Alina Loibnegger will take the next step in her career and challenge the elite drivers in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. The Austrian will return to Racingfuel Motorsport and move up to EuroNASCAR PRO for the 2023 NWES season. The Wolfsberg native joined the EuroNASCAR 2 championship in 2021 after getting her first taste of the car in the 2019 Club Challenge season. After a successful season with Racingfuel Motorsport out of Switzerland in 2022, Loibnegger is looking forward to the next challenge.
At the age of 28, the Maria Saal resident has eight Lady Trophy race wins to her credit in EuroNASCAR 2. With three top-10 finishes, in 2022 Loibnegger was 17th overall and second in the Lady Trophy standings. To top the benchmark of three tenth-place finishes despite moving to the top class is the goal in 2023, as Loibnegger and Racingfuel Motorsport can rely on last year's experience. The driver and the team have proven to be a strong and reliable combination that will write another chapter for the NWES history books.
"I want to improve personally and also perform better on the track," said Loibnegger before the first race of the season. "It's important to keep learning and I'm looking forward to a season with a lot of great people around me. I'm fully motivated to start the season with this new challenge and I know that the team will support me in my development. We want to pick up where we left off last year and I'm ready to give it my all. I love the EuroNASCAR atmosphere! It's the fans and the people that make the series so special. And the cars are awesome and provide pure racing.
Team Manager Ferruccio Finkbohner is delighted to be working with the Austrian again: "We are all happy to have Alina back in our ranks this year. She has the talent and is very ambitious. We are sure that she will prove her pace and speed. EuroNASCAR PRO has a high level, but the whole team believes in Alina and everyone is confident that we will continue to build on the success we had last year.” For Racingfuel Motorsport it's the second season in the world of EuroNASCAR and with the experience gained in 2022, the organization is ready to take the next step.
Loibnegger, who started racing at the age of 12, has her roots in karting on tracks in Austria and immediately fell in love with EuroNASCAR when she tried out the 400-horsepower V8 beasts in the 2019 Club Challenge season. She's a florist who won a regional florist competition in 2013 and with the support of her trusted sponsors, she will be competing for the Challenger Trophy. Her sister, Melinda, is not only a talented singer, but she's also the racer‘s spotter on race weekends, guiding her through two exciting sprint races on the radio.
The 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series kicks off May 5-6 at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. All qualifying and race events will be streamed live on EuroNASCAR's YouTube channel, Motorsport.tv and various television services around the world. Loibnegger, who enjoys hiking, archery, squash, crossfit and snowboarding in her spare time, is focused and motivated to climb the EuroNASCAR ladder and her authentic presence will once again make her a key driver in the NWES paddock.