Beitske Visser locked the Lady Trophy crown and finished inside the overall top-10 in the 2026 OPEN season – The Dutch driver and Team Bleekemolen worked together to accomplish her Playoffs goals
- Beitske Visser achieved the goals that she set at the start of the 2026 Playoffs
- The Dutch racer clinched the Lady Trophy title with two excellent top-10 finishes in Belgium
- The points she collected at Circuit Zolder were enough to secure an overall top-10 result
When Beitske Visser made her mutual, blockbuster switch from Bremotion x Rehberg Racing to Team Bleekemolen shortly after the regular season was concluded, she also set two goals for her to accomplish in the double points Playoffs: Win the Lady Trophy, and fight her way into the overall top-10 positions. It was not easy to reach either of them, but for a proven talent like Visser, she managed to pass both tests with flying colors. The Dutch racer adapted beautifully to the changing conditions in the Finals at Belgium and with her headline grabbing performance, she was rewarded with both the Lady Trophy title and a coveted top-10 standings finish in the highly competitive OPEN division.
Her tenacity behind the wheel of a pure racing machine had been demonstrated from her first race in Spain. Visser bravely fought with no power steering, turning her maiden outing at Valencia into a physical marathon that she had to survive. And yet, despite the pain inflicted to her hands, she did not look worse for wear, as demonstrated by her first top-10 finish and Lady Trophy win on the day after her nightmarish battle.
The second round in France was where the European NASCAR paddock took notice of Visser’s brilliant speed. She stuck her guns against the championship contenders and came just shy of the top-5, finishing just seven seconds behind drivers who had multiple years of experience in this sport. With two Lady Trophy wins at Le Castellet, the Dronten native also took over the classification lead from Happinessa, who led the class after the opening round.
Mechanical gremlin limited the results that Visser could achieve in the UK and Czech Republic, but she maximized her potential to keep her Lady Trophy lead intact with four class wins under her belt. From here, her path would diverge significantly. Throughout the regular season, the 31-year old had been competing for Bremotion x Rehberg Racing, where she was contracted for a four-round audition run with the #77 team. However, Visser sensed an opportunity to bring the Lady Trophy crown home. With the support of BS+COMPETITION, the Dutch racer decided to go all-in and joined forces with a powerhouse team from her native country: Team Bleekemolen, who gave her the keys to race the #76 Toyota Camry for the post-season.
A late retirement in the first of the four double-points post-season races was only to be a small bump in Visser’s push for Playoffs glory. The former W Series star took her fifth Lady Trophy win in Italy and pulled the class sweep in the Finals with an excellent charge to eighth place in the rain-hit OPEN Final 1 and a methodical sixth place finish in the last race of the season. Her points haul in Belgium was more than enough to secure the Lady Trophy title, but more importantly, it allowed Visser to pip Dominique Schaak to the overall top-10 spot by four points. The final tally was tight: It was 377 points for Visser, 373 for Schaak.
Happinessa was 55 points behind the Dutch ace, but the Rette Jones Racing by Hendriks driver remained in contention until the end and transformed herself into a challenger for top-10 positions in her second OPEN season. Finishing third behind Visser and Happinessa was Mariam Davitidze, who rapidly developed her circuit racing talents together with Kolkhi GRT. Robin Bleekemolen only ran a partial campaign that consisted of the UK and Czechia rounds, but with three top-10 finishes and class wins in those four races, she showed the world that the next Bleekemolen generation is ready to tackle the big leagues once she goes full-time.
Visser is no longer a NASCAR rookie – she is a bonafide title contender, one who’s capable of fighting not just for the Lady Trophy, but also for overall success in the ever competitive and unpredictable OPEN division. Only time will tell if the driver who can wheel anything with four wheels is returning in 2027, where OPEN is set to be rebranded to the exciting V8Open, but for now the 31-year old will have the chance to celebrate her accomplishments in the NASCAR Awards at the sport’s hallowed ground Charlotte, North America on 20 November.
Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Bart Dehaese
