Hendriks Motorsport was in great form in qualifying for the 2019 Semi Finals. While Loris Hezemans will start in first position in the ELITE 1 Division, Giorgio Maggi was fastest at the wheel of the #50 Ford Mustang in the ELITE 2 Division Superpole.
Hezemans clocked a 1:32.160 lap around the Hockenheimring to grab the Pole Award for the first race of the NASCAR GP Germany exactly as he did in 2018. The Dutchman will have the best starting position for one of the most crucial races of the season but he will also have championship leader Stienes Longin alongside him on the first row of the grid. The Belgian was just 0.106 seconds slower than Hezemans.
“It’s great to grab back-to-back pole positions here at Hockenheim”, said Hezemans, who grabbed the second pole of his career. “For me it’s finally a pole, as I missed this opportunity about three times this year. I’m really happy with the result. Also congratulations are due to Giorgio! This shows how good the car was prepared by Hendriks Motorsport ahead of this weekend. Hopefully we can translate the qualifying pace into a good result in the race.”
Ending up third in Superpole, Nicolo Rocca is in the hunt of Hezemans and Longin, not only in the race but also in the points standings. The Italian ended up only 0.256 seconds behind the pole setter. CAAL Racing’s Thomas Ferrando was fourth ahead of Alexander Graff at the wheel of his #77 Memphis Racing Chevrolet Camaro, who closed the top-5.
Lucas Lasserre grabbed a solid sixth place in Superpole on his #33 Mishumotors Chevrolet Camaro, while RDV Competition’s Frederic Gabillon finished seventh ahead of Gianmarco Ercoli, Romain Iannetta and Salvador Tineo Arroyo, who rounded out the top-10.
Drama struck twice in the ELITE 1 Division qualifying. Title contender and three-time NWES champion Ander Vilarino did not made it into Superpole and will have to start 13th and carve his way up the ladder. Reigning champion Alon Day had to stop his car in Superpole due to a technical issue, hurting his ambitions to win his third NWES title in a row. He will start twelfth behind Jacques Villeneuve.
ELITE 1 RESULTS: QUALIFYING | SUPERPOLE
Maggi on a roll in ELITE 2 Division
Giorgio Maggi was quickest in ELITE 2 Division by clocking a spectacular 1:32.309 lap in his Hendriks Motorsport Mustang. The Swiss, who already leads the points standings, positioned himself in the best possible way for today’s double-points race, but being in Pole is no guarantee to win a race in Euro NASCAR’s most unpredictable category.
“I’m very happy, as I was lacking speed in yesterday’s practice”, said Maggi, who grabbed his third pole position in a row. “We took a look at the car to find out why we struggled and we found the right solution. We were almost one second faster in qualifying than yesterday in practice. I also managed to have a strong lap and here we are on pole! In the race every position counts, as the competitors are only a few points behind me. It will be crucial to score many points in the playoffs.”
Third in the points standings, Lasse Soerensen ended up second just 0.557 shy of the pole setter. The Dexwet-Df1 Racing driver is right in the middle of the championship battle despite missing the season opener at Valencia and will start on the first row alongside Maggi.
NWES newcomer Hugo De Sadeleer surprised the ELITE 2 Division field by setting the third fastest lap in Superpole. The Swiss was 0.941 seconds slower than Maggi, while title contender Vittorio Ghirelli ended up fourth head of Andre Castro, who will keep his championship hopes alive by closing the top-5.
Jesse Vartiainen showed great potential and ended up sixth ahead of Advait Deodhar and Nicholas Risitano. Pierluigi Veronesi and Ben Creanor, who is the youngest driver to compete full-time in NWES with his 16 years of age, rounded out the top-10. Myatt Snider missed a top spot on the grid by finishing eleventh ahead of local hero Justin Kunz.
The ELITE 2 Division qualifying session had to be red flagged due to a collision between Hendriks Motorsport’s Martin Doubek and Massimiliano Lanza in the #41 The Club Motorsport Camaro. Lanza was penalized for the incident with the cancellation of his three best lap times.
The Semi Finals of the NASCAR GP Germany will be streamed live at Fanschoice.tv, the NWES Facebook and YouTube pages, Motorsport.tv and a vast network of websites and social media pages from around the world.
ELITE 2 RESULTS: QUALIFYING | SUPERPOLE
