NASCAR Whelen Euro Series – Qualifying: En-Plein For PK Carsport

PK Carsport swept the field in qualifying at Raceway Venray for the third event of the 2017 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season. Anthony Kumpen (#24 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) and Guillaume Dumarey (#24 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) grabbed their second consecutive pole position after Brands Hatch, this time on the “Fastest Half-mile Oval In Europe”.

Reigning Champion Kumpen stormed the ELITE 1 field by breaking the track record with a blistering 19.358 seconds lap in his second qualifying run. Despite making various attempts at the pole, his teammate Stienes Longin (#11 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) had to settle for second .210 seconds behind Kumpen, making it an all PK Carsport front-row for the ELITE 1 Round 5.

On grabbing pole position, Kumpen said “This is fantastic! We unloaded a fast car, ran some quick laps during practice and backed it up with pole position. We’ve been really focused on developing our oval program and even ran a couple races in the U.S. to get more experience.” On the race ahead, Kumpen said “The pole is always nice but it’s also very important to have a car that’s good on the long run. We think we have that and I think we have a great chance at bringing home another win here today.”

A perennial favourite when racing on ovals, Frederic Gabillon (#3 Tepac RDV Compétition Ford Mustang) ended up third, .246 seconds back. The Frenchman will start alongside points leader Borja Garcia (#7 Racers Motorsport Ford Mustang). Salvador Tineo Arroyo (#56 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) completed the top-5.

Alon Day (#54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS), Gianmarco Ercoli (#9 Racers Motorsport Ford Mustang) Wilfried Boucenna (#73 Knauf Racing Team Ford Mustang), Christophe Bouchut (#66 DF1 Racing Team Chevrolet SS) and Marc Goossens (#90 Brass Racing Ford Mustang) rounded out the top-10.

Marconi Abreu (#47 Brazil Team Ford Mustang) led the Challenger Trophy in 12th place.

Guillaume Dumarey adopted the same strategy as Kumpen in the ELITE 2 Division and took the pole position with 19.913 seconds lap that put him out front early in the 30-minute session. With a last-minute dash Felipe Rabello (#56 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) went just .023 seconds from the pole, ending up second.

“What an amazing experience. This was my first time on an oval! I have a great car, great team and received some great advice from Anthony. I was able to push the car as hard as I could in qualifying and ran some quick lap times. I’m really excited.” On the race ahead, Dumarey said “It’s great to win the pole and start first but I really want to do well in the race. I’m gonna be cautious, listen to my spotter and hopefully if I’m lucky bring home a win!”

Ulysse Delsaux (#3 RDV Compétition Ford Mustang) and Maciej Dreszer (#66 DF1 Racing Team Chevrolet SS) will start the ELITE 2 Round 5 from the second row, followed by Justin Kunz (#11 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) and Simone Laureti (#7 Racers Motorsport Ford Mustang), who led the Legend Trophy classification.

Jerry De Weerdt (#78 Brass Racing Ford Mustang), Gil Linster (#44 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS), Marconi Abreu (#47 RDV Competition Ford Mustang) and Thomas Ferrando (#37 Knauf Racing Team Ford Mustang) rounded out the top-10, while Arianna Casoli (#54 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) led the Lady Cup in 17th place.