The 2025 Valencia Prologue at Circuit Ricardo Tormo offered drivers a final test ahead of the season opener – The drivers praised the new sequential gearbox
- The Valencia Prologue was the last opportunity to prepare for the season opener
- Many drivers got a taste of the new sequential gearbox for the first time
- The #30 Rette Jones Racing Ford Mustang was the fastest car on track
The Prologue at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on April 10th was the last opportunity for the NASCAR Euro Series teams and drivers to test their cars before the official season opener in Spain on April 12th and 13th. Many drivers got their first taste of the new Samsonas 5-speed sequential gearbox, which was introduced for the 2025 season. The upgrade has been well received by drivers who like the balance in the car due to the additional gear and the shifter. The #30 Rette Jones Racing Ford Mustang posted the fastest lap of the testing sessions. Here are the reactions from the drivers who participated in the official Prologue.
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Teams entered 24 cars for the 2025 season opener in three separate divisions: PRO, OPEN and Rookie Challenge. Reigning PRO champion Vittorio Ghirelli got off to a solid start at the wheel of the #24 PK Carsport Chevrolet Camaro. “It was all good and we fine-tuned the car a bit,” said the Italian. “We’re trying out a few things to make improvements. The gearbox is nice and a lot of fun. We just want to go for it!”
Ghirelli’s arch-rival Gianmarco Ercoli had a solid run in his #11 Alumitec Ford. “The feeling is good and the new gearbox makes a big difference. We started to gear up for maximum performance. Thanks to the new gearbox you can concentrate much better on your driving style. You can control the gear changes a lot better and you can really attack in the car.” Paul Jouffreau, another RDV Competition title contender, echoed Ercoli’s sentiments. “It was nice and I tried the new gearbox, it was really fun,” the Frenchman said. “The car has a more sporty balance now and you have to change gears a lot. It’s an amazing feeling for a driver. We will now focus on optimizing the setup.”
Reigning OPEN champion Martin Doubek took the wheel of the #7 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang for the first time since winning the championship in October 2024. “It was good,” said the Czech. “It was the first time I used the new gearbox and I like it. Of course, we are still working on improving the setup for the race weekend.” Bremotion’s Dominique Schaak took his seat in the #99 Chevrolet. “I’m really happy that the season is finally starting. The winter was very long and we needed to shake off the dust. The new gearbox is a lot of fun and I love the track here, but we feel that a break of almost six months is a long time.”
“Nothing special,” said M Racing’s Thomas Toffel after his first laps in the #34 Chevrolet, which he tested at Circuit Ricardo Tormo during the winter. “We tried something to make the car fast. At the moment I feel good.” Rookie Valentino Gambarotto, who completed his first laps as Ercoli’s teammate, enjoyed the 4.005-kilometer track. “It was wonderful! I love the track and I had a good feeling in the car. We were out there on used tires and we are working on the front brakes of the car to improve the balance. Hopefully we can improve our lap times over the course of the race weekend.”
Rette Jones Racing’s #30 Ford Mustang was the fastest car in the prologue with a 1:40.947, followed by Speedhouse’s #64 Mustang. RDV Competition’s #3 Ford finished third in the combined standings of Thursday’s two 1.5-hour sessions. Lap times may not be representative as teams and drivers used the official Prologue as a shakedown to get used to the new transmission and test different scenarios for the race weekend. Many drivers also used the used sets of tires. The official 2025 season kicks off on Friday with three Rookie Challenge sessions and a total of four Free Practice sessions for the PRO and OPEN classes – two in each category. Qualifying and four races will follow on Saturday and Sunday – April 12-13 – and will be streamed live on the EuroNASCAR YouTube channel.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
