Liam Hezemans topped practice in PRO, Thomas Toffel showed his potential by leading in OPEN – New teams Rette Jones Racing and M Racing showed their competitiveness right from the beginning
- Liam Hezemans led Paul Jouffreau to claim the top spot in PRO Free Practice
- Thomas Toffel made a statement after sweeping the top position in OPEN
- Newcomers Rette Jones Racing and M Racing got off to a good start
It’s officially time for the 2025 NASCAR Euro Series season to begin! Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Spain welcomes the EuroNASCAR gladiators for the traditional opening round for Europe’s official NASCAR championship. Drivers from PRO and OPEN took to the track on Friday for two Free Practice sessions each to optimize their setups. Newcomers and veterans all come out swinging, but it’s the new blood who came out on top with Liam Hezemans and Thomas Toffel bringing their new teams Rette Jones Racing and M Racing to first place in the combined timesheets. The potential is there for the new guns to continue their surprises in a must see Qualifying on Saturday.
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PRO: Hezemans sets the pace
Liam Hezemans not only confirmed his strong pace from the official Prologue on Thursday, but also showed that Rette Jones Racing with Hendriks Motorsport is in the mix right from the start. With a time of 1:41.263, the Dutchman led the combined free practice standings after two 30-minute sessions on Friday. But the gap to the second placed driver was as small as possible: RDV Competition’s Paul Jouffreau was just 0.027 seconds off the Dutchman’s fastest lap. The Frenchman underlined his ambition to be a contender for the PRO title in 2025. The overall top-2 also lead the Junior Trophy.
Yvan Muller proved that despite his break from active racing, he has not lost any of his racing skills. The M Racing team principal jumped into the #34 Chevrolet and quickly adapted to the V8 EuroNASCAR cars. The four-time WTCC world champion was third fastest, just 0.241 seconds behind former OPEN champion and PRO title contender Hezemans. Reigning NASCAR Euro Series champion Vittorio Ghirelli followed in fourth ahead of Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, who impressed with a late charge to the front.
PK Carsport’s Thomas Krasonis not only finished sixth, but also completed the Junior Trophy top-3. Former EuroNASCAR champion Gianmarco Ercoli finished seventh, while Bremotion’s Garret Lowe scored a top-10 result in his first ever EuroNASCAR practice session. Speedhouse duo Giorgio Maggi and Vladimiros Tziortzis rounded out the top-10. Leading the Challenger Trophy in eleventh place was Academy / Caffi Motorsport’s Claudio Cappelii, ahead of Marko Stipp Motorsport’s Davit Kajaia in 17th and Team Japan Needs24’s Kenko Miura in 18th. Track limit violations kept the stewards busy as some laps had to be erased, but the drivers used Free Practice to sort out the limits and find the maximum pace for Saturday’s qualifying session.
OPEN: Toffel leads both sessions
Thomas Toffel opened a new chapter of his career by spearheading M Racing’s efforts in the OPEN division. Toffel showed the potential of the newcomers by putting the #34 Chevrolet Camaro on top of the standings in both sessions. The Swiss took the lead in the first session from early leader Gil Linster and extended his advantage in the second session, becoming the only driver to set a lap time in under 1:42 with a best of 1:41.988.
Thomas Krasonis trailed Toffel closely despite issues in the first session costing the Greek some precious track time. A time of 1:42.189 allowed Krasonis to claim second, just 0.006 ahead of Claudio Cappelli who topped the Legend Trophy. Patrick Schober came in fourth ahead of Linster and Thomas Dombrowski, the latter finishing as the fastest in the brand new Master Trophy.
Reigning champion Martin Doubek started his season in seventh ahead of Bruno Mulders, who was second in the Master class. Kenko Miura and Melvin de Groot completed the top-10 positions and the top-3 in Legend Trophy. Georgia’s Sandro Tavartkiladze put his country on the map with an 11th place result, which was enough for a third place finish in the Master Trophy. Arianna Casoli was fastest in the Lady Trophy after trading positions with the debuting Happinessa throughout Free Practice.
Teams and drivers will get a time to rest before they face their first Qualifying and Race of the season on Saturday. All of the information that they’ve gathered during the Free Practice will be vital to determine the winners of NASCAR GP Spain. Make sure you’re tuning in to EuroNASCAR’s official YouTube channel and TV channels around the world as the action from the season opener will be broadcasted live.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
