Arthur Gama won on the night of this Saturday (the 1st) the NASCAR Brasil night race at the International Circuit of Mato Grosso. The 2.8-kilometer outer track, a calendar novelty, produced an action-packed 1 hour and 10 minutes race with battles right up to the final lap for the fifth round of the 2026 championship. Here’s how it unfolded:
The green flag fell and Alfredinho Ibiapina managed to hold the lead at the start. The opening lap saw Gabriel Casagrande overtake Cacá Bueno to claim second place. Bueno also dropped behind Arthur Gama and Nicolas Costa, but he fought back and settled back into fourth.
The race continued with the cars running in close formation, and Casagrande took the lead at the exact moment the safety car came onto the track to recover Tito Giaffone’s car, which had stopped off the racing line but managed to rejoin and benefited from the Lucky Dog restart, allowing him to rejoin on the leader’s lap.
The race resumed with 55 minutes on the clock. Casagrande held the lead, while Cacá Bueno advanced to third and Arthur Gama moved into second. The battle among the lead pack intensified, with Denis Navarro pressuring Bueno.
Bueno wound up spinning on the track, and Thiago Camilo, Nicolas Costa, and Alfredinho Ibiapina were also swept into the incident, with Camilo’s suspension damaged. After the incident, Navarro solidified in third, while Murilo Rocha moved up to fourth.
The race continued with a lot of moves in the middle of the pack. At the front, Felipe Tozzo appeared in fifth place.
At the 22-minute mark, the race paused again due to lighting issues on the circuit. By then, night was already falling over Cuiabá.
The first stage of the 100-mile race ended with Casagrande taking the win, while Gama and Rocha completed the podium in the top three.
The cars then went to mandatory refueling stops before the second part of the race.
For the second stage, the top six were inverted. A local driver, Jorge Martelli, started on the front row, followed by Felipe Tozzo, Murilo Rocha, Arthur Gama, and Gabriel Casagrande. Denis Navarro would have started third, but began from the back of the grid. Martelli managed to defend second, while Alfredinho Ibiapina, starting sixth, gained three positions. Tozzo began pressuring Martelli, who held firm. Further back, Witold Ramasauskas went off the track.
With no yellow flag, Ibiapina and Gama competed for second place. The two even completed an entire lap side by side, with Gama managing to keep second for a few moments afterward.
Gama moved up on Martelli and pulled off the pass with 14 minutes to go. He was followed by Ibiapina and Tozzo. Martelli managed to fend off Casagrande’s attack and hold onto fourth.
Soon after, Ibiapina took the lead and Tozzo also overtook Gama for second. The race became incredibly dynamic. Casagrande and Costa also passed Martelli.
Tozzo took control of the race, with nearly six cars in pursuit. But he soon ran off the track, and Gama managed to overtake. Taking advantage of the confusion, Casagrande moved up to third and soon challenged for second, running wheel-to-wheel with Gama and making the pass.
Yet, the lead did not last long. Soon Tozzo reassumed it and Gama also completed the overtake. The group was tightly packed at that moment and Casagrande dropped to eighth. Ibiapina returned to third.
A little later, Casagrande spun on the track, with five minutes remaining. The front pack dispersed and the race cooled down.
However, the final two minutes were filled with high drama. Ibiapina closed in on Gama and managed the pass. But Gama quickly retaliated, pulling Tozzo along with him. The three entered a fierce duel, and Ibiapina finished in third. Jorge Martelli and Nicolas Costa followed closely behind.
With two laps to go, Tozzo attempted the overtake and did so, but soon went off the track, and the victory went to Gama. Nicolas Costa secured third place, while Bruna Tomaselli and Vitor Genz completed the top five.
