Great Elite 2 weekend for Vartiainen that touch twice the podium. A nice progression for Krasonis. Manami Kobayashi dominates the Elite Club. In Elite 1 two contacts complicate the weekend of Miura and Dorcikova.
Montecarlo, 23 settembre 2019 – Two fourth places in Elite 2, a second place in Elite 1 Challenger Trophy and a resounding victory in Elite Club is the spoils of Alex Caffi Motorsport at the end of the Nascar Whelen Euro Series 2019 Semifinals staged at the Hockenheimring (GER) in the past weekend.
The team, coordinated by former Monegasque F1 driver Alex Caffi, experienced a positive event that could have been even more exciting if it hadn’t been influenced by two contacts in Elite 1 that made it more difficult. Despite this, the drivers demonstrated their value achieving a great performance despite the difficulties.
Kenko Miura (JPN) drove the Chevrolet Camaro #2 in Elite 1, alongside the debutant Michaela Dorcikova (SVK) on the Ford Mustang #1. In Elite 2 Jesse Vartiainen (FIN) drove the Camaro while the Mustang saw Thomas Krasonis behind the wheel. Manami Kobayashi (JPN) made his debut in Elite Club with the car #2.
The weekend in Elite 1 was less positive than expected due to some contacts. Miura closed qualifying with the second time in the Challenger Trophy (1:33.871) while Dorcikova improved its pace with sixth of the category (1:36.313).
In the Saturday Race the Slovakian driver realised an excellent performance finishing seventeenth and fourth in the Challenger Trophy in her first race of the Nascar Whelen Euro Series with a comeback of eleven positions. Unfortunately, the race of Miura was not as positive, as he was unable to achieve his excellent pace due to a contact during the seventh lap.
In the Sunday Race the Japanese driver, who started from the back of the field, showed great determination. He realised a series of spectacular overtaking and finished seventeenth overall, second in the Challenger Trophy. Bad luck for Dorcikova, who on lap eleven was hit by another driver who sent her off the track. The Slovakian was taken to the medical centre as a precautionary measure, where major injuries were excluded.
Wonderful weekend of Jesse Vartiainen in Elite 2. The Finnish driver was third in qualifying, gaining access to the Superpole. In the decisive session, with a good 1:33.551, he took the Camaro #2 to sixth overall. Krasonis closed in fifteenth place with a time of 1:35.259
In the Saturday Race Vartiainen confirmed his great pace, almost reaching the podium with a good fourth position that saw him for most of the race in the leading quartet despite a not perfect set-up due to the damage suffered by the car in the race of Elite 1. Krasonis, on the Mustang #1, crossed the line in seventeenth place.
With a perfect Camaro #2, in the Sunday Race Vartiainen broke the deadlock by running for a place on the podium. The entry of the pace car at a time not conducive to Alex Caffi Motorsport’s strategy shuffled the cards a few laps from the end, and the Finnish driver had to push again to return in fourth place, once again a breath from the podium. Also Krasonis improved his performance with a twelfth position, not far from the top ten.
Surprise with applause in Elite Club, where the debutant Manami Kobayashi ruled the competition confirming his great class winning the appointment in Hockenheim. Kenko Miura’s girlfriend, at the wheel of the Chevrolet Camaro #2, in the second session with the target time of 1’48 closed at 0.001 thousandths from perfection, deserving then the absolute affirmation.
Alex Caffi – Team Manager:
“What a shame for the contacts in Elite 1 that have prevented us to realize a weekend even more positive. Michaela’s progression, at the first exit in NWES and Kenko’s beautiful comeback in race two are confirmation that we would have had the pace and the chance to close even higher. Despite the great extra work of the mechanics in the pits, the cars have confirmed their competitiveness. Jesse in Elite 2 certainly deserved a podium finish in what was his best weekend of the year, and Thomas also improved his performance We are all really very happy about Manami’s victory in the Elite Club, a shame not to have had her since the start of the season, because here she has led a truly impressive performance”.
