After a tough start to the 2024 season, Melvin de Groot made is back at the top of the EuroNASCAR 2 Legend Trophy – The Dutchman chases his third consecutive title
Melvin de Groot is the man to beat in the Legend Trophy for drivers aged 40 and over. The Team Bleekemolen driver has won the title twice in a row in 2022 and 2023 and is looking to tie Jerry de Weerdt’s record of three consecutive class wins. De Groot had a tough start to the season, but the Dutchman never gave up and returned to the top of the standings with two outstanding races at the Autodrom Most. After dropping his worst result of the regular season, de Groot enters the double points playoffs seventh overall and first in the Legend Trophy.
Two overall podiums: de Groot was unstoppable in the Czech Republic, even battling with Martin Doubek for victory on Sunday. De Groot missed out on his first EuroNASCAR 2 win, but led the Legend Trophy class twice during the weekend with a huge lead over his rivals. Not only did he close the gap, but he also took over the class lead with 228 points. His 14-point lead over Team Bleekemolen teammate Michael Bleekemolen makes him the favorite to win the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Trophy at Oschersleben and Zolder.
Bleekemolen was the leader heading into the regular season finale at the Autodrom Most and the 74-year-old is still one of the contenders for the Legend Trophy. Ninth in the overall standings and 14 points behind de Groot, the Dutchman will continue to rely on consistency to fight his way back to the top of the standings and claim his first class title. But there’s another rider looking to knock de Groot off his throne: Claudio Cappelli. Like de Groot, the Italian was unlucky in the first half of the season, but a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s race at Most gave him some momentum. The Academy / Alex Caffi Motorsport driver is tenth in the standings, just three points behind Bleekemolen.
Arianna Casoli not only leads the Lady Trophy, the Italian is also fourth in the Legend Trophy after a visit to the class podium on Sunday at Most. She is ahead of Roberto Benedetti, Sven van Laere, Kenko Miura, Giovanni Faraonio, Alain Grand and Eric Quintal. The battle for the Legend Trophy could be decided by race wins in EuroNASCAR 2 with both De Groot and Cappelli being close to win a race several times in the 2024 NWES season. Bleekemolen’s consistency could also be the key, so everything is up for grabs. Watch all the playoff races on EuroNASCAR’s YouTube channel.
Featured image by NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Julien Ramos
