After winning three Legend Trophy races in his 2021 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series part-time program, Melvin de Groot continued exactly where he left after last season. The Dutchman, who replaced the injured Michael Bleekemolen for the first time at Grobnik in 2021, has become a full-time competitor in the #69 Team Bleekemolen Ford Mustang and aims to win the Legend Trophy title for drivers aged 40 and more. With two consecutive wins at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, the 44-year-old swept the season opening weekend in dominant fashion.
A total of 14 drivers were eligible for the Legend Trophy classification in Spain. In Qualifying, de Groot wasn’t the fastest gentleman driver on track as Marko Stipp Motorsport’s Yevgen Sokolovskiy beat the Dutchman by 0.597 seconds in the 20-minutes session. The Ukrainian will for sure be one of the closest rivals in the battle for the 2022 Legend Trophy title but in the Valencia races, de Groot was unbeatable.
On Saturday, the Dutchman carved his way up the ranks to finish eighth under the checkered flag. He beat Sokolovskiy’s Marko Stipp Motorsport teammate Miguel Gomes by more than 18 seconds. Sokolovskiy closed the Legend Trophy podium in eleventh overall. With a strong pace, de Groot secured ninth place on the grid for Sunday’s EuroNASCAR 2 race.
This time, de Groot had a blast: the Dutchman defended his position inside the top-10 to cross the finish line in a strong tenth place. With another Legend Trophy win in his pockets, the Dutchman stepped on top of the podiums once again followed by the strong Marko Stipp Motorsport duo – this time in the opposite order, Sokolovskiy ahead of Gomes.
With two top-10 finishes in his bag, de Groot ranks eighth overall and of course first in the Legend Trophy with an eight-point advantage over Gomes. Sokolovskiy follows one further point back. The next stop is the Indy Circuit of Brands Hatch. The ninth edition of the popular American SpeedFest promises to deliver another exciting battle within the Legend Trophy.
The 2022 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will be back in action on June 11-12 in Great Britain. Qualifying and all races will be broadcast live on the official NWES YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and plenty of TV services from around the world.
EURONASCAR 2: POINTS STANDINGS | RESULTS | BRANDS HATCH SCHEDULE | WATCH LIVE
