The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series features two main divisions: the top championship EuroNASCAR PRO is intended for professional drivers and elite amateurs, while EuroNASCAR 2 is catered towards young talents and gentleman drivers. Two drivers can share the exact same car, but a team can also field the same driver in both championships, if eligible. Vladimiros Tziortzis has chosen to do double duty for his fourth season in the series, in which he is racing Academy / Alex Caffi Motorsport’s #5 EuroNASCAR FJ to great success in both EuroNASCAR PRO and EuroNASCAR 2 so far.
Despite being only 26 years old, Tziortzis is a true veteran of the sport. The Cypriot made his debut in 2020 with Alex Caffi Motorsport and finished fourth in the EuroNASCAR 2 standings after scoring his first podiums on the final round at Valencia. More podium finishes and his first Pole Position came the following year before he broke through with his first victory in 2022. Tziortzis closed the season third in points and felt that it was the right time for him to move up and make his debut in EuroNASCAR’s top division for 2023.
However, just before the season began, Tziortzis announced that he would also race in EuroNASCAR 2. The decision paid off as he started his EuroNASCAR 2 campaign with four back-to-back victories. While the streak ended at Vallelunga, a podium finish in Italy helped him to keep a 13-point lead from Alberto Naska at the top of the championship. He also has been successful in EuroNASCAR PRO, grabbing a Pole Position and a podium finish on his debut race. There have been some setbacks, but Tziortzis was consistently challenging at the top of the pack. He currently sits seventh in the overall standings and second in the Junior Trophy, just seven points away from the special classification’s leader Ulysse Delsaux.
Given the increased responsibility of racing the #5 EuroNASCAR FJ in both divisions, how has Tziortzis familiarized himself with the performance of his competitors in the top division? “As we saw, the level and the speed of the top drivers in both categories are almost the same,” said Tziortzis on the topic. “The main difference is that in EuroNASCAR PRO you have more drivers chasing the fastest lap within the same tenth of a second. There are more drivers close to each other.”
Did Tziortzis find his results to be satisfactory? “The first half of the season was very good for me,” explained the Cypriot. “The results could be better or course in EuroNASCAR PRO if we didn’t get hit by Ghirelli in Round 2 at Valencia and we didn’t suffer a mechanical DNF in Round 3 in Brands Hatch, but we are already past that. We already scored many good points and we managed to climb back to seventh in standings.”
“Within EuroNASCAR 2, I’m very happy with my performance as we managed to score four back to back wins and one more podium,” continued Tziortzis. “I was lucky that at least I finished the weekend with good points for the championship in Vallelunga with the problems we had to face. We had brake issues in every session plus extremely high water and oil temperatures as well. The problems that we had in Vallelunga could cost me a lot so I feel blessed that at least we finished it.”
With three more events still to go, including the Finals at Zolder that will award double points, Tziortzis is looking to maintain the form that he has when the season resumes at the end of the summer break. “For the second half, my goal is to keep the consistency and to give my all in both categories. Of course we are hoping to win the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship but we also have to push until the end for the EuroNASCAR PRO category to win the Junior Trophy. I believe we have the speed to be in the top-3 on the overall standings.”
The 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will return to action at Autodrom Most for the NASCAR GP Czech Republic on 26-27 August. All races and Qualifying sessions will be broadcast on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and various television services around the world.
Featured image by NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
