Vittorio Ghirelli wrote history at Circuit Zolder when he clinched his third consecutive title in the NASCAR Euro Series V8GP division – The Italian is the first ever three-peat champion in history
- Vittorio Ghirelli clinched the NASCAR Euro Series V8GP title at Circuit Zolder
- The Italian is the first driver in history to win three consecutive titles
- Paul Jouffreau won the race to grab his third Junior Trophy victory, while Davit Kajaia retained his Challenger Trophy crown
History was made at the NASCAR Euro Series Finals at Circuit Zolder as Vittorio Ghirelli was crowned the first three-peat champion. Needing only to keep his nose clean and avoid race-ending trouble, the Italian wheeled his machine to a tenth-place finish before burning down his Hoosier tires in style to celebrate a championship run destined for the record books. While the PK Carsport driver celebrated his historic title triumph, Paul Jouffreau put on a clinic out front. The Frenchman swept the weekend’s races, not only locking up his third consecutive Junior Trophy crown but also vaulting to second in the final championship standings. Jouffreau finished tied on points with Nelson Piquet Jr., but his four trips to Victory Lane gave him the tiebreaker advantage to seal the runner-up spot.
Ghirelli had his hands full behind the wheel during the 18-lap shootout in Belgium. After dropping a few spots on the initial getaway, the Fasano native found himself caught in the middle of an Alumitec Racing sandwich. With Nelson Piquet Jr. still in mathematical contention for the crown, Ghirelli had to play chess against Gianmarco Ercoli, who was doing everything in his power to tilt the odds in his teammate’s favor. Race control took notice, slapping the #11 machine with an investigation for intentionally bunching up the field before issuing a post-race penalty of a drive through penalty converted into a 30 seconds time penalty. In the end, Ghirelli did what champions do: despite Piquet Jr. putting together a stellar drive to finish third, tenth was all the PK Carsport driver needed to lock up the championship.
“It’s amazing to get a third!” said the reigning king of the NASCAR Euro Series V8GP division. “This year was very tough and our rivals made it hard for us, but the team and I were always right there to deliver strong results. It’s not good for the championship when competitors don’t show sportsmanship, but we took the title, and that’s what counts! We were very consistent, we delivered results in every single race, and we built up a solid points lead for situations just like today. I’m so happy to get the third title, and we’re going to celebrate together!”
Out front, Paul Jouffreau completed a dominant weekend sweep with another stellar drive. The Frenchman made quick work of polesitter Garrett Lowe on the opening lap to grab the lead and never looked back. Behind the wheel of his RDV Competition machine, the Blaye native first fended off heavy pressure from Lowe before turning back a challenge from Vinnie Meskelis, who inherited the runner-up spot once mechanical gremlins sidelined the #99 Chevrolet of Lowe. The American with Basilian roots also ended up second in the Junior Trophy.
With the victory, Jouffreau was crowned the first three-time Junior Trophy champion in series history, matching Gianmarco Ercoli’s all-time mark of 18 class wins. Behind the frontrunners, Sebastiaan Bleekemolen crossed the stripe in fourth, while Thomas Krasonis brought home a top-5 finish to secure second place in the Junior Trophy ranks.
“I’m really happy because, as I told you yesterday, this season has been really tough,” explained the Frenchman in Victory Lane. “Every time we were at the front, something broke, so I’m really happy we could show that we can take a double victory. It’s my first ever, so I’m really happy with that. We’ll have a great party tonight, and of course I remember all the moments where we lost points, but we ended up second and I was seventh on Friday. It’s amazing to finish second and take two victories in the Finals!”
Local hero Marc Goossens brought it home in sixth ahead of Jordan O’Brien, Challenger Trophy race winner Logan Bearden, Jack Davidson and Ghirelli who rounded out the top-10. Ercoli dropped to 14th after his penalty was applied while Lowe was classified 20th.
In the final championship picture, Ghirelli locked his unprecedented third consecutive V8GP title after the Italian collected 495 points. Fifteen points separated the reigning king from his two closest opponents: Paul Jouffreau and Nelson Piquet Jr. A best finish tiebreaker gave Jouffreau the overall runner-up spot: The Junior Trophy champion has four visits to the Victory Lane to the Brazilian’s two. O’Brien locked down fourth in the standings ahead of Thomas Krasonis, who claimed the overall Stromwatches.com Pole Award as the driver with the most pole positions in the V8GP season. Garrett Lowe slipped to sixth in points, taking the final step on the Junior Trophy podium in third.
Ercoli, Martin Doubek, Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, and Vinnie Meskelis wrapped up the championship top-10 after 12 grueling, action-packed rounds of NASCAR GPs at Europe’s premier circuits. Further back in the pack, Davit Kajaia crossed the stripe 11th in V8GP Final 2 and ended up 15th overall to successfully defend his Challenger Trophy crown over Brad Ranson and newly crowned NASCAR Euro Series OPEN champion Thomas Toffel.
That’s an official wrap on the 2026 NASCAR Euro Series season! But there is no offseason in racing – the 2027 campaign is already looming large with next year’s schedule officially locked in. Familiar circuits, proven dates, and another action-packed slate of 12 NASCAR GPs per division will headline the battle for European touring car supremacy in both V8GP and V8Open. Even better: the path to the grid is wide open. With the 2027 NASCAR Drivers Recruitment Test confirmed for December 10–11 at Fontenay-Le-Comte in France, this could be your shot to climb behind the wheel of a 400-horsepower V8 beast, earn your spot on the grid, and go toe-to-toe with Vittorio Ghirelli (V8GP), Thomas Toffel (V8Open), and Yann Cristovao (V8Challenge) for title glory.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
