Brazilian V8 Stock Cars: Mauricio and Salas on pole for the season-opener

Curitiba had a very competitive qualifying session this Saturday afternoon to set the starting grid for the All Star Race, the Brazilian V8 Stock Cars season-opener. Last edition’s winner, Eurofarma-RC Ricardo Maurício brought the BrTCC ace Guilherme Salas, and the duo set the fastest average lap to take pole position.

Only 0s014 behind, Rubens Barrichello and Augusto Farfus were second. Maurício and Salas average was 1min19s211 (1min19s022 for Ricardo and 1min19s400 for Guilherme), against 1min19s287 from the Medley-Full Time duo. "I know I wrote my name as the last pole-sitter of this very track in Stock Cars, but it’s a shame this venue will not be used to motorsports anymore", Mauricio lamented. The Curitiba circuit was sold and will be officially closed in July.

In good shape since the first sessions of the weekend, Thiago Camilo and Lucas di Grassi start third, 0s066 behind the leaders, while Max Wilson and Vitor Meira had set the exact same laptime each with 1min19s288. "So you don’t need to do the math", joked the 2010 champion Wilson, former V8 Supercars racer and F1 test driver.

Reignin champion Marcos Gomes starts fifth with his mate Antonio Pizzonia, right in front the 2015 All Star Race podium-finishers Allam Khodair and Portugal’s Antonio Félix da Costa. Laurens Vanthoor, driving with Ricardo Zonta, starts in ninth place, two positions ahead his compatriot Maxime Martin, invited by Valdeno Brito.

Brito, in his group, had a coming together with Átila Abreu after the Shell driver had an off and came back to the track right in front of him during his flying lap. The TMG racer ran into his former team pits to yell at Abreu.

Átila, though, was the most affected by the situation. Without getting a clean lap, neither a P10 by Nelson Piquet Jr in his group was enough to make it up on the time sheet. The Shell duo starts 32nd and last.

The All Star Race opens the Brazilian V8 Stock Cars 2016 season this Sunday at 12:10 (local time). The race will be 65 laps long with a mandatory pit stop.

Starting Grid*

*Unofficial Results

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