Whelen Euro Elite 1: Gabillon Grabs First Season Win

Frederic Gabillon (#3 Tepac RDV Compétition Ford Mustang) came out the winner from an outstanding four-way battle at Raceway Venray at the end of the 60-lap Elite 1 Race 1 to score his first win of the season and the sixth of his NASCAR career. The Frenchman edged points leader Anthony Kumpen (#24 PK Carsport Chevrolet SS) under the checkered flag to give RDV Competition the team’s first ever NASCAR win.

“The team did a really good job on my car and I am really happy because we were really fast. The race was hard and I managed to use traffic to my advantage to overtake Garcia. I was faster than Gianmarco, so it was a question of time and it finally happened. I am so happy for the team. They invested a lot in building the car this winter and Franck Violas is making great efforts for us. I hope to score another podium tomorrow because every point is important in the title’s hunt.” said the winner.

It was Borja Garcia (#1 SPV Racing Ford Mustang) who started from the pole, but Gianmarco Ercoli (#9 Double-T by Nocentini Ford Mustang) made an outstanding move on the inside to take the lead before the end of lap 1. The 2015 ELITE 2 Champion, who was taking part in his second career ELITE 1 race and made his debut in the US in February, fended off every attack from Garcia and Gabillon for 50 laps despite losing his power steering, maneuvering through traffic like a veteran, going two and three wide into the high-banked corners of Raceway Venray multiple times and holding his nerves in the only restart of the race on lap 44.

Gabillon finally went through on lap 51, followed by Kumpen and Garcia, while Ercoli lost ground and closed the race in 14th place. The last 10 laps saw Gabillon keeping an edge on Kumpen until they crossed the finish line separated by just .343 seconds. Garcia came home third to score important points, while 2015 race winner Nicolò Rocca (#56 CAAL Racing Chevrolet SS) won a hard fought battle for fourth against local hero Barry Maessen (#14 Team Raceway Venray Chevrolet SS), who completed the top-5 and led the Challenger Trophy classification, a solid  Florian Renauer (#5 Dexwet Renauer Team Ford Mustang) and Riccardo Geltrude (#7 Double-T by Nocentini Ford Mustang), who came back from the 15th place on the grid to finish eight in his oval debut. Ulysse Delsaux (#31 McDonald’s RDV Compétition Ford Mustang) and Marconi De Abreu (#47 Brazil Team Ford Mustang) rounded out the top-10.

“It is such a fantastic feeling. We are racing in NWES since 2010 and this is our first win, but the best thing is that we are constantly in contention for the win and we are doing very well in both division. It is a splendid reward for the incredible work the entire team is doing,” said RDV team owner Franck Violas.

Kumpen will start from the pole on Monday for the ELITE 1 Race 2 at Raceway Venray thanks to his fastest lap in Race 1. Gabillon will start from the front row to resume the battle at 10:45 am CET. The race will be streamed live on Fanschoice.tv.

ELITE 1 RACE 1 Results | Race Central Live