Gianmarco Ercoli vanquished his demons at Autodrom Most with a commanding victory in PRO Round 7 – Martin Doubek made the home fans happy in second, while Garrett Lowe celebrated his maiden podium
- Gianmarco Ercoli translated his pole position to PRO career win #13
- Martin Doubek tied career best PRO result in second
- Garrett Lowe fought hard to secure his first top-3 finish
Autodrom Most has not given Gianmarco Ercoli the results he wanted lately, after he missed the podium in both 2023 and 2024 with fifth place as his best finish, but the 2025 PRO Round 7 marked an important step forward for the Italian. After securing his first pole position in qualifying at the 4.212 kilometer circuit, Ercoli put in a commanding drive to lead from the start all the way to the checkered flag and grab his first win in the Czech Republic and his first top-3 finish in Most since 2022. With his demons at Most vanquished, the Alumitec Racing driver celebrated his 13th win in PRO and also gained the provisional lead in the overall standings heading to Round 8 on Sunday.
“It’s an incredible emotion because it’s my first win from the front row at this track,” said the 2023 PRO champion in Victory Lane. “Most hasn’t given me the best results in the past, so I stayed focused during the summer break. It was an impressive job from the team because the car was perfect. We only had little problems at the end of the race, but I’m happy with the results and the starting position for tomorrow,” said the Italian, who will start second on Sunday.
Martin Doubek gave his best shot to challenge Ercoli after passing Lowe on the run to the first corner, but quickly found the Italian’s speed to be too hot. He therefore saved his tires and took home second in the hopes that it would lead to a better result in Round 8. Lowe also got passed by Thomas Krasonis early in the race, but the American showed determination and retaliated on lap 7 to bring home his first piece of overall silverware in the NASCAR Euro Series. The Bremotion driver also took home the win in the Junior Trophy for drivers aged 25 and under.
Krasonis conceded defeat to Lowe and held off Fabrizio Armetta for fourth, still grabbing important points for his title bid. Sebastiaan Bleekemolen finished sixth ahead of third place Junior Trophy finisher Jack Davidson, who got in perfect physical shape in the summer break. Giorgio Maggi was eighth ahead of Paul Jouffreau, who was penalized for a contact with Liam Hezemans. Bruno Mulders completed the top-10 results ahead of rookie Czech Michal Makes, who performed competitively in his PRO debut. Claudio Cappelli won the battle in Challenger Trophy in 12th and was joined by Massimiliano Lanza and Thomas Toffel on the podium in 16th and 17th place overall.
Several major contenders found trouble in the 17-lap race at Most. Liam Hezemans and Vittorio Ghirelli were forced to retire from the race, but not before they put in a competitive lap time to ensure a starting grid position on Sunday. Ghirelli in particular gave his all to clock in the fastest lap time of 1:41.133, which will give the reigning champion the best seat in the house for Round 8. Hezemans also clocked a fast lap, but had to park his car due to fuel pump issues.
Ercoli’s third consecutive victory handed him the provisional lead in the overall standings with 246 points. Ghirelli dropped to second with 229 points, but will have a chance to strike back in Round 8 from pole position. Krasonis in third position maintains a slim two point lead in the Junior Trophy to his rival Jouffreau, who is fourth overall ahead of Bleekemolen. Cappelli is the leader of the Challenger Trophy in 14th position overall.
The PRO drivers will have time to prepare things for the last race of the regular season on Sunday, but the Saturday action continues with OPEN’s Round 7 that is scheduled to go live at 17:25 PM CEST. Be sure to tune in to the official EuroNASCAR YouTube channel and TV channels around the world if you don’t want to miss out on the excitement.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
