Thomas Toffel leads the NASCAR Euro Series OPEN championship after sweeping the two races of NASCAR GP Spain in Valencia – The Swiss driver defeated Thomas Dombrowski and Gil Linster after a dramatic twist in the tale of OPEN Round 2
- Thomas Toffel doubled his OPEN wins tally in a space of 24 hours
- Thomas Dombrowski and Gil Linster brought home the silverware
- A penalty costed Raphael Lessard a chance at his maiden victory
Round 2 for the NASCAR Euro Series OPEN drivers at the 2026 NASCAR GP Spain brought a late twist to the results. Canadian Raphael Lessard was looking to avenge his electrical problems from OPEN Round 1 with a commanding victory on Sunday, but the Alumitec Racing driver was handed a penalty for speeding under FCY. The situation promoted Thomas Toffel to the Victory Lane, allowing the Swiss driver to celebrate the double win with his team THT by Race Art Technology as he exited the opener at Valencia as the championship leader.
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“I feel really good! That’s the perfect weekend for the OPEN division,” said Toffel in Victory Lane. “I would have preferred to finish second and that he should have won because Lessard was faster. His pace was better, so we have to progress forward a little bit. I lost a lot of traction towards the end, so it was difficult to stay in front of Dombrowski and Linster. But in any case, the rules are the rules. That’s only Lessard’s second weekend in the NASCAR Euro Series, I had the same problem at the start of my career so I’m sure he will be there for the rest of the season.”
Toffel was engaged in a race long battle with Thomas Dombrowski and Gil Linster that was thrilling and fair. The Frenchman and the Luxembourger completed the podium to bring home important points for their championship hopes. Vladimiros Tziortzis followed up his top-5 comeback drive from Round 1 with a fourth place finish. The Cypriot was ahead of Lessard, who ended up fifth after his penalty was applied.
Claudio Cappelli found himself in another great scrap for the Legend Trophy, having to fend off a hard charging Kenko Miura to narrowly grab the top silverware in sixth position. Miura not only secured second place in Legend Trophy: the Japanese driver also took the bonus points for most positions gained after starting from 21st position.
Master Trophy winner Sandro Tavartkiladze also completed an excellent charge forward, going up from 20th position on the grid to eighth at the checkered flag. Melvin de Groot rounded out the Legend Trophy podium in ninth place ahead of Beitske Visser, who validated her potential in a #77 Rehberg + Bremotion Racing Camaro with working power steering. Happinessa and Mariam Davitidze rounded out the Lady Trophy podium, both drivers separated by just one second from each other after an intense battle.
With a perfect 80 points, Toffel holds the early championship advantage ahead of Linster and Legend Trophy leader Cappelli, who both have 69 points to their name. Tziortzis and de Groot follow behind in fourth and fifth, right in front of Lessard who is poised for a comeback in the next round at France. Dombrowski, Master Trophy leader Maxim van Laere, Giovanni Faraonio and Michael Bleekemolen fill the top-10 positions with Lady Trophy leader Happinessa trailing behind in 11th, one point ahead of Visser.
The high octane action from NASCAR GP Spain will conclude with V8GP Round 2, which is scheduled to go live at 13:55 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 to watch the incredible action from Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
