Cecilia Rabelo continues perfect streak of podiums in Porsche Sprint Challenge Brazil

Cecilia Rabelo continued her exceptional start to the Porsche Sprint Challenge Brazil season with another double podium in the Sport class at Velo Città, securing second and third-place finishes to maintain a perfect run of podium results in 2026.

Photo credits: Fernanda Freixosa

Cecilia Rabelo continued her exceptional start to the Porsche Sprint Challenge Brazil season with another double podium in the Sport class at Velo Città, securing second and third-place finishes to maintain a perfect run of podium results in 2026.

After a stellar season opener at Interlagos, where she claimed a dominant double class victory, Cecilia Rabelo arrived at Velo Città determined to sustain her momentum in the second round of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Brazil championship. Competing in her second full-time campaign after transitioning from Formula 4 machinery, the young Brazilian once again demonstrated impressive speed aboard the Porsche 991 GT3 Cup car.

Rabelo immediately established herself among the frontrunners during practice, setting the fourth-fastest overall time and finishing just half a second shy of the benchmark lap, in an early indication of her competitiveness on the technical circuit notoriously difficult for overtaking.

Qualifying confirmed her strong form: Cecilia comfortably advanced through Q1, posting a 1:31.141 lap that secured fifth overall and a place in the decisive top-ten shootout. In the second qualifying segment, she further improved with a 1:30.832, earning sixth overall and fourth in the Challenge Sport class, placing her on the third row of the grid for Race 1.

Photo credits: Fernanda Freixosa

Starting in her striking new pink-and-white livery, Rabelo made an outstanding launch when the lights went out: taking the inside line into Turn 1, she immediately climbed into fourth overall and second in the Sport category, quickly putting herself on the attack against Will Cesar ahead.

The race was then neutralized almost immediately, however, as a collision between Nicholas Garfinkel and Gabriel Guper brought out the safety car at the end of the opening lap.

At the restart with 20 minutes remaining, Rabelo faced immediate pressure into Turn 1 but defended firmly. Gerson Campos challenged and eventually moved ahead overall, though not within her class battle. Amid the tight fight, Sadak Leite made slight contact with Rabelo, but she maintained control and continued running fifth overall while holding second in the Sport class, with Neto Heil looming directly behind.

Leite later found a way through with 14 minutes remaining, leaving Rabelo focused on defending against class rival Heil. A spin by Moreira soon triggered a second safety car period, compressing the field once again.

When racing resumed, Rabelo engaged in a fierce duel with Heil for class position. While Enrico Pedrosa led the Sport category further ahead, the battle for second intensified. Rabelo initially resisted multiple attempts, decisively closing the door during one attack, but eventually had to concede the position on corner exit, dropping to third in class.

In the closing minutes, she stabilized her pace, built a safe margin over the cars behind, and chased Heil to the finish. Rabelo crossed the line seventh overall and third in the Challenge Sport class, securing another important podium and valuable championship points.

Photo credits: Fernanda Freixosa

Cecilia lined up seventh overall and third in class for Sunday’s second race, once again protagonist of an exceptional getaway. Charging through the pack into Turn 1, she surged up to fourth overall before another early incident involving three cars prompted an immediate safety car deployment.

Racing resumed with 15 minutes remaining, with Caio Castro leading overall and Neto Heil heading the Sport category. At the restart, Rabelo executed one of the highlight moves of the weekend: going three-wide into Turn 1, she boldly committed to the inside line and emerged second overall, simultaneously taking the lead of the Sport class.

Another dramatic incident followed shortly after when Rafael Bernardes spun under braking and collected Claudio Simão, bringing out yet another safety car.

With only a brief green-flag period before the next restart, Rabelo found herself in prime position for class victory. Battles behind provided her with a small buffer, but the race soon took another twist: overall leader Caio Castro suffered a puncture, allowing Enrico Pedrosa to seize both the overall and Sport class lead.

Pedrosa began to pull away, while Rabelo shifted focus to defending from Will Cesar behind. As Cesar competed in a different category, Rabelo avoided unnecessary risks and instead concentrated on maintaining consistent pace.

Driving with maturity, she gradually created a small gap before Cesar mounted a final-lap charge. Under intense pressure to the finish line, Rabelo defended decisively, crossing the line second overall and second in the Sport class, thus sealing another outstanding podium finish.

With a second and third-place finish at Velo Città, Cecilia Rabelo maintains a flawless podium record in the 2026 season and further strengthens her championship campaign.

The Porsche Sprint Challenge Brazil field will next head to the Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna in Goiânia on 25–26 April, where Rabelo will aim to extend her remarkable early-season form.