José Manuel De los Milagros made his debut at the German event of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, taking place at Nürburgring, and where the Spanish racer drove a Ford Mustang entered by Ford Autolix Competition and partnering with Borja García and Salvador Tineo. Not only was this driver´s first foray into the series, but his debut with these cars too and at Nürburgring, an unknown territory for this young GT and touring car racer born in Soto del Real.

After the free practice sessions, De los Milagros approached the qualifying session with a clear objective in mind: to set a competitive lap time. Finally he set a time of 1:35.103, to start 15th on the starting grid, more than one second and half slower than the pole position but a good performance under the circumstances. Race one took place on Saturday and the start was not that easy for De los Milagros as to avoid a clash with another car went to the tail end of the field (25th). Pulling off a superb drive he finished 17th and setting his fastest lap over the weekend: 1:34.694. As the grid for the second race depended on that fastest lap, De los Milagros started 14th on the grid, and the driver himself explained that “I was hit by another car in such a senseless way by another car and had to pit to change a left front tire, because it punctured. I rejoined the race, but one lap behind the leaders, under safety car. I was in top-ten, even when I was lapped. But then another car hit me on the main straight and I spun. Fortunately I still managed to get into the race, finishing 18th, and gaining experience with the car”.

The Madrid-born driver was delighted as, in his own words, “the team congratulated on my performance. Our pace was quite good, and now we have to keep working because our target is to become a front-runner. And I´m sure we will achieve it. There is a high level, with former GP2 or Le Mans drivers, even Formula 1! My lap times were similar to them. And we will carry out a test in August, so it will be extremely useful. I wish to thank Ford Autolix Competition this great chance, because it was an unforgettable experience. I feel immediately at home. I would to congratulate Borja García and Salvador Tineo, as they won and finished on the podium and, in the case of Borja, moves closer to the series lead”.