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Frederic Gabillon adds name to Euro Series Elite 1 winners list

Series veteran Frederic Gabillon outlasted Stienes Longin to pick up his first NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Elite 1 victory of the season at Brands Hatch.

Frédéric Gabillon

Frédéric Gabillon

NASCAR Media

Frédéric Gabillon
Alon Day at Brands Hatch Saturday
Myatt Snider
Myatt Snider
Frédéric Gabillon
Frédéric Gabillon
Frédéric Gabillon

The Frenchman piloted his car around the 1.9-kilometer track and was able to bring his No. 3 Chevrolet into Victory Lane to become the third driver to win an NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Elite 1 division race this season.

Gabillon started from the pole and was quickly passed on the start by Loris Hezemans. Hezemans lead was short-lived as he jumped the restart which gave him a drive-through penalty and handed the lead back to Gabillon.

From there the Uzes, France, native was able to hold on and eventually win the race by just .284-seconds over Longin.

“It was extremely difficult to handle the car,” said Gabillon. “I was a little bit lucky to set the fastest lap yesterday, but I won’t complain. It’s always good to start out front on a track like this.

“I’m so happy being back in Victory Lane, but we have a lot of work to do this season. We have to learn why we don’t have the right pace at the moment.”

Gabillon now has 12 wins in 78 series starts.

Longin finished runner-up for the second consecutive day and now has four second-place finishes in the six races held so far this season.

“It was challenging race with a very competitive Fred out front,” said Longin. “He was defending hard and made no mistakes, so I was not able to pass him here today. I still have to wait for my first Elite 1 division win, but I got a lot of points for the championship, which makes me happy.”

Alon Day, who won Saturday’s Elite 1 division race, finished third to win the “King of Brands Hatch” title again this season.

Alexander Graff was fourth in his first top-five of the season with Ander Vilarino rounding out the top-five. Romain Iannetta, Gianmarco, Jacques Villeneuve, Nicolo Rocca and Lasse Sorensen completed the top-10.

From the editor, also read:

Sorensen gets back-to-back Elite 2 wins

Lasse Sorensen passed race leader Andre Catro on the penultimate lap of the NASCAR Grand Prix UK for the Elite 2 division to sweep the weekend and earn “Prince of Brands Hatch” honors.

The Aalborg-native started from fifth on the grid and came out the winner at the end of a huge 30-lap battle involving five drivers, which delighted the huge British crowd. Soerensen passed Castro with a perfect NASCAR-style move to grab his third NASCAR Whelen Euro Series career win.

“It was amazing,” said Soerensen. “After qualifying I would have never thought about winning here two times. I thank all the mechanics, all the people at Dexwet-df1 Racing and my sponsor flexlease.nu. They made this great win possible.

“I went a bit deep on Andre, but I knew that it was my only chance. They told me before that ‘rubbing is racing’. A little bit of contact is fair and that’s what I really love about this championship.”

Castro again saw his dream of winning in Elite 2 shattered in the closing stages of the race. The American ended up second for the third time in the 2019 NWES season. After missing a gear in Druids, he couldn’t defend from the attack brought by Soerensen at Graham Hill Bend.

Giorgio Maggi grabbed his fourth top-five and third podium finish of the 2019 season. Pole sitter Florian Venturi ended up fourth, collecting his third top-five so far. Scott Jeffs ended up fifth, grabbing his first ever career NWES top-five.

Advait Deodhar finished sixth for his fifth top-10 finish of the season with 2018 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Rookie of the Year Myatt Snider seventh after consistently in the top-10 in his first time at the challenging Indy Circuit.

Nicholas Risitano crossed the finish line in eighth ahead of Alessandro Brigatti and Vittorio Ghirelli to complete the top-10.

 

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