Overall NASCAR Brasil champion and three-time champion of the Special Edition, Gabriel Casagrande leaves the Circuito dos Cristais in Curvelo (MG) with a third-place finish in the standings. The Paraná-born driver struggled with the car’s performance from his first session on Saturday, and even after changing the engine on Sunday, he admits that the performance was quite compromised.
“Thinking that we came from a pole position here last year, it really wasn’t the weekend we expected. We basically scored zero in the round, and I was with high expectations, but we were completely without pace against the rivals since the practice sessions, already suffering with the engine. We changed the engine and it didn’t solve it, so it was tough for us to see that because on a track like this you can clearly see the differences,” explains Casagrande, who is backed by Jupiter Batteries, Axalta, Cresol, OnPetro, STP, RP Info, UFI Filters and Aeropark Camboriú.
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Winner of the previous round in Londrina and coming off a special driving experience in Bristol in the ARCA Menards Series, Casagrande says he is looking ahead to the upcoming races as he continues to dream of another title.
“We’re going to try to wipe this away, start a new battle with some new ideas, return to the winning cars we had this year to chase the title. It’s not over yet; there’s still a lot ahead, as if we had three more rounds left, so six races, and I’m still excited. I’m full of energy, I think we have the potential to fight at the front also in these two remaining rounds. We’ll just have to be very careful with our technical choices so that we don’t suffer what we suffered here, but I know that depends a lot on what I pass to the team, so that we get it right together, as we’ve gotten it right together many times before,” Casagrande adds.
The next NASCAR Brasil round will take place on October 31, in Chapecó (SC). Casagrande returns to the track this coming weekend in the Stock Car Endurance race in Brasília (DF).
