Brands Hatch, UK –  The fourth podium of the season arrived for Max Lanza at Brands Hatch, where the Roman driver secured an excellent second place in the Challenger Trophy on Saturday, in front of over 40,000 passionate fans. In a chaotic Race 1 of the EuroNASCAR Open Division, held under a torrential downpour, Roberto Benedetti also climbed onto the podium in the Legend Trophy.

The British weekend saw Lanza in fine form right from free practice, where he clocked his best lap twice within the overall Top 10, topping the Challenger Trophy classification. As tradition would have it, the weather became a key factor on Saturday, with intermittent rain forcing the PRO Division drivers to qualify on a damp track. In those tricky conditions, Lanza secured fifth place in class in qualifying. However, the Roman driver quickly redeemed himself in Race 1 with a measured performance and solid recovery, climbing back up to second in the Challenger standings. This result now puts him third in the championship, just 11 points off the lead.

“It’s been an incredible weekend, full of ups and downs. We started really strong in free practice, and everything was looking promising. But then the rain during qualifying mixed things up a bit,” said Max Lanza. He continued: “In the race, everything went smoothly. Brands Hatch is an unforgiving track, and consistency became our strongest weapon. Thanks to that, we secured our fourth podium of the season, a very important second place for the championship.”

Lanza’s weekend came to a dramatic end during the early stages of Race 2, where he was involved in a spectacular crash that also prematurely ended the weekend for his teammate Roberto Benedetti. “I feel really sorry for Roberto, but there was nothing I could do. It happened so fast, the car in front of me moved wide, and we touched. The impact was as spectacular as it was violent. The #88 came out badly damaged, but I walked away unharmed. These EuroNASCAR cars are really tough!”

Roberto Benedetti also had a promising start to the weekend. The Roman driver placed within the overall Top 10 in both free practice sessions and set the fastest time among the Legend Trophy contenders in the opening session. In qualifying, Benedetti secured a solid sixth-row start, finishing third among the Legend drivers. He confirmed that form in the chaotic Race 1 on Saturday, where a sudden and intense downpour turned the race into a high-wire act as drivers battled to keep their cars on track. Under the checkered flag, Benedetti earned second place in the Legend Trophy, moving up to second in the overall championship standings for the category.

Now the EuroNASCAR drivers head into the summer break, with hostilities set to resume at the end of August in Most, Czech Republic, for the final round of the Regular Season, the crucial lead-up to the Playoffs kicking off in September.