Despite the challenges presented over the third round of the Brazilian Stock Car season, Bruna Tomaselli reached the top 5 in Cascavel and Kaká Magno collected a double top-10 finish.
The Brazilian Stock Series completed the first half of its scheduled activities for 2023. The Zilmar Beaux Circuit, in Cascavel - in the south of Brazil, hosted the third round of the season and the two women on the grid - Kaká Magno and Bruna Tomaselli - had to overcome some challenges to salvage important points for the championship.
The first activities took place on Friday, June 16th, with two free practices and the results were opposite for the two drivers. Tomaselli's #97 car had a good balance and allowed her to record good lap times, being in 4th fastest in FP2. Unfortunately Magno had some problems with her #35 car, but despite the difficulties the RTR Sport Team driver remained confident in the team's work and that she could perform well for the rest of the weekend.
In the qualifying sessions for races 1 and 2, the performances of the two drivers remained similar compared to the previous sessions. Bruna Tomaselli was classified in 5th place on the starting grid for both races and Kaká Magno in 11th place for race 1 and 12th in race 2.
Race 1
Despite having qualified in 5th, Tomaselli was forced to start from the back of the grid due to a penalty received in the previous round. At the end of the first lap, she had already made up one position while pole position-winner Pietro Rimbano maintained the lead in the race, followed by Zezinho Muggiati and Gabriel Robe, who fought for the 2nd place.
On lap 4 Hugo Cibien - who was in 8th position - lost control of his car #92 and dropped a few positions. At the same time, Vinicius Papareli received a drive-through penalty - for having jumped the start. He would eventually retire from the race. Tomaselli therefore moved up to 8th place and Magno to 11th. In the following laps Bruna Tomaselli and Enzo Bedani had an intense battle for P7 and Tomaselli emerged ahead, after completing a beautiful maneuver at the end of the main straight, overcoming Bedani.
At the end of lap 20, Felipe Papazissis - who was in 10th position - saw his car lose power and slowed down, but he could make it to the pits. Kaká Magno, who was right behind, inherited his position. Rimbano remained in control and secured the victory, followed by Robe and Muggiati. Tomaselli finished race 1 in 7th place and Magno closed the top 10.
Race 2
In the early afternoon of Sunday,the last two races of the round were held - and this time Bruna Tomaselli, who had qualified in 5th place on the grid of races 1 and 2, was able to start in the position she conquered. Her Garra Motorsport teammate Gabriel Robe was on pole position, followed by Race 1 winner; Kaká Magno started from 12th.
In a race with few position changes, the first three - Gabriel Robe, Pietro Rimbano and Zezinho Muggiati -remained at the top of the field from the beginning to the finish line, and with this victory, Robe could secure the championship lead. Bruna Tomaselli however, had to fight against her other teammate, Artur Gama, to secure the 5th position.
The driver of car #09 overtook her on the first lap, but shortly after Tomaselli took the position back, where she stayed until the end, despite pressure from Gama in final stages of the race.
On the last lap, Felipe Barrichello overtook Arthur Gama, taking 6th position, but without threatening Tomaselli. Kaká Magno completed Race 2 in 12th.
Race 3
With the result of race 2, the starting grid for the last track activity in Cascavel had Vinicius Papareli in pole position, Bruna Tomaselli occupied the 4th place and Kaká Magno completed the grid in 12th, but both ended up having to start from the pits. Unlike the previous race, this time there was more action between the drivers and already in the first corner Zezinho Muggiati had taken the lead from Papareli, followed by Gabriel Robe who also moved up to P2.
Between close battles in the mid-field, Hugo Cibien almost caused a collision with Enzo Bedani after spinning and crossing the track without control of his car. There was trouble also for Felipe Papazissis - who had also started from the pits and had to pit again so that the team's mechanics could check the conditions of the equipment.
Tomaselli and Magno made a recovery race and on lap 10 they were in 9th and 10th place respectively. At this moment Pietro Rimbano had already abandoned the race and Papazissis was still in the pits.
Muggiati was still the leader when Mathias De Valle and Felipe Barrichello, who displayed a good pace, overtook Arthur Gama and Gabriel Robe, to take the other two podium places.
In the last few laps, De Valle took over the lead to take the victory. Barrichello finished second after also overtaking Muggiati - who suffered damage to the back of his car but managed to complete the race in third. Bruna Tomaselli finished race 3 in 8th position and Kaká Magno secured her second top 10 during the weekend.
"Leaving Cascavel with my head held high, and as you know, I always like to talk about the positive things! There were 3 rounds and 9 races finished and a lot of evolution in all of them. P9 in the drivers standings and P6 in Rookies." - said Kaká Magno about the weekend.
She continued: "I'm happy with the evolution we've had over the nine races, I wasn't as active as the other drivers, racing in different categories. Some with more than three years in the Stock Series."
"But we're looking to get into the rhythm as soon as possible and I know that we're going to get there. It's our first year, so we're starting from scratch." - she completed, as she highlighted her adaptation moment in touring cars racing.
Bruna Tomaselli also spoke about the third round of the Stock Series: "We had a car to fight for a better position in the last race, but luck was not with us today, and I had to start from the back of the grid. P5 was our best result this weekend, we're going to the next one stronger!"
After 9 races contested over 3 rounds, the drivers' standings has Gabriel Robe in the lead with 209 points. Kaká Magno occupies the 9th position with 105 points, followed by Tomaselli, who rounds out the top 10 with 102. Now the competition will have the longest interval between rounds on its calendar and will only return on September 17, at the Velopark Circuit, in Nova Santa Rita.