EuroNASCAR: Beitske Visser stars with top-6, double Lady Trophy victory as female trio battle adversity at Le Castellet
- RACERS
- 5 hours ago
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At Le Castellet, Beitske Visser starred with a pair of Lady Trophy victories and a EuroNASCAR career-best sixth-place finish, while Happinessa and Mariam Davitidze both showed strong pace and resilience through challenging races, both scoring a top-15 finish.
The NASCAR Euro Series continued its 2026 season with a historic first visit to Circuit Paul Ricard, where the trio of female drivers contesting the OPEN division once again were protagonists of strong performances despite some technical setbacks, incidents and dramatic recoveries.
After a superb qualifying, Beitske Visser overcame technical drama recovering from the back of the grid in Race 1, before securing a career-best sixth-place finish in Race 2 and two Lady Trophy victories.
Despite qualifying issues and race damage to no fault of her own in Race 2, Happinessa showed consistent pace and resilience at Le Castellet, scoring solid championship points and another top-15 finish in Race 1.
Mariam Davitidze meanwhile continued her encouraging rookie campaign by showcasing competitive pace, leading the Lady Trophy battle early in Race 1 and securing an impressive 15th-place finish in Race 2.
Among the 2026 female entries is reigning Lady Trophy champion Happinessa, who returns for her second season in the series after an encouraging rookie campaign in 2025. Having stepped up to front-running squad Hendriks Motorsport in the #30 entry operated together with Rette Jones Racing, the German immediately showcased major progress at the Valencia opener, securing both a career-best overall finish and the first Lady Trophy victory of the season.
One of the most highly anticipated newcomers on the grid is Dutch racer Beitske Visser, who made her NASCAR Euro Series debut last time out with Bremotion, piloting the #77 Chevrolet. Visser brings extensive international experience from single-seaters and endurance racing. The transition from high-downforce machinery to heavy V8-powered stock cars presented a new challenge, but Visser adapted quickly at Valencia, despite wrestling technical problems that forced her to compete without power steering. She nevertheless bounced back on Sunday to secure her first top ten.
Georgian driver Mariam Davitidze also made headlines at Valencia as she embarked on her maiden NASCAR Euro Series campaign with Kolkhi GRT. The 21-year-old became the first Georgian woman to compete in NASCAR, marking a historic milestone for her country. A first-generation racer, Davitidze developed her career through karting before broadening her experience internationally and competing across several disciplines, including auto slalom. Despite limited experience, she made remarkable progress throughout the Valencia opener, significantly improving in every session.
The challenging French circuit, hosting the second round, proved particularly demanding for the V8-powered stock cars. Among the female drivers, only Beitske Visser had prior experience at Le Castellet, having raced there previously in both single-seaters and sportscar machinery, though never in stock cars. For reigning Lady Trophy champion Happinessa and rookie Mariam Davitidze, it was their first experience at the fast and technical French venue.
Friday’s practice sessions already showcased encouraging progress for all three drivers. Despite several technical issues slowing their preparation, each driver steadily improved over the course of the day, finding multiple seconds as they adapted to the track.
Qualifying proved eventful for all three women. After her strong season opener at Valencia, Happinessa once again showed significant progress despite encountering a technical issue during qualifying. The technical problem restricted the German to only a single push lap, but she maximized the opportunity brilliantly, posting a 2:18.623 that secured 17th position on the grid out of the 26-car field. Davitidze was similarly unlucky; gearbox problems prevented the Georgian from setting representative times, leaving her down in 26th with a best lap of 2:21.818.
Visser meanwhile delivered an outstanding qualifying performance: the Dutch driver placed fifth in Q1 with a lap of 2:15.473, comfortably advancing to the Super Pole session. There, she improved further to a 2:15.438, once again ending the session fifth fastest and securing a top-five starting position for the opening race of the weekend.
Race 1 on Saturday afternoon immediately descended into drama before the green flag had even waved: a technical issue again delayed the #77 Bremotion Chevrolet of Beitske Visser on the grid. The team frantically worked to send her out in time, eventually succeeding, but Visser was forced to start from the very back of the field instead of fifth.
As the lights went out in the South of France, Visser immediately began an aggressive recovery drive and astonishingly climbed to 21st by the end of the opening lap. Happinessa also enjoyed an excellent launch from 17th, holding 15th position after the opening tour and leading the Lady Trophy standings, while Davitidze made similarly impressive gains from 23rd to 18th.
The Georgian rookie quickly emerged as one of the revelations of the race. Running consistently competitive laps in the low 2:21 range, Davitidze passed Happinessa for the Lady Trophy lead on lap two as the pair ran 17th and 18th overall. Visser meanwhile continued her charge through the field, overtaking Federico Monti for 20th place.
Davitidze’s momentum continued to grow as she overtook Olivier Deschamps for 16th position, while Visser dispatched Leogrande for 19th and rapidly closed on Happinessa. The top-20 battle soon featured all three female drivers fighting closely together. Visser’s pace became increasingly competitive as she recorded a 2:17.9 lap, overtook Happinessa for 19th, and immediately began closing the gap ahead. Davitidze was equally remarkable, running in the 2:18 range and matching the pace of several established drivers further up the order.
Unfortunately, the Georgian’s superb race came undone on lap five when another out-of-control car collected her machine heavily. The collision caused substantial front-right damage and forced Davitidze into the pits, ending her challenge for the Lady Trophy lead. Though she eventually rejoined, she had lost two laps.
Visser meanwhile inherited the Lady Trophy lead and continued her relentless recovery drive. By lap six she had climbed to 16th and was rapidly closing a seven-second gap to Pohjanharju ahead, repeatedly gaining over a second per lap thanks to outstanding pace. Happinessa also maintained a very solid race, consistently improving her lap times and stabilizing in 17th position.
By lap eight, Visser had closed to within three seconds of the top fifteen. When Faraonio dropped down the order, the Dutchwoman inherited 15th and launched a final-lap attack on Pohjanharju. Despite catching the Finnish driver before the chequered flag, Visser crossed the line just two tenths short after an extraordinary comeback drive, eventually classified 14th after Jens Beeusaert retired on the final lap. The result nevertheless secured Visser her second Lady Trophy victory of the season.
Happinessa also capitalized late in the race by overtaking Faraonio to secure a valuable 15th-place finish after climbing from her starting position, while Davitidze salvaged 22nd after her earlier incident despite completing the race two laps down.
Sunday morning’s second race offered Visser a much better opportunity, this time starting seventh rather than from the rear of the field. Davitidze lined up 17th, while Happinessa started 19th.
At the start, Visser remained with the leading group through the opening corners and slotted into ninth overall after being overtaken by Melvin de Groot. Davitidze and Happinessa both maintained their positions during a clean opening lap, running 17th and 19th respectively.
A Full Course Yellow was deployed on lap two after the #21 car of Leogrande stopped on circuit, but racing resumed one lap later. Happinessa immediately reclaimed 19th by overtaking Deschamps, though the pair continued swapping positions over the following laps.
Visser once again demonstrated outstanding pace, recording a 2:16.9 on lap four - one of the fastest laps in the field - as she began pressuring Tziortzis ahead while simultaneously pulling away from the cars behind. Davitidze also enjoyed another strong run, lapping quicker than Kenko Miura and several cars ahead of her.
Happinessa’s race, however, unfortunately unraveled on lap five when she sustained front-end damage after being hit by another competitor. Forced to pit for repairs, the German once again found herself on the receiving end of contact to no fault of her own. Nevertheless, she rejoined the race determined to see the finish.
Further ahead, Visser continued her charge through several intense battles inside the top ten. She overtook de Groot for eighth while also closing on Martin Doubek ahead. In the final laps, Visser emerged as one of the fastest drivers on track, recording laps in the 2:15.9 range as she climbed to seventh position.
The Dutchwoman ultimately crossed the line seventh, later promoted to sixth after post-race penalties, securing her best NASCAR Euro Series finish to date and a second consecutive Lady Trophy victory.
Davitidze meanwhile completed another highly impressive race, finishing 15th overall after strong battles throughout the event and consistently competitive pace in the low 2:18 range. The Georgian rookie once again demonstrated major improvement and gained valuable experience fighting in close midfield battles.
Happinessa recovered from her earlier damage to take the chequered flag in 21st place, despite a difficult race compromised by contact.
Following two rounds of the 2026 season, Visser now sits ninth in the championship standings on 102 points, while Happinessa is 14th with 87 points and Davitidze 21st with 59 points. The NASCAR Euro Series now heads to the United Kingdom for the next round at Brands Hatch on 6-7 June.
