Advait Deodhar and Alberto Panebianco confirmed for Euro NASCAR2
The ace Indian joins Rookie winner at Not Only Motorsport
Bengaluru, 16 Feb 2022: Not Only Motorsport announced today two of their drivers for the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season. Advait Deodhar will join the Italian team in the EuroNASCAR 2 championship driving the #90 Chevrolet Camaro, while Rookie Trophy winner Alberto Panebianco extended his partnership with Not Only Motorsport to race the #89 Chevrolet Camaro. Both the Indian and the Italian will go for the EuroNASCAR 2 title.
Deodhar made his way into EuroNASCAR 2 through the regularity based Club Challenge and made his competitive racing breakthrough at Brands Hatch in the 2021 season. The 31-year-old from Mumbai scored his maiden NASCAR win to become the first Indian to park his car in Victory Lane in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. 5 top-5 and 6 top-10 finishes in the last season made Deodhar one of the title contenders and in 2022 he wants to fight for the championship until the very last race.
“I’m very happy to be back in EuroNASCAR. I have a lot of unfinished business from last year, unfortunately.” said Deodhar, who lost his brother last year. “It started off well but then I had a personal tragedy in my life and I think because of that my head was not in the right space. I was expecting from the year to win the championship but unfortunately that didn’t happen. The plan was to step up to EuroNASCAR PRO but I’ve got unfinished business in EuroNASCAR 2. I want to give it another shot and aim for the title and nothing less! I’m training very hard in the gym and in the simulator. I’m gonna move to Not Only Motorsport. They have a strong package and the drivers always had a setup they were confident with. We all want to win and this is why it’s a good move.”
In his EuroNASCAR 2 rookie season, which was his first in competitive auto racing, Panebianco convinced by winning the Rookie Trophy in tenth place overall – he had a 5 points advantage on Leevi Lintukanto. The Venaria Reale native scored 2 top-5 and 6 top-10 results as well as 4 Rookie Trophy race wins. With a lot more experience and new knowledge about the car and tracks in his pockets, Panebianco is poised to aim for a top-5 finish in every race and have a word in the EuroNASCAR 2 title battle.
“I’m really happy to continue my career with Not Only Motorsport,” said Panebianco, who found his way to EuroNASCAR through a contest organized by Not Only Motorsport. “We want to win together and achieve good results overall. We are working in the right direction and I’m proud of the progress we made since Valencia last year, hopefully this attitude will take us high in the standings. The goal is to think about ourselves and learn from every second in the car. I believe this is the only way to reach the ultimate target. I’m ready for an exciting season and I’m confident the best is yet to come, both from me and the team. We will carry the momentum into this season and keep progress together. I can’t wait to be back in the car!”
Not Only Motorsport is a relatively young team in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, having joined the Championship in 2020. In 2021, the Italian organization scored its maiden EuroNASCAR 2 with Naveh Talor at the wheel of the #90 Chevrolet – the car Deodhar will take over in the 2022 season. With all his experience, the Indian is poised to take Not Only Motorsport to the next level. With Panebianco, the team has a certain consistency that could be key. The rest of the team’s lineup will be announced at a later date.
The 2022 NWES season will kick off on April 9-10 at the legendary Hockenheimring in Germany. All qualifying sessions and races will be broadcasted live on EuroNASCAR’s social media profiles – YouTube, Facebook, Twitch – and on Motorsport.tv.
Featured Image Credits: NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Stephane Azemard
