In another race marked by several incidents and safety-car interventions, Bruno Baptista had a clean race to take the first place at the end and hold on to the last lap full of pressure
Bruno Baptista won Race 2 of the Stock Car Championship, held this Sunday (3) at the Velopark Speedway, in Rio Grande do Sul. The sixth stage of the season had Matias Rossi and Denis Navarro completing the podium. In another race with several safety-car interventions - as had already happened in race 1 - Bruno Baptista kept himself free of incidents to take advantage of the last yellow flag and rise to the first position.
The restart happened on the last lap, providing a last chance for Rossi to try to take the first position. However, Baptista managed to hold the lead and ensured the victory for RCM.
Stock Car returns to the track on July 31 (Sunday) for the double round at Interlagos.
Find out how Race 2 of the Stock Car Championship went at Interlagos:
At the start, Galid Osman held the lead, while Ricardo Zonta tried to take the first position and Marcos Gomes' car was stopped in the grass - on the first lap, just like in race 1. So, history repeated itself: safety-car on the first lap at Velopark. With a flat tire, Pedro Cardoso took the opportunity to go to the pits.
Battling at the back of the grid, Tony Kanaan met at the end of the main straight and dragged each other towards the wall - both abandoned. A bizarre scene ensued: the two drivers got out of the car and started arguing in a fierce manner, still on the grass of the circuit.
The removal of the cars took a considerable amount of time, and the restart only took place on lap 10, with 17 minutes left on the clock. Osman led, with Zonta, Mauricio, Suzuki, and Bruno Baptista completing the top-5.
Outside the top-10, Rubens Barrichello went after Julio Campos and took 13th place. Just as the pit-stop window was about to open, Tuca Antoniazzi lost control of his car and spun. When he tried to return to the track, his car got stuck in the mud and had to abandon the car - which caused another safety-car restart, closing the mandatory pit-stop window.
On lap 14, with a little more than 11 minutes to go until the end of the race, the restart was allowed at Velopark. In the very first round, several drivers went to the pits - and created some confusion at the pit-lane entrance, including escapes and position-taking.
Ricardo Zonta, who had made a mistake at the pit-lane entrance, spun soon after changing tires and ended up in a real swimming pool on the grass, abandoning the race. In the same round, Ricardo Mauricio started to lose power with a clearly damaged car and saw several cars pass.
Daniel Serra saw his car spin after being touched by Julio Campos, and the race began to feature several private clashes that yielded tense moments. Rubens Barrichello was another to need to go off track to keep control of his car, while Campos himself saw Lapenna close the door and spun on the asphalt, recovering the car in a sensational manner.
Thiago Camilo and Gianluca Petecof were also involved in a dispute, with the #101 car getting the better of the two - on the other hand, the #21 spun and lost positions. Petecof had a taste of his own a few moments later, when he was touched by Jimenez and also lost control of the car. Thus, another safety car was activated at Velopark.
In the last lap, the restart gave Rossi one more chance to threaten Bapitsta's victory. However, the RCM driver started well and made no mistakes to hold on to the victory until the end.
