Kenko Miura opened his 2025 OPEN campaign as the leader of Legend Trophy exiting the NASCAR GP Spain – The Team Japan Needs24 driver scored his first overall podium finish in six years
- Kenko Miura leads the Legend Trophy and is also second in the overall championship
- Melvin de Groot and Roberto Benedetti are Miura’s closest contenders
- Arianna Casoli leads Happinessa Racing in the Lady Trophy battle
Kenko Miura made the perfect start to his 2025 NASCAR Euro Series campaign. The Japanese veteran driver leads the Legend Trophy after an impressive performance at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, the home of the NASCAR GP Spain. Miura took advantage of the first lap drama in OPEN Round 2 to score not only a Legend Trophy win, but also his first overall podium finish in six and a half years. The Team Japan Needs24 driver coupled this result with a runner-up Trophy finish in Round 1, becoming the leader of the special classification after two exciting races in front of 19,000 fans. Miura is also second in the overall OPEN Championship, just one point behind leader Gil Linster.
“I got on the podium for the second time, so yes I’m happy!” said Miura after his stunning drive. “Yesterday I had some issues, but today we got better. The car has no problems, I’m confident to keep pushing hard. On the last lap I passed another driver and that got me third place.”
The other driver in question was Melvin de Groot, who is Miura’s closest challenger in Legend Trophy. The tall Dutchman driving for Team Bleekemolen once again showed his prowess by taking home the top spot in OPEN Round 01 ahead of Miura. He then ran in the Legend Trophy lead and third overall for most of Round 02, but tire management difficulties left him unable to fend off Miura in the closing stages of the race. De Groot still took home a runner-up finish in the Trophy, minimizing his total disadvantage down to just five points.
Roberto Benedetti ran a quiet, but consistent set of races in Spain. Two podiums in the Legend Trophy meant that the Italian left Valencia third in the trophy classification. Sven van Laere made an unexpected return to the championship and found himself fourth in the Legend Trophy. The defending overall winner Claudio Remigio Cappelli did not have the best weekend in Spain, but his speed makes him an ever present threat heading to his home round at Autodromo Vallelunga, located close to the Italian capital of Rome.
The NASCAR GP Spain also witnessed a fascinating battle in the Lady Trophy between Arianna Casoli, the most experienced driver in OPEN’s history, and Happinessa Racing, the debutant for Bremotion. Happinessa beat Casoli in Qualifying, but Casoli used her experience to defeat Happinessa in both races. With a tally of 47 points, the Italian holds an advantage of four points to the German after the opening weekend.
The passionate Italian tifosi will witness another chapter in the battle for the Legend Trophy and Lady Trophy when EuroNASCAR returns to the country for the 2025 edition of NASCAR GP Italy on May 17-18. Make sure you tune in to not only the official EuroNASCAR YouTube channel and TV channels around the world for all live qualifying and race broadcasts, but also the official EuroNASCAR social media accounts on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest updates from the European NASCAR championship.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
