PCC Brazil: Antonella Bassani faces difficult Interlagos return amid heavy rain
Antonella Bassani endured a difficult return to Interlagos in the seventh round of the 2026 Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil, with torrential rain and challenging track conditions disrupting the weekend and ultimately preventing the Brazilian from converting her recent run of strong form into another points-scoring result.
Antonella Bassani endured a difficult return to Interlagos in the seventh round of the 2026 Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil, with torrential rain and challenging track conditions disrupting the weekend and ultimately preventing the Brazilian from converting her recent run of strong form into another points-scoring result.
Bassani arrived back in Brazil following the championship's European leg, which had taken the field to the Circuit de la Sarthe and Portimão, carrying the momentum of her strongest stretch of the season. One of the leading young drivers in Brazilian motorsport, Bassani had already established herself as a regular front-running contender after progressing from Porsche Sprint Challenge Brasil to the main Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil series, with her title-winning 2024 Porsche Cup Brasil campaign providing the foundation for her continued rise.
Her 2026 campaign had reached another level during the European events. At the Circuit de la Sarthe, Bassani claimed her maiden Carrera Cup podium during the championship's historic appearance alongside the 24 Hours of Le Mans, before following it with fifth and second-place finishes at Portimão. The latter result represented her second podium of the season and moved Bassani into third position in the championship standings heading into the return to Interlagos.
The home round, however, proved to be a challenge. Interlagos was hit by heavy rain on Saturday morning, leaving the circuit extremely wet and forcing qualifying to be delayed by almost two hours. With grip and conditions changing constantly, Bassani struggled to find the same level of performance she had demonstrated at the previous rounds and eventually qualified 19th for the opening race among a 38-car field.
The conditions deteriorated further ahead of Race 1, with heavy rain continuing to fall and visibility becoming a major concern. The race began behind the safety car, with the field completing a controlled opening lap before the green flag was waved.
Bassani initially retained 19th place, but the treacherous conditions immediately produced incidents throughout the field, with several drivers spinning at the opening corners. On the first racing lap, Carlos Campos spun directly ahead of Antonella. With limited visibility and very little room to react, she attempted to avoid the stationary car but was forced off, hit at the back of her car and into an advertising board.
The contact caused damage to the Porsche, leaving Bassani with no option but to pit and retire from the race. The safety car was subsequently deployed, and with conditions continuing to deteriorate, the race ultimately finished behind the safety car without a return to green-flag running.
With the weather remaining unsettled on Sunday, Bassani faced another difficult task in Race 2, again starting from 19th and needing to recover valuable championship points. Once again, the field initially circulated behind the safety car, with the race conditions deemed too difficult for immediate green-flag racing.
The safety car came in on the second lap, but the green flag lasted only a few corners before another incident forced a further neutralization. Eventually, with 17 minutes remaining, racing was able to resume properly, giving Bassani an opportunity to fight her way forward.
She immediately took advantage and moved into 18th place before quickly beginning to carve through the field, hunting down Alceu Feldmann and making several decisive passes in the extremely difficult conditions. Within another lap she had climbed to 14th, demonstrating the pace that had been there from the start of the season.
The Brazilian continued her charge and gained another two positions on the following lap, reaching 12th with ten minutes remaining. After starting 19th, Bassani had therefore recovered seven positions in only a handful of green-flag laps and was rapidly putting herself back into the mix for a strong result.
Unfortunately, bad luck struck again before she could complete the comeback, as Bassani's car slowed down due to a technical issue and eventually she had to park the car trackside, unable to continue, ending another frustrating race without the result her pace had suggested was possible.
The Interlagos weekend therefore represented a significant setback after Bassani's campaign. Antonella will now have an opportunity to regroup ahead of the next round, the championship's Endurance event at the Brasília Circuit on October 3. The next sprint round will then bring the Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil back to Interlagos as part of the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix weekend on November 7-8.
