Claudio Cappelli, Maxim van Laere and Beitske Visser retained their Legend, Master and Lady Trophy leads at Autodrom Most, setting the stage for an epic duel across the OPEN field in the Playoffs
- Two class wins in the Czech Republic confirmed Claudio Cappelli’s Legend Trophy advantage
- Maxim van Laere still leads Master Trophy, but Sandro Tavartkiladze inches closer
- Beitske Visser and Robin Bleekemolen each scored a victory in the Lady Trophy
The 2026 NASCAR Euro Series closed its regular season with a record breaking NASCAR GP Czech Republic. 46,600 fans visited the Autodrom Most to witness incredible door-to-door racing that determined the standings heading to the double points Playoffs. No matter where you watch, there’s always action provided by the three Trophies contested in the OPEN division. Claudio Cappelli, Maxim van Laere and Beitske Visser entered the round with a goal to maintain their Trophy leads and they all achieved it once the checkered flag was dropped at the end of the round. The advantages are firmly in their grasp, but their closest rivals are hungrier than ever.
Cappelli has been the driver to beat in the Legend Trophy after scoring four class wins in the previous three rounds. The Italian with the infamous beard – that he trimmed short – remained razor sharp during the summer break and when the engines roared again at the Czech Republic, Cappelli wasted no time and took home both Trophy wins to retain his lead to Melvin de Groot. However, anything can still happen in the Playoffs with only 19 points separating the two great Legend Trophy contenders. Double points also meant that Giovanni Faraonio, Andre Lortie, Federico Monti, Francesco Leogrande and Michael Bleekemolen all still had a mathematical chance to top the class ranks for drivers aged 45 and above.
OPEN rookie van Laere is the talk of the town in the Master Trophy, but a returning face is shaking up the Belgian’s foundation in the classification for the exciting talents. Sandro Tavartkiladze put his misfortunes on the rear view mirror in Czechia and claimed both class wins to move him within nine points of van Laere. Dominique Schaak’s consistency brought the German just one point behind the Georgian, meaning that only ten points separate the top-3 contenders heading to the Playoffs. Florian Richard and Jens Beeusaert collected important results to keep their outside bids for the overall class title alive. Henri Timonen, Valentino Gambarotto, Olivier Deschamps and Mike Wise complete the classification standings.
The Lady Trophy saw a lot of twists and turns in the two races held. The drama began when Robin Bleekemolen and Mariam Davitidze were caught in a multi-car incident in Round 7, dropping both drivers out of the contention. Happinessa was then penalized after the race, handing the Trophy win to Visser – her fourth class win of the season. Bleekemolen bounced back in Round 8 and scored a stunning eighth place finish to win the Lady Trophy for the third time. After just four races, Bleekemolen is already driving like a true veteran, but she had a tough mountain to climb in the Playoffs: the third generation driver is 73 points behind Visser, who kept her overall Trophy lead ahead of Happinessa and Davitidze.
With the stakes established for the Playoffs, the OPEN Trophy contenders will head to the NASCAR GP Italy with the knowledge that the double points can give them the boost they needed to establish their class championship bid in 2026. Inversely, they also know that one mistake will cost them a lot of points. This situation creates a lot of compelling stories to tell at Autodromo di Vallelunga, where the tifosi are primed to cheer for their favorites on September 19-20. Grab your free ticket now to feel the thunder trackside, or tune in live on DAZN, YouTube, or your local sports channel if you don’t want to miss out on the action. Full global broadcast listings and viewing options can be found at www.nascar.eu/watch.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner
