Nicolas Costa was the winner of Race 1 of the NASCAR Brasil Series, held on Sunday morning (the 31st) at the Interlagos Circuit. The driver managed to execute well-timed strategies to defend his position in the final stretch of the event, which, besides being marked by drizzle and cold weather, featured an intense duel with rookie Murilo Rocha and the veteran Thiago Camilo. Here is how it unfolded:
The race started with Cacá Bueno out front, safeguarding the lead for Arthur Gama, who lost positions. With that, Nicolas Costa seized the moment and moved up to second place. Vitor Genz managed to close in and rise to third.
Midway through the first lap, Bueno dropped several positions due to car problems. As a result, the top three became Costa, Genz and Gabriel Casagrande, with Murilo Rocha and Thiago Camilo right behind.
The race continued with many moves in the middle of the pack, but without significant changes. Costa began to widen the lead at the front.
Casagrande and Ricardo Zonta were penalized with a drive-through for a jumped start, and as a result Rocha moved up to third and began pressuring Genz.
At the opening of the ninth lap, Rocha overtook Genz. Further back, the battle between Galid Osman and Denis Navarro for sixth place intensified, with Navarro coming out on top. On the exit from the Interlagos “S,” Osman ended up spinning on the track. Two laps later, Genz also spun in the same spot.
In the final two laps, Costa and Rocha ran very close, but Costa managed to maintain the lead to win. Rocha took second place, while Camilo finished on the podium.
As a result, Murilo Rocha also claimed victory in the Challenge class. Bruna Tomaselli and Witold Ramasauskas completed the top three.
The NASCAR Brasil Series will run Race 2 later this Sunday, at 2:00 PM.
3rd STAGE – SONIC Grand Prix | Interlagos (SP)
RACE 1
1) #69 Nicolas Costa, AMattheis Vogel — in 25m56.796s
2) #55 Murilo Rocha (Challenge), Full Time — behind by 0.926s
3) #21 Thiago Camilo, Full Time — behind by 1.155s
4) #05 Denis Navarro, Cavaleiro Sports — behind by 4.404s
5) #87 Jorge Martelli, Team RC — behind by 4.477s
6) #22 Victor Andrade, Full Time — behind by 6.400s
7) #97 Bruna Tomaselli (Challenge), SG28 by Pole Motorsport — behind by 7.231s
8) #11 Witold Ramasauskas (Challenge), Team RC — behind by 7.558s
9) #15 Tito Giaffone (Challenge), Full Time — behind by 7.871s
10) #28 Gui Backes (Challenge), AMattheis Vogel — behind by 10.831s
11) #46 Vitor Genz, Full Time — behind by 12.093s
12) #8 Alfredinho Ibiapina (Challenge), Full Time — behind by 13.137s
13) #57 Felipe Tozzo (Challenge), Team RC — behind by 13.362s
14) #34 Dudes Castroneves (Challenge), Pole Motorsport — behind by 20.677s
15) #90 Alex Seid / Ricardo Maurício, Cavaleiro Sports by Pole Motorsport — behind by 20.900s
16) #83 Gabriel Casagrande, AMattheis Vogel — behind by 22.952s
17) #99 Galid Osman, Cavaleiro Sports — behind by 34.047s
18) #10 Ricardo Zonta, Cavaleiro Sports — behind by 45.892s
19) #85 Gustavo Bandeira (Challenge), Team RC — behind by 50.307s
20) #0 Cacá Bueno, Team RC — 3 laps down
Not classified (75% = 9 laps)
21) #25 Tatiana Calderon (Challenge), SG28 by Pole Motorsport — 5 laps down
22) #17 Juninho Berlanda (Challenge), AMattheis Vogel — 9 laps down
23) #9 Arthur Gama, Cavaleiro Sports — 10 laps down
Best lap: Tito Giaffone (Challenge), Full Time — in 1m58.261s
