HEUSDEN-ZOLDER, Belgium – With a masterful drive in the rain at Circuit Zolder, Lasse Soerensen grabbed his first EuroNASCAR PRO win Saturday on the track where he claimed the EuroNASCAR 2 title in 2019.
The driver of the No. 66 DF1 Racing Chevrolet started from the pole and bravely mastered the rain, leading Saturday’s EuroNASCAR PRO round three flag-to-flag and crossing the finish line 5.7 seconds ahead of Marc Goossens.
“It was a great race but a tough one with the wet conditions here,” said Soerensen. “It was really all about keeping the car at the track and as soon I was gone at the front I tried to manage the gap and the damp track. The car was really good, I have to thank DF1 Racing for that and I’m really happy that I’ve won my first ever EuroNASCAR PRO race here at Circuit Zolder.”
While the Austrian team DF1 Racing celebrated their first victory in EuroNASCAR PRO since 2014, Soerensen also secured the win in the Junior Trophy classification.
After starting the race behind the safety car, Soerensen was under pressure from Stienes Longin, but the Belgian lost control of his No. 11 ProJob Chevrolet Camaro by PK Carsport while moving out the Dane’s slipstream on lap seven and got shuffled down the order. He then put up a strong comeback to finish 11th and post and grab the pole position for Sunday’s round four.
Goossens started sixth at the wheel of the No. 98 CAAL Racing Ford Mustang and made a formidable charge towards the front. The Belgian used all of his experience at his home track to overtake car after car. Starting seventh, Alon Day ended up third driving the No. 24 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro for PK Carsport.
Jacques Villeneuve, who started third, struggled in the opening laps of the race with the setup of his No. 5 Feed Vict Racing car. When the rain subsided, the 1997 Formula One champion upped his pace to finish in fourth under the checkered. The Canadian edged Gianmarco Ercoli, who was second in the Junior Trophy classification.
Martin Doubek ended up ninth and won the Challenger Trophy classification.
Championship leader Loris Hezemans tried to fight his way back to the front after a crash in qualifying, but the Dutchman was penalized for passing before the start-finish line. He then focused on setting a fast lap – he will start sixth for Sunday’s round four – and finished 19th.