NWES at the Circuit Zolder: Giorgio Maggi is still waiting for the breakthrough in the EuroNASCAR PRO championship

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Credits: Michael Großgarten / Leadlap.de

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Technical problems thwarted the Swiss in Belgium

Last weekend Giorgio Maggi travelled with high expectations to Circuit Zolder in Belgium, where the third and fourth rounds of the 2020 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season were held. Last year, the Swiss race driver took two strong second places in the Limburg woods in the EuroNASCAR 2 division, which is why he was hoping for a breakthrough in the EuroNASCAR PRO championship in Belgium.

However, the weekend in Zolder was also marked by bad luck and breakdowns – just like the season opener in Vallelunga. In the first free practice Maggi set an exclamation mark with the sixth fastest time on a damp track. In the second free practice he also matched the pace of the front runners with a seventh place. In the qualifying, however, misfortune struck again and steered the race weekend into another direction.

Actually, things went pretty well for Maggi at the beginning, because in the rain he was able to secure a spot in the top 5. But it stopped raining, so the track dried up more and more and became faster. Maggi tried everything to clock a fast lap in the closing minutes, but he had to slow down every lap because of yellow flags. In the end, he ended up in eleventh place on the grid.

In the first race Maggi got a good start which catapulted him straight into the top 10. It looked as if Maggi could continue the form from practice. But then the fuel pump stopped working correctly, so the engine didn’t get enough fuel. The Swiss had no chance to keep up the pace anymore and ended up in 16th place.

Credits: Michael Großgarten / Leadlap.de

In the second round he drove up from 18th place on the grid to twelfth place, which would have been enough to limit the damage. This time the brakes didn’t work, so he was slowed down more and more. Maggi got off the track in the Villeneuve Chicane because of a stuck throttle and crashed into the stack of tires. This brought the race to an early end for the 22-year-old driver.

“In the first race I got a good start and I was able to make up a few positions immediately,” said Maggi. “After four laps I had problems with the fuel pump, which meant that the engine didn’t get enough fuel from 3000 rpm on. I didn’t have a chance then. The second race was similar to the first at the start. I went from 18th to twelfth place. Then I had problems with the brakes, which made me a bit slower. Towards the middle of the race, the gas pedal got stuck and I ended up in the tire pile at the Villeneuve Chicane.”

But giving up is out of the question for the Swiss: On November 14-15, at the Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic, Maggi wants to finally attack at the top of the EuroNASCAR PRO championship and leave the streak of bad luck behind him.

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