Giorgio Maggi (21), a Swiss driver who is making is major breakthrough in 2019. As the points’ leader in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Elite 2 standings, he followed the invitation from Bert Longin (B) and the NORMA Krafft semi-works team (F) to participate in the 24-hour race at Zolder (B).
The young Swiss was overwhelmed after claiming victory in the legendary Zolder 24 Hours with the team of Bert Longin (B), Stienes Longin (B) and Christoff Corten (B) in the NORMA M20 FC.
What an exciting race over 24 hours it had been! On Saturday at 4 pm, a total of 40 cars took the start for the race twice around the clock. No less than 6 NORMA sports prototypes alternated in the lead. The team with Giorgio Maggi was able to regularly take turns in the lead until lap 241 (just before 11 pm) as the team had to make an unscheduled pit stop. A broken part was replaced and 15 laps were lost as a result. Then, the team started a rapid recovery. In the process,
Giorgio Maggi completed some double stints of around three hours each.
The clever tactics of the Krafft Racing team brought the #11 NORMA M20 FC with its different drivers back up into the lead of the race after 19 hours, a position the team then held on to until the finish at 4 pm with a total of 791 laps. What a performance by the team in which Giorgio Maggi had played a major role!
Quotes:
Giorgio Maggi
“I felt really well within the team and with the NORMA M20 FC. I always respected the lap times set by the team and I made no mistakes although you had to be really careful when lapping other cars. A great, but also a very demanding race, especially at night.”
Bert Longin
“Giorgio has met all the expectations I had in him with consistent and fast lap times. Had it not been for his great performance, we wouldn’t have had this success together.”
Stiennes Longin
“Our team spirit and the fantastic performance by Giorigo Maggi have really impressed me.”
Christoff Corten
“An extraordinary performance by the French Krafft team has enabled us to score this success. Fast, faultless pit stops were the basis and Giorgio Maggi’s performance was top.”
Statistics
The #11 NORMA M20 FC Krafft team led for a total of 401 laps (of 4,000 metres). Total distance after 24 hours; 701 laps = 2,804 km.
34 of the 40 participating teams were classified.
37m27s of the race ran under yellow/SC
162m27s of the race ran under code 60
All race cars that finished had completed a total of 23,205 laps, equalling a distance of 92,820 km.
Now, Giorgio Maggi is concentrating on the next NASCAR Whelen Euro Series round, 21-22 September at Hockenheim. Here, he can already decide the battle for the championship in his favour. “I am looking forward to Hockenheim, the track suits me.”
