The 2012 Racecar Euro Series was the 4th season of Racecar Euro Series season, and the first EuroNASCAR season under NASCAR sanctioning. The season began on April 8 with the Nogaro 200 at Circuit Paul Armagnac and ended on 14 October with the Le Mans Finals at Bugatti Circuit after five championship rounds and a non-championship round at Tours Speedway. NASCAR's standard rules, such as beneficiary rule and green-white-checker finish, were adopted by the series starting from this season.
TFT Racing driver Ander Vilariño was crowned as the first Driver's Champion in the NASCAR years after scoring six race wins during the season, edging Romain Thievin by 16 points in the final standings. Thievin did not win a race, but managed to score a podium in nine championship races. Fellow Spaniard Javier Villa was third, 64 points adrift from Vilariño. Villa took one victory at Brands Hatch, his only win in EuroNASCAR. Romain Iannetta and Gaël Castelli were the other winners in the championship rounds while Ben Kennedy and 2011 champion Éric Hélary took one win each in the Tours non-championship round. French driver Carole Perrin scored a third place finish in the fifth race at Spa-Francorchamps, making her the only female driver to finish on the podium in EuroNASCAR's top division as of the 2023 season.[1]
In the Open division, Simon Escallier became the first champion of the present-day EuroNASCAR 2 division. Escallier swept the races at Circuit Ricardo Tormo on his way to championship victory, 44 points ahead of Alain Grand. Six other drivers scored victories in 2012, most of them were taken by part-time competitors. Outside of Escallier, Vincent Gonneau was the only other full-time driver to win a race. Martin van Hove and Olivier Porta took two race wins while Adriano Medeiros, Loic Deman and Marc Duez secured one victory each.
Schedule edit
With the exception of the non-championship round at Tours Speedway, all races in the 2012 season were held as support races for another championship.[2]
| Round | Race Title | Track | Date | Supporting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R1 | Nogaro 200 |  Circuit Paul Armagnac, Nogaro
|
April 8 | FIA GT1 World Championship |
| R2 | April 9 | ||||
| 2 | R3 | Brands Hatch 200 |  Brands Hatch, Swanley
|
May 19 | Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters |
| R4 | May 20 | ||||
| 3 | R5 | Spa 200 |  Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa
|
June 9 | Belgian Touring Car Series |
| R6 | June 10 | ||||
| NC | NC1 | Michelin / Tours Evenements 100 | Tours Speedway, Tours
|
July 7 | None |
| NC2 | July 8 | ||||
| 4 | R7 | Valencia Semifinals |  Circuito Ricardo Tormo, Cheste
|
September 29 | Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters |
| R8 | September 30 | ||||
| 5 | R9 | Le Mans Finals | Circuit Bugatti, Le Mans
|
October 13 | European Truck Racing Championship |
| R10 | October 14 | ||||
Results edit
Elite edit
Open edit
| Round | Race | Pole position | Fastest lap | Most laps led | Winning Driver | Winning Team | Winning Manufacturer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R1 | Nogaro 200
|
Eric Quintal
|
Vincent Gonneau
|
Eric Quintal
|
Martin van Hove
|
TFT Racing | Dodge |
| R2 | Simon Escallier
|
Eric Quintal
|
Vincent Gonneau
|
Martin van Hove[a]
|
TFT Racing | Dodge | ||
| 2 | R3 | Brands Hatch 200
|
Philippe Marie
|
 Adriano Medeiros
|
 Unknown
|
Vincent Gonneau
|
Gonneau Racing | Chevrolet |
| R4 | Martin van Hove
|
Martin van Hove
|
Unknown
|
Adriano Medeiros
|
Autosport 42 | Chevrolet | ||
| 3 | R5 | Spa 200
|
Loic Deman
|
Loic Deman
|
Loic Deman
|
Loic Deman
|
Rapido Racing | Ford |
| R6 | Gerald Cormon
|
Unknown
|
Marc Duez
|
Marc Duez
|
TFT Racing | Chevrolet | ||
| NC | NC1 | Michelin / Tours Evenements 100
|
Unknown
|
Unknown
|
Unknown
|
Sebastien Baron
|
Rapido Racing | Ford |
| NC2 | Vincent Gonneau
|
Unknown
|
Vincent Gonneau
|
Vincent Gonneau
|
Gonneau Racing | Chevrolet | ||
| 4 | R7 | Valencia SemiFinals
|
Simon Escallier
|
 Josh Burdon
|
Simon Escallier
|
Simon Escallier
|
Scorpus Racing | Dodge |
| R8 | Eric Quintal
|
Eric Quintal
|
Unknown
|
Simon Escallier
|
Scorpus Racing | Dodge | ||
| 5 | R9 | Le Mans Finals
|
Olivier Porta
|
Olivier Porta
|
Unknown
|
Olivier Porta
|
TFT Racing | Chevrolet |
| R10 | Donald Reignoux
|
Josh Burdon
|
Unknown
|
Olivier Porta
|
TFT Racing | Chevrolet | ||
- ^ Vincent Gonneau originally won the race, but he received a post-race penalty for causing an avoidable collision.
Standings edit
Elite edit
(key) Bold - Pole position awarded by time. Italics - Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led.
| Rank | Driver | NOG1 | NOG2 | BRH1 | BRH2 | SPA1 | SPA2 | TOU1 | TOU2 | VAL1 | VAL2 | LMS1 | LMS2 | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ander Vilariño | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 667 | ||||
| 2 | Romain Thievin | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 651 | ||||
| 3 | Javier Villa (J) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 603 | ||||
| 4 | Antoine Lioen | 13 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 9 | 567 | ||||
| 5 | Romain Iannetta | 5 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 20 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 566 |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Racecar: Vilarino remporte le Sprint" [Racecar: Vilarino wins the Sprint]. autohebdo.fr (in French). Auto Hebdo. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ "NASCAR: RACECAR Euro Series enters NASCAR family". auto123.com. Auto123.com. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2024.