Paul Jouffreau defended his lead in a thrilling start to win PRO Round 3 at Autodromo di Vallelunga – The Frenchman led Gianmarco Ercoli and Vittorio Ghirelli in an exciting race
- Paul Jouffreau led from pole position to the checkered flag
- The RDV Competition driver survived an elbows-out battle with Ghirelli
- The Frenchman reclaims first position in the championship standings
The streak of Italian drivers winning the last five races in Vallelunga has been broken by Paul Jouffreau. The Frenchman executed his start perfectly and defended his #3 RDV Competition Ford Mustang from challenges in the first laps to secure victory in PRO Round 3 at Autodromo di Vallelunga. The 4.085 kilometer circuit located close to Rome had previously seen Jouffreau’s first podium and win in OPEN and now, the Frenchman returned to the Victory Lane as an established PRO star and title contender.
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On lap 2 Jouffreau and Vittorio Ghirelli had a moment when they ran side-by-side heading to the heavy braking zone of Turn 4. Jouffreau held the inside line, but the Frenchman locked up his tires resulting in the race winner to keep the lead while his Italian rival went wide to the outside. This moment opened the door for Gianmarco Ercoli to move up to second, a position that he defended well for the remainder of the race despite being under enormous pressure. Ghirelli had to settle for third, but the reigning PRO champion was happy with the fastest lap as it earned him the pole position for PRO Round 4 on Sunday.
“It was the plan to exit the second turn in the lead,” said Jouffreau, who also secured the victory in the Junior Trophy. “I was defending like a lion in the first turns and then they nudged each other. Ghirelli tried something that nobody should do. It’s like that but we fight for the championship, so it’s normal. He set the benchmark on how we are going to fight for the rest of the season. We are happy with the outcome of the race but tomorrow we will start from sixth so we have a lot of work to do.”
Jouffreau held Ghirelli responsible for the slight contact they made, while his rival saw a mistake done by the Frenchman. “I literally passed him on the outside. He went off the brakes and locked up. I went like 50 meters wide,” said Ghirelli about the situation. In the end race control decided not to take any further action after reviewing the incident that created a typical NASCAR “rubbing is racing’” moment between the two title contenders and thrilled every stock car racing fan from all around the world. Tight battles and hard but fair moves kept thousands of motorsports enthusiasts on their feet on the grandstands of the Autodromo di Vallelunga.
Martin Doubek had a great race and finished in fourth, merely missing out on his first PRO podium in 2025. Thomas Krasonis had a busy, but yet fun time in his PK Carsport machine. The Greek scored important points in fifth position and also brought home a runner-up finish in the Junior Trophy for drivers aged 25 and under. Sebastiaan Bleekemolen held off Fabrizio Armetta and Garrett Lowe for sixth. US racer Lowe claimed his first piece of EuroNASCAR silverware with his first Junior Trophy podium result in third of the class.
Vladimiros Tziortzis and Julien Rehberg completed the top-10, with Rehberg narrowly holding off series veterans Ulysse Delsaux and Marc Goossens to the finish. Rehberg grabbed the bonus points for most positions gained, having climbed seven positions over the course of the 18-lap race. Max Lanza in 13th secured a home win in the Challenger Trophy, leading home Michael Bleekemolen and Claudio Cappelli. Cappelli was hampered by suspension issues, a problem that also forced the retirement of top contender Liam Hezemans after he ran on the sausage kerbs while battling for a spot on the podium.
Jouffreau now leads the PRO championship with 114 points, with Krasonis trailing in second place, seven points behind. Ghirelli is in third place, 12 points shy of the championship leader. Ercoli and Bleekemolen are tied in fourth and fifth place. Lowe is third in the Junior Trophy and sixth overall, just ahead of Yvan Muller, Rehberg, Vladimiros Tziortzis and Hezemans, who round out the top-10. Davit Kajaia still leads the Challenger Trophy, but Lanza is close behind with just one point separating them after the Italian’s class win on home soil.
The PRO teams will now optimize the setups of the cars for the headlining PRO Round 4 on Sunday. Another 18-lap thriller awaits them, but in between that OPEN teams are preparing themselves for their Round 3 that will go live at 16:40 CEST on Saturday afternoon. Catch up to the OPEN race live from the official EuroNASCAR YouTube channel and TV channels all around the world.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
