A late caution led to a single lap shootout in OPEN Round 7 at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic – With a last lap pass, Alumitec Racing’s Raphael Lessard took his second win of the 2026 season
- Raphael Lessard mastered a phenomenal last lap pass to win OPEN Round 7 at Autodrom Most
- It was the second win of the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series season for the Canadian
- Championship leader Thomas Toffel had to settle in second place
They always say that it’s not over until it’s really over and for Raphael Lessard, the last lap magic worked wonders for Round 7 of the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series season. The Canadian driver patiently waited behind Thomas Toffel for thirteen laps and took his opportunity when it presented itself on the final restart. Lessard got alongside his Swiss rival and made a beautiful pass at the tricky Autodrom Most chicane to snatch away the victory from Toffel. It represents the second victory for the Alumitec Racing driver, solidifying his status as one of the OPEN division’s primary title protagonists.
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Lessard and Toffel got a chance to break away from the field after an incident in the first restart between Jens Beeusaert, Martin Doubek and Claudio Cappelli. Thomas Dombrowski led this pack heading to the last laps and while he was unable to find a way past the two leaders, he did enough with his PK Carsport machine to grab his fourth consecutive podium finish. Gil Linster and Vladimiros Tziortzis collected important championship points with a top-5 finish.
“In the last restart I knew I just had to pass him in turn and I knew he would block the inside, so I was aware to outbraked him and that’s what I did,” said the Canadian superstar. “He lifted really early to protect the inside so I outbreaked him and ran around him. I’m super proud of that move, it was awesome. I think we had the fastest car out there by far, but he was just able to drive away on the corner exits. I was a little bit better in the braking zone. He did one hell of a race. I tried everything I had and it worked out.”
Sandro Tavartkiladze battled a gearbox issue to finish sixth and claim the win in the Master Trophy. Right behind the Georgian driver was Cappelli, who survived his first restart incident and hung on to first place in the Legend Trophy. Dominique Schaak, Maxim van Laere and Henri Timonen completed the top-10 overall results. Schaak and van Laere rounded the Master Trophy podium, while Timonen scored his first career top-10 finish with a careful drive in the wild conditions. Wakeskating champion turned pure racing driver Mike Wise also grabbed his career best finish in 11th and claimed the bonus points for most positions gained.
Giovanni Faraonio took second in the Legend Trophy in 12th, having initially finished ninth before he was hit with a 5-second post-race penalty for a false restart. The same penalty also impacted Happinessa, who initially took the Lady Trophy win. Her penalty meant that Beitske Visser came out as the winner in the final results. The Rehberg + Bremotion Racing’s 14th place finish was enough to beat Happinessa, who was demoted to 15th once the penalty was applied. Federico Monti and Mariam Davitidze grabbed the last cups available in the Legend and Lady Trophy with their 13th and 19th place finishes.
In spite of the heartbreaking finish, Toffel’s runner-up was enough to extend his championship lead to four points. The Swiss also got the fastest lap, therefore securing a sensational double pole position for the THT by Race Art Technology driver for Round 8 as he had already clinched pole position for the V8GP race. The strong consistency by his closest rivals, such as Gil Linster and Thomas Dombrowski, ensured that Sunday’s race would be a nail-biter.
Autodrom Most has seen plenty of drama for its Saturday races, and the tension only continues to rise with Sunday being the last chance for drivers to score their best results before their worst one is dropped prior to the double points Playoffs. The OPEN division will go first with their second race at the Czech Republic on 10:25 CEST, while V8GP will close the fantastic weekend at the 4.212 kilometer circuit with their Round 8 on 14:15 CEST. Stay tuned to the official NASCAR Euro Series social media account and website for more updates and don’t forget to check https://www.nascar.eu/watch/ for details on how you can watch the NASCAR GP Czech Republic.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
