Training at the Rio Grande do Sul circuit was marked by two red flags, punishments for Di Mauro and Jimenez, and Gabriel Casagrande was the fastest for the next round at 2:10 pm
Gabriel Casagrande is the pole-position for the fifth round of the 2022 Stock Car season, to be held this Saturday (2), at the Velopark Speedway, in Rio Grande do Sul. The A. Mattheis Vogel pilot posted a time of 56s191 and will start the race at 2:10 pm (Brasília time).
The leader of the 2022 season in the category had Ricardo Zonta as his main opponent. The RCM Motorsport driver ended the qualifying session in second, only 0s046 behind Gabriel. César Ramos, from Ipiranga, was third.
Marcos Gomes, Thiago Camilo, and Matías Rossi completed the top-6 in the gaucho circuit. Daniel Serra, the season's second-leader, starts seventh. The practice session was marked by two red flags, with Nelsinho Piquet in Q1 and Thiago Camilo in Q3, besides the penalties already confirmed for Gaetano Di Mauro and Sergio Jimenez.
GRANDE PRÊMIO follows the Stock Car activitiesLIVE with full coverage of all the activities of the two stages to be held this weekend at Velopark.
Check out how the standings went at Velopark:
Q1: Piquet spins and loses chance to go to Q2. Monteiro goes to the gravel and practice has red flag
Saturday at Velopark dawned sunny, different from what was expected during the week, with cold and the possibility of rain during qualifying. The drivers were divided into two groups, according to their respective positions in the grid, and the fifteen best advance to Q2.
In the first half of qualifying, the drivers were looking for the best possible warm-up for their tires before setting their fast laps. Season's leader Gabriel Casagrande was the first to set an excellent time, with 56s272, Ramos (leader of Friday's TL2), Camilo, Di Mauro, and Serra rounded out the top-5.
RCM Motorsport did a great Friday and is one of the favorites for the weekend, and Zonta corroborated this thesis by setting a 56s073 with two minutes to go in the first group. As the clock ran out, Piquet lost the rear end of his Motul TMG and was unable to improve his time.
The second group went to the track with a slightly better grip and with Cacá Bueno, one of the big winners at Velopark, risking everything in search of a good time. Tony Kanaan and Felipe Massa, newcomers to the Rio Grande do Sul circuit, were also looking for a better setup to go to Q2.
With three minutes to go in Q1, Marcos Gomes finally managed to place himself among the top five with a time of 56s217. But Beto Monteiro, at the end of the straight, lost control of his Toyota and the qualifying was red flagged. The practice was stopped for a few minutes and, when it restarted, they had a little more than two minutes to try to improve their lap, but they couldn't.
Advance to Q2: Zonta, Ramos, Camilo, Casagrande, Gomes, Rossi, Maurício, B. Baptista, Campos, Serra, Suzuki, Abreu, Di Mauro, Salas, and Barrichello.
Q2: Di Mauro punished for speeding and Zonta looks like favorite for pole
Eight more minutes to define the six drivers who would advance to Q3. So, there was no time to waste and, right from the start, the fifteen contenders started in search of time. Right away, Gomes clocked 56s155 and opened a margin in front. Di Mauro was punished with three grid positions for speeding in the pits.
Then the home driver Ramos lowered his time to 56s102, with Gomes, Casagrande, Camilo, Rossi, and Zonta right behind. 30 seconds to the end of practice, the moment of truth, foot down and everyone looking to improve their track times. Zonta scores 56s077 and places himself as the favorite for pole-position. Three-time champion Serra is out and will start from seventh position.
Advance to Q3: Zonta, Ramos, Gomes, Casagrande, Camilo, and Rossi.
Q3: Camilo spins, new red flag. Casagrande flies and gets his second pole of the season
The moment has arrived: two fast laps in eight minutes to clinch the pole-position at Velopark. The six opponents were giving each other enough space to have the best lap fit. With only three minutes to go, the fast laps finally start.
Casagrande opens his lap with a 56s191 and leads the way for pole. Zonta is right behind, with 56s237. But with one minute to go, Thiago Camilo lost control of his Ipiranga and went to the grass. Red flag.
At the restart, three more minutes added to the qualifying and a new chance for a fast lap for the drivers. The pit lane is reopened, Q3 starts again, and the six go in search of pole position.
But before that, the race direction announced the loss of the best lap in Q1 for Sergio Jimenez for disrespecting the red flag. However, no one managed to improve their times, and the season's leader beat Zonta to take the lead, his second pole position of the season.