Nelson Piquet Jr. and Thomas Toffel put the target on their back with their stunning practice results in Italy – Piquet Jr. led Toffel in V8GP, while the Swiss driver also led his rivals in the OPEN division
- Nelson Piquet Jr. and Thomas Toffel started their Playoffs strong
- One second separated the top-10 drivers in V8GP
- Toffel clocked his fastest lap in the first session and never looked back
The practice for the 2026 NASCAR GP Italy is more than just a normal session. With the NASCAR Euro Series Playoffs starting at the Autodromo di Vallelunga, drivers and teams have to put their game face on from the start if they don’t want to get left behind by their rivals. Nelson Piquet Jr., who is used to the pressure through his wealth of experience, understood the assignment and left his rivals behind to become the leader for the elite in V8GP. Thomas Toffel continued to make gains in the OPEN division by clocking the fastest lap on the combined times, giving the championship leader the early momentum heading to the first two of the four double points races that are scheduled for the Semi-Finals weekend.
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V8GP: The Top-10 All Within One Second
The NASCAR Euro Series V8GP is renowned for its close door-to-door battles. With only one second separating the best 10 drivers in practice, the Italian fans can expect plenty of action from the elites of European NASCAR. Nelson Piquet Jr. set the early benchmark by clocking a best lap time of 1:40.458. The Brazilian was followed by Challenger Trophy leader Thomas Toffel, who continued to show his rapid improvement by lapping just 0.264 seconds slower than the former O’Reilly and Trucks Series winner.
Jordan O’Brien made a statement by finishing third fastest. The Las Vegas native therefore beat the man he’s chasing this weekend: Vittorio Ghirelli, who was fourth. Paul Jouffreau in fifth topped the leaderboards for the young drivers in the Junior Trophy. Practically nothing separated the Frenchman from Trophy rivals Thomas Krasonis and Vinnie Meskelis, who were only 0.012 and 0.044 seconds behind Jouffreau. Fabrizio Armetta, Garrett Lowe and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen rounded out the top-10 positions, with the Dutchman in tenth only 0.908 seconds behind the Alumitec Racing driver.
Gil Linster completed his V8GP debut in 12th. Running as a substitute for Logan Bearden, who is competing in the O’Reilly race at Bristol, the Luxembourger remarked that he was able to learn a lot from the V8GP drivers, noting their ability to be smarter with putting the power of the V8 engine that powered the pure racing cars. Davit Kajaia and Giovanni Cartechini completed the top-3 in Challenger Trophy with their 13th and 15th place performance.
OPEN: Toffel with the Warning Shot
Thomas Toffel stood out from the pack with not only his V8GP practice times, but also his dominant performance in the OPEN division. The Swiss driver was nearly two seconds ahead in the first session, courtesy of his blistering lap time of 1:40.722. Once the checkered flag was dropped at the end of the day, his rivals could not find the speed that they needed to beat the OPEN championship leader entering the Playoffs. Toffel’s results were more than a statement: It was an ominous warning shot directed to the drivers that wanted to topple the Race Art Technology driver from the top of the standings.
Thomas Dombrowski maintained his status as Toffel’s closest opponent by finishing second, but it was a close call. Only 0.055 seconds separated the Frenchman from Raphael Lessard and Gil Linster, who are hungry for the top result in Italy. Sandro Tavartkiladze completed the top-5 by narrowly beating Martin Doubek, Vladimiros Tziortzis and Legend Trophy leader Claudio Cappelli for the position. The Georgian also led the Master Trophy from Jens Beeusaert, who was ninth overall.
Tenth went to Beitske Visser, who quickly adapted to her new team, Team Bleekemolen, for the Playoffs. Florian Richard, who finished in eleventh, beat Master Trophy overall leader Maxim van Laere for third place in the special classification for promising talents. Right behind them were the duo of Melvin de Groot and Kenko Miura, who were second and third in the Legend Trophy respectively. Mariam Davitidze set a competitive time in spite of her recent injury to put her 17th fastest and second in the Lady Trophy. Happinessa completed the Lady Trophy ranks in 21st.\
The stakes are high, the pressure is building, and the excitement is unmissable. Make sure you’re tuned in to the action from the NASCAR GP Italy on Saturday, as it’s the day when the first qualifying and races from the 2026 Playoffs will be held. Qualifying will set the grid from 10:05 CEST, with the races following on the schedule from 14:25 CEST for the V8GP Semi-Final 1 and 16:50 EST for the OPEN Semi-Final 1. All qualifying and races from the Playoffs will be broadcast live on DAZN, YouTube and TV partners all around the world. For more details on your local providers, you can find the information in our trusty guide at https://www.nascar.eu/watch/.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
