Inside the Top-10: Vittorio Ghirelli Fights with NASCAR Canada’s Best in GP3R Return

The experience of competing at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivieres is paying dividends for Vittorio Ghirelli on his second rodeo at North America’s most historic street racing event. The Italian showed his prowess as the reigning two-time NASCAR Euro Series V8GP champion with his determination and grit at the streets of Quebec, Canada. Driving the #50 Chevrolet Camaro with support from Rousseau Metal and Festidrag.tv, Ghirelli scored a seventh place result in qualifying and translated his strong starting position into a tenth place finish in Sunday’s Le 45 Tours CarGurus, confirming the ability for European NASCAR stars to compete alongside NASCAR Canada Series’ finest.

After spending his summer break preparing for his return to GP3R, Ghirelli arrived at Canada with plenty of motivation. With some unfinished business after his late heartbreak in 2025, the Italian plotted his game plan with a shakedown at Autodrome Montmagny before the weekend started. The Fasano native was satisfied that he was up to speed on his first laps back on the NASCAR Canada Series machines and showed perfect harmony with his team.

They continued their work to find the setup that the V8GP champion needed for the all-important qualifying session when the green flags were first waved in Saturday morning practice. Clocking a fast lap at the demanding 2.448 kilometer street circuit is not an easy task, but as the day went on, Ghirelli became more comfortable and started to be more aggressive, pushing his times down as the laps ticked by.

This culminated in a qualifying to remember. Ghirelli extracted every inch of performance that he could find and finished the session with a blistering time of 1:08.638. With only 0.383 seconds separating him from pole sitter and NASCAR Canada veteran Kevin Lacroix, he confirmed that Europe’s champion is ready to fight for the victory.

“What a wonderful qualifying! Second in our group and we were P7 overall,” said Ghirelli. “I’m really grateful for the results, it’s not easy to compete with these guys. The team is happy and we’re happy. Thanks to our sponsors Rousseau Metal, Festidrag.tv, White Rabbit Entertainment, Alba Studios, GBI, XPN and many others for their really great support. I cannot name them all!”

New to the GP3R in 2026 were the Omnifab Sprints, two 15-lap sprints inspired by the legendary Daytona Duels that determined the starting grid for the feature race. Understanding the stakes at play, Ghirelli played the long game. The Italian worked hard to preserve his car and tires, anticipating an action packed 45-lap race on Sunday.

“It was a nice race,” said Ghirelli after the Sprints. “We got a top-5, which was our goal to stay clean. I don’t want to overdrive the car, we have good tires and are in good shape for tomorrow. We’re starting in the top-10 and trying to get a good result for my sponsors and partners. Tomorrow will be a long race, there are probably some cautions. We’ll try to have a good start, preserve the brakes and the tires for the last 15 laps where it’ll count. We’re improving step by step and I’m really grateful to be within the front runners as they’re fighting for the championship, so it’s a really good result and I’m happy.”

As the crowds packed into the streets of Trois-Rivieres to watch the crown jewel round for the NASCAR Canada Series, Ghirelli kept himself cool and locked his focus for a dramatic showdown in the main event. With the cheers from the rowdy Canadian fans, the champion wrestled his car round the tight bends and avoided several major incidents that brought out the red flags. With his plans in motion, Ghirelli sensed an opportunity to make daring passes in the final laps to secure a top-10 finish, clinching a sensational result for the Italian and the #50 crew.

“What a race!” said Ghirelli after crossing the finish line in tenth position. “We have a crazy race at the GP3R. I’m so happy that we performed all weekend and we finished with a nice top-10. I was really suffering with engine power, I was missing a lot of speed on the straights so I couldn’t really attack, but we were fast in the corners. Big thanks to our sponsors Rousseau Metal and Festidrag.tv, let’s keep it up and I hope I can be back with a better package in other events. You never know in the future. It’s been a real pleasure, I love Canada! The fans are amazing and it was good to be in the pack. I’m very grateful for this opportunity. Now it’s time to shift my focus back to Europe. We’ve got a championship to defend and go get the third ring!”

Ghirelli’s journey to Canada might have been over, but his adventure in the NASCAR Euro Series does not stop just yet. The Italian will be back in his #24 PK Carsport Chevrolet Camaro at the next round in Autodrom Most and with Ghirelli in the provisional lead in the standings, everything is in play as he chases an unprecedented third consecutive V8GP title in the second half of the 2026 season. Check out https://www.nascar.eu/watch/ to find out where you can watch the flying Italian from the NASCAR GP Czech Republic and the Playoffs at Italy and Belgium.

Vittorio Ghirelli ha gareggiato al Gran Premio di Trois-Rivières, mettendo in mostra il suo talento di due volte campione NASCAR Euro Series V8GP. Al volante della Chevrolet Camaro numero 50, con il supporto di Rousseau Metal e Festidrag.tv, Ghirelli si è qualificato in settima posizione e ha concluso al decimo posto la gara Le 45 Tours CarGurus, dimostrando che i piloti NASCAR europei possono competere alla pari con i migliori canadesi.

Prima di arrivare in Canada, Ghirelli ha sfruttato la pausa estiva per prepararsi e ha effettuato una sessione di prove libere all’Autodromo di Montmagny. Sentendosi pronto per il weekend di gara, ha lavorato con il suo team per perfezionare l’assetto della vettura, soprattutto in vista delle qualifiche. Acquisendo fiducia nel corso della giornata, Ghirelli ha ottenuto un tempo di qualifica di 1:08.638, a soli 0,383 secondi dal poleman Kevin Lacroix. Ha espresso gratitudine per la sua prestazione e per il supporto del team.

L’evento ha introdotto le Omnifab Sprints, due gare da 15 giri che hanno determinato la griglia di partenza per la gara principale. Ghirelli si è concentrato sulla conservazione della sua vettura e degli pneumatici durante questi sprint, puntando a un piazzamento tra i primi cinque per prepararsi al meglio alla gara principale. Ha dichiarato la sua intenzione di mantenere buone condizioni di pneumatici e freni per la gara più lunga che lo attendeva.

Durante la gara principale, Ghirelli è rimasto composto in un circuito affollato e impegnativo, riuscendo a evitare incidenti gravi e a effettuare sorpassi strategici. Ha concluso la gara in decima posizione ed è stato soddisfatto della sua prestazione complessiva durante il weekend, nonostante alcuni problemi al motore. Ghirelli ha ringraziato i suoi sponsor per il supporto e ha espresso la sua gioia di correre in Canada, riconoscendo l’incredibile affluenza di pubblico e l’atmosfera competitiva.

Conclusa la sua esperienza in Canada, Ghirelli ha riportato la sua attenzione sulla NASCAR Euro Series. Il suo obiettivo è difendere il titolo di campione nella seconda metà della stagione e correrà prossimamente con la Chevrolet Camaro del team 24 PK Carsport all’Autodrom Most, dove attualmente è in testa alla classifica. I fan potranno seguire il suo percorso nelle prossime gare del NASCAR GP Repubblica Ceca, Italia e Belgio.