Thiago Camilo began celebrating his 42nd birthday this Sunday (the 20th) with a victory in Race 1 of NASCAR Brasil in Curvelo (MG). The driver managed to stay steady amid the chaos on the Curvelo oval, temporarily reclaiming the championship lead. The morning’s race forms part of the playoff decider, which will determine the 12 drivers who will continue the bid for the 2026 title. See how the race unfolded:
Green flag at the Curvelo oval and Vitor Genz stayed in front. Overtakes occurred in the middle of the pack, and Arthur Gama, Nicolas Costa, Juninho Berlanda were among the drivers who gained positions. The start happened without incidents.
Shortly after, the race went yellow as Gustavo Bandeira lost the rear of his car. Consequently, Tito Giaffone, Juninho Berlanda, and Bruna Tomaselli also became involved in the incident. The safety car entered the track.
The race resumed with 10 minutes still on the clock, and Genz managed to protect himself from Thiago Camilo at the restart. Jorge Martelli ended up being clipped by Felipinho Tozzo, causing the second pile-up and the race’s safety car.
But the race was quickly resumed, with the drivers maintaining their positions well on the restart. Gabriel Casagrande, who started at the back of the pack, was already seventh at that moment, being challenged by Tatiana Calderón.
With five minutes left on the clock, Tatiana managed to overtake and Felipe Malinowski followed, leaving Casagrande in ninth. Then, the championship leader encountered problems and headed to the technical area.
Seconds later, Vitor Genz, who had been leading the race with a comfortable margin, struck the wall. Camilo, who was right behind, managed to dodge and assume the lead of the race. However, Firas Fahs, who was third, ended up hitting Genz’s car and also retired from the race.
The safety car was deployed again.
The race resumed and Camilo held the first position. Arthur Gama took second from Witold Ramasauskas, while Tatiana Calderón overtook Alfredinho Ibiapina for fourth place.
Checkered flag and Thiago Camilo, the birthday celebrant of the day, won Race 1 in Curvelo, taking the provisional lead of the championship.
Arthur Gama finished in second place, while Ramasauskas closed the podium and won in the Challenge.
Calderón finished fourth, with Ibiapina right behind. Cacá Bueno was sixth, followed by Denis Navarro and Felipe Malinowski. Felipinho Tozzo and Juninho Berlanda completed the top 10.
Race 2 is scheduled for 2:10 PM.
