Gianmarco Ercoli and Raphael Lessard gave Alumitec Racing the perfect qualifying at the season opener in Valencia – The Italian and the Canadian will have the advantage heading to the first race of the 2026 season
- Alumitec Racing secured the first Strom Watches Pole Award in 2026
- Ercoli led main adversary Ghirelli and Jouffreau in a thrilling V8GP duel
- Lessard stamped Alumitec’s domination with maiden OPEN pole position
The perfect start for Alumitec Racing in NASCAR GP Spain continued with an excellent qualifying for Gianmarco Ercoli and Raphael Lessard, the drivers of the #11 Ford Mustang. Having led the combined times in practice on Friday, Ercoli and Lessard maintained their advantage by clinching the first Strom Watches Pole Award of the 2026 season. After the best seat on the starting grid was secured, the Italian and the Canadian can now put their efforts into transforming their qualifying result into a victory in the thrilling set of races that will be contested at Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
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V8GP: Ercoli leads all three stages
The brand new qualifying format for the V8GP division is officially a success. The rapid fire system featuring three sessions gave fans not only surprises, but also amazing performances from those who stayed consistent from start to finish. No driver did it better than Gianmarco Ercoli, who fended off challenges from Vittorio Ghirelli, Paul Jouffreau and Jordan O’Brien to put the #11 Ford Mustang on top across all sessions.
With a time of 1:41.586, the Italian was awarded with his first Strom Watches Pole Award of the year – his eleventh overall in the top division of the official European NASCAR championship.
“I’m happy, it’s always incredible! Yesterday we worked very hard and this morning I did the three qualifying sessions posting the same lap times all the way. It’s a big pressure for me and for Alumitec Racing, it’s their first year as an independent team and we started really well. Now it’s important work for Round 1 and later for Round 2,” said Ercoli after the Superpole.
Ghirelli rose to the occasion to put the #24 PK Carsport Chevrolet in the front row, a good start for the Italian’s quest to become a first consecutive three-time V8GP champion. Jouffreau showed that he is hungry for success and delivered with a third place result for the driver of the #3 RDV Competition Ford. The Frenchman also led the Junior Trophy special classification for drivers aged 25 and under.
O’Brien validated his strong performance from practice to put the #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford in fourth. The American secured a last-minute deal with Hendriks and utilized every opportunity that he could get in his V8GP debut in Spain. Thomas Toffel completed the top-5 ahead of Vinnie Meskelis and Thomas Krasonis, who both filled the top-3 positions in Junior Trophy.
Nelson Piquet Jr., Fabrizio Armetta and Martin Doubek rounded out the top-10. Davit Kajaia was the fastest in the Challenger Trophy classification in 15th, leading Giovanni Cartechini and Kenko Miura in the battle for the elite amateurs of the championship.
OPEN: Lessard seven tenths clear
Raphael Lessard’s dream debut in the OPEN division continues with a stellar performance in qualifying. The Canadian ensured that Alumitec Racing will be the team to beat in Spain after clocking an incredible 1:41.222 lap time, more than seven tenths of a second ahead of Thomas Toffel who will accompany Lessard in the front row.
Lessard was overjoyed with emotions, but understood that qualifying was only the first of many steps that needed to be completed over the weekend. The goal is therefore clear for the 24-year old: stay in front during the race and take home the checkered flag.
“It was amazing! I pushed as hard as I could. The team said to push as hard as possible on the last lap and that’s what I did. I kept missing my marks, but this time I made a perfect lap. I can’t thank my team enough, my sponsors Alumitec and Rousseau Metal, all the people that are watching from Quebec as they made this happen,” said Lessard after receiving his Strom Watches Pole Award.
Vladimiros Tziortzis bounced back from his practice crash to put the #6 Speedhouse Ford in third position. Already a three-time winner at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in OPEN, the Cypriot is looking for his fourth win at the 4.005 kilometer track in 2026. Hendriks Motorsport teammates Gil Linster and Martin Doubek completed the top-5 ahead of Thomas Dombrowski.
First place in the Master Trophy went to Sandro Tavartkiladze, who continued his hot streak with a seventh place result. Following behind Tavartkiladze were the other two trophy leaders: Miura eyes for back-to-back podiums in Spain as the fastest among the Legend Trophy in eighth. Ninth went to Lady Trophy’s leader Beitske Visser, who put an inspiring drive to make it to Superpole on her debut with Rehberg + Bremotion Racing.
Valentino Gambarotto completed the Superpole participants and came home third in the Master Trophy. Three-time Legend Trophy champion Melvin de Groot will have his work cut out from 11th on the grid. The Dutchman was second in his special classification, just ahead of Team Bleekemolen teammate Michael Bleekemolen who qualified 15th. Lady Trophy’s top-3 positions were rounded by Mariam Davitidze and Happinessa, who both improved rapidly as they gained more experience behind the wheel of the pure racing cars.
The action on Saturday will resume when the famous words “drivers, start your engines!” are uttered for the first time in the 2026 season. The V8GP will have their race at 13:55 CEST, with OPEN ending the day’s proceedings at 16:55 CEST. Make sure you keep up with NASCAR Euro Series’ official website and social media accounts for the latest updates and visit www.nascar.eu/watch to find out where you can watch the exciting battles from NASCAR GP Spain.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
