title.”
The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series continues on September 23-24 at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben in Germany. This is a new track for all NWES teams and promises to be an exciting finale to the regular season. Qualifying and all races will be streamed live and for free on the EuroNASCAR YouTube channel.
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