Hoover Orsi wins the most superb race of the season, guaranteeing his spot in the Playoffs.
AutĂłdromo Internacional Nelson Piquet
The race on Sunday started with Valdeno Brito in the lead, Neo QuĂmica-Neosoro (Peugeot). The driver set a fast, competitive pace, since he was being closely followed by Jorge Neto and Cacá Bueno, Eurofarma RC (Mitsubuishi).
In the 5th lap, Cacá overtook his teammate with ease, whilst Neto was bumped by Ricardo Zonta, L&M Racing (Peugeot), and soon went to the pits.
By the 7th lap, the competition turned even more fierce and the hot track proved to be too difficult for some. Chico Serra from Full Time Competições (Peugeot) skidded off the victory curve and slammed hard against the tyre barrier. It was at this very curve that Antonio Pizzonia, Win Motorsport (Volkswagen) also crashed only a few laps later. The ex-F1 driver was doing extremely well, but got tangled up with Lico Kaesemodel, AMG Motorsport (Mitsubishi), and got the short end of the stick.
In Lap 21, Ricardo Zonta overtook Valdeno, who began to have trouble in the lead. Cacá Bueno following close behind in second tried to keep up with Zonta, but was soon overtaken by another ex-F1, Enrique Bernoldi of Biosintética Action Power (Volkswagen).
At this point in the race, under extremely hot conditions, technical problems began to ensue and a broken gear box ended Cacá’s hopes of a third consecutive victory and an even more secure lead in the Playoffs. Valdeno Brito also abandoned the race due to a rupture in the homokinetic joint, which allows a rotating shaft to transmit power through a variable angle, at constant rotational speed.
Zonta’s lead did not last long. His front bumper was close to falling apart, until a tyre went flat five laps from the end of the race, and the driver handed the lead over to Hoover Orsi, Red Bull Racing (Volkswagen), who was keeping his cool in a very tight race, maintaining positions even after being bumped hard by Ricardo MaurĂcio, Medley/ A. Mattheis (Chevrolet). The driver from Mato Grosso do Sul started the race in 9th.
However, the battle was far from over as Ingo Hoffmann of AMG Motorsport (Mitsubishi), who started in 24th place, managed to brilliantly recover, catching up with Hoover and even leading for a few moments. Only a victory could have guaranteed Hoover Orsi’s spot in the Playoffs, and that seemed to be his driving force. The driver pushed forward aggressively and won the race in what was unanimously the most superb race of the season.
In Hoover’s opinion, this was a tough race: “I managed to remain calm, even though my back bumper was significantly damaged”, he remembers. The victory guaranteed what seemed to be a long shot spot in the Playoffs, “So it’s time to celebrate”, concluded Orsi.
