Martin Doubek bested Raphael Lessard with a brave three-wide move to confirm his NASCAR GP UK OPEN division sweep – The Czech driver reignited his title bid and was crowned as the Prince of Brands Hatch
- Martin Doubek is crowned as the 2026 Prince of Brands Hatch
- The former two-time OPEN champion scored two round wins in the NASCAR GP UK
- Doubek, Raphael Lessard and Sandro Tavartkiladze made the move of the weekend by going three-wide
Never count out Martin Doubek. After confirming his status as one of the top OPEN drivers with his victory in the mixed weather conditions on Saturday, the Czech driver completed his comeback after he swept the competition in Round 6. And what a way to do it too! Doubek went three-wide alongside Raphael Lessard and Sandro Tavartkiladze on lap 20 to climb up from third to first in a single overtake. It is undoubtedly the move of the NASCAR GP UK weekend and it’ll be remembered as one of the greatest passes for the win in the NASCAR Euro Series history.
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“I had to wait many laps for this moment, but it was nice,” said Doubek in front of the passionate British fans in Victory Lane. “Twelve years of experience is paying off! I knew that the moment would happen when I saw the drivers in front of me bunched up, so I had to wait for a mistake and then it was my time. It was a nice feeling and then I built a three second gap to the drivers behind. I have no words now, the excitement will come later!”
Lessard was satisfied with important points gained from his runner-up finish, but there was a sense of relief for the Canadian as well. Alumitec Racing worked overtime to get his #11 Ford Mustang ready after teammate Gianmarco Ercoli ran into mechanical problems in the preceding V8GP race and they finished their work just in time.
The podium was completed by Thomas Dombrowski, who completed his “revenge” tour at Brands Hatch. After his horrifying crash in 2025, a maiden pole position and a podium was a satisfying result to be obtained by the Frenchman on his return to the historic circuit that formerly hosted Formula One races in the country.
Tavartkiladze went to the lead from fourth on the grid in the opening lap, but an overall podium wasn’t meant to be just yet. The Georgian still took home the top prize in the Master Trophy in fourth place. Right behind him was Gil Linster, who gained ground on title rival Thomas Toffel. Valentino Gambarotto and Jens Beeusaert joined Tavartkiladze on the Master Trophy podium in seventh and eighth respectively.
Claudio Cappelli claimed the Legend Trophy win in ninth despite a very brief career switch from a pure racing NASCAR driver to a rallycross expert. Robin Bleekemolen’s impressive OPEN debut continued with another top-10 finish, allowing the third generation Bleekemolen driver to win the Lady Trophy in both rounds. Teammate Melvin de Groot and Francesco Leogrande completed the Legend Trophy podium in 13th and 20th while Beitske Visser and Mariam Davitidze shared the Lady Trophy podium with Robin in 14th and 17th.
The weekend in the UK was rough for Toffel, but his advantage prior to the round allowed the Swiss driver to maintain his lead to Linster in the overall standings by just two points. Lessard moved up to third and coincidentally was also three points behind the THT by Race Art driver. Thomas Dombrowski is a further 10 points behind in fourth. Claudio Cappelli keeps his top-5 spot to retain his overall Legend Trophy lead. Maxim van Laere – who finished 16th – and Visser also stayed in the overall lead for the Master and Lady Trophy in eighth and ninth places respectively. Martin Doubek moved up to 12th, 70 points behind Toffel with three NASCAR Euro Series events still to go.
The NASCAR Euro Series will return on 29-30 August for the NASCAR GP Czech Republic at Autodrom Most. The round at Czechia will be important for the competitors as it represents the final opportunity for them to score as many points before their worst result is dropped for the double points Playoffs in Italy and Belgium. As always, you can find out where to watch the action from https://www.nascar.eu/watch/.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
