Stock Car Brazil
History
22nd of April, 1979. The date marks the inaugural race of the first ever Brazilian Stock Car Championship at Autodromo TarumĂŁ, in Rio Grande do Sul. It is also one of the most important references in the country`s automobile industry.
Making the racing series official was a long time desire of a passionate and thrill seeking people, and the new touring car category united performance with sophistication, attracting spectators from all over the country.
Due to it’s ever increasing popularity, a set of rules and regulations was established to limit costs and keep the competition fair, without compromising performances from reaching international racing standards.
The momentous first race had 19 cars; Opala models with six cylinder engines. The Rio de Janeiro native José Carlos Palhares or “O Capeta” (The Daredevil) started off in pole position and his best lap time was 1min23s00. Having recently returned from defending the Copersucar-Fittipaldi team in Formula 1, Affonso Giaffone came in first.
Ingo Hoffman, living legend and 12 time Stock Car national champion dominated the podiums, sweeping the championship titles from 1989 to 1995. The seasons were marked by top quality passes and thrilling celebrations.
In all these years, as many as hundreds of races have been run in a variety of venues in Brazil, with the brazilian category achieving international recognition in 1982, when 2 championship races took place in Autodromo Estoril, in Portugal.
Fast forward to 2005, when the category became a multi-brand business, with Mitsubishi-Lancer racing alongside Chevrolet-Astra for the first time. Also, on the 30th of October, 40 V8 Stock Car drivers competed in one round of the TC2000, the main argentine category, which counted for points in the Brazilian Championship. This was after their drivers participated in a race in Curitiba, Brazil, earlier in July. The Autodromo Oscar Gálvez saw 70,000 spectators, where Giuliano Losacco took the race, with Mateus Greipel coming in second and Luciano Burti following in third.
The following year of 2006 had many more innovations and news. The race in Argentina became a fixed Championship venue and the category welcomed its 3rd brand, the Volkswagen-Bora, which has now become the body for 10 cars in Latin America’s main automobile category. Ingo Hoffman won the final race of the season in Autodromo Interlagos, conquering his 100th victory, and the talented race car driver Cacá Bueno won his first championship title after 3 consecutive vice championships.
The 2007 Stock Car season debuted with a new name and an official sponsor for the main V8 category; Nextel Cup Stock Car. Nextel currently awards R$ 3.5 million in prizes, including the new Speed Award for the fastest lap per venue.
The season opened with great promise as the Peugeot 307 Sedan joined the competition, and continues to deliver great performances and duels in every round, making this a memorable year in Stock Car history.
Check out the fibre glass bodies used throughout the years:
Opala – 1979 to 1986
Body Caio/Hidroplas – 1987 to 1989
Opala Prototype – 1990 to 1993
Omega – 1994 to 1999
Vectra – 2000 to 2003
Astra Sedan – 2004
Astra Sedan and Mitsubishi Lancer – 2005
Astra Sedan, Mitsubishi Lancer and Volkswagen Bora – 2006
Astra Sedan, Mitsubishi Lancer, Volkswagen Bora and Peugeot 307 Sedan – 2007
Astra Sedan, Mitsubishi Lancer e Peugeot 307 Sedan - 2008
Stock Car Light
The division was created in 1993 as an access category to Nextel Cup. Many of the drivers that are now winning big in the main category moved up from Stock Car Light. Among them are Giuliano Losacco, Cacá Bueno, Thiago Marques, Carlos Col (now working behind the scenes for Nextel Cup), Mateus Greipel, Luis Carreira Jr., Diogo Pachenki, Pedro Gomes, Guto Negrão, Alceu Feldmann, Nonô Figueiredo, David Muffato and Fábio Carreira.
In 2003, the Omega was traded for the more modern Astra, and in the following year, the Light cars were upgraded to V8 engines with slightly less horsepower than the Stock V8; 350 hp against 450 hp, the standard for the most traditional auto racing series in Latin America.
Stock Jr.
Created in 2006 to initiate kart racers in the touring car category, Stock Jr. allows both beginners and experienced non-professional drivers to compete alongside one another. There is a special sub-category, Master, for drivers over 30, who compete with a separate podium and point system within themselves.
The season consists of 12 rounds and Stock Jr. is entirely managed and assisted by JL Racing, which maintains a low cost structure for the category. The cars run on Yamaha engines with 130 hp and a 5-speed sequential gear box.
