Martin Doubek powered his way through an early season injury to sweep the two OPEN races at Brands Hatch – The former two-time champion is not out of the title fight just yet
- Martin Doubek keeps his OPEN championship hopes alive with his double victory at the UK
- The Czech driver was hampered by an injury in Spain
- Doubek is provisionally only 70 points OPEN standings leader Thomas Toffel
Martin Doubek has achieved plenty of accolades in his long career in the NASCAR Euro Series. The Czech driver has the most career wins in the OPEN division and is the first to become a two-time champion in the most unpredictable division of the official European NASCAR championship. Despite all of his past success, Doubek’s victories in the 2026 NASCAR GP UK was arguably the sweetest so far. The 31-year old battled through mixed weather conditions, double duty participation and early season injury to score a commanding sweep in front of 42,000 British race fans. It wasn’t just a statement, it was a validation of Doubek’s fierce nature.
After missing out on a third title in 2025, Doubek entered the 2026 season with high ambitions. Unfortunately, his year ended almost as soon as it began: Doubek was involved in a multi-car collision in the first OPEN race at Spain that injured his arm. The injury forced Doubek to sit out the second OPEN race, costing the driver of the #7 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang even more points in the overall standings.
The Litomsyl native took his time after the NASCAR GP Spain to undergo surgery and heal his arm in time for the next event in France, held at Circuit Paul Ricard for the first time. The colorful track at Le Castellet was a challenge for everyone, but Doubek quickly mastered the 5.842 kilometer long circuit by grabbing the podium in V8GP Round 3 – his very first race after the surgery!
Unfortunately, more setbacks in the OPEN races left Doubek with an even bigger deficit heading to the American SpeedFest in the UK. Amidst the tricky weather and the exhaustion of doing both V8GP and OPEN, Doubek silenced the doubters: The Czech held off his rivals in the heavy rain conditions at OPEN Round 5 and repeated the feat when the heavens opened in OPEN Round 6 to secure a wonderful sweep, crowning him as the latest Prince of Brands Hatch.
“I didn’t start the season well, I had a crash in Valencia in the first OPEN race that forced me to have a surgery and recover for three weeks. In France I had a problem with the gearbox, so I didn’t finish another race. Now we have the first Victory Lane visits of the season, which are good points for sure. I will do all my best,” said Doubek at Brands Hatch.
Doubek is provisionally still 12th in the OPEN standings, but his gap to leader Thomas Toffel has been reduced to just 70 points. It is still a large deficit, but with one of his worst results dropped after the next round in the Czech Republic and the double points Playoffs to be held afterwards, the Hendriks Motorsport star is not out of the count just yet. The late Kyle Busch proved in the past that you can win the championship after an early season injury, so can Doubek repeat it in the 2026 OPEN title race? Find out after the summer break!
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
