Brazilian V8 Stock Cars: Sunday at the Velopark with Cacá Bueno and Diego Nunes’ victories

The Velopark Circuit hosted the second round of Brazilian and South-American V8 Stock Car Championship this Sunday afternoon under heavy clouds and high temperatures - but no rain. It was the first double-header of the season and the race winners of the day were Cacá Bueno and Diego Nunes, with results that already bring a new configuration to the standings: with a second and a sixth place, Daniel Serra is the new series leader, with 37 points to his belt.

Bueno started from pole - his fifth at the Velopark. Race 1 was 44 laps long and the Red Bull driver was only overtaken once (by his teammate, on lap 10), but retook the lead a lap later to hold it until the chequered flag to make Red Bull’s first 1-2 finish of the season. Marcos Gomes came in third.

"The first heat was the way we had planned. I kept the lead, kept myself far from accidents and I only had to manage it to the end. When the safety car was deployed, Daniel came closer and gave me a bit of a sweat, but everything was ok. I love this track and to leave as the best scorer with pole position and a victory is not bad at all", said Bueno, who recorded his 34th V8 Stock Car win, which puts him as the third winner overall in the history of the series. He put Chico Serra to fourth and is now behind only Paulo Gomes (40 wins) and Ingo Hoffmann (77).

Race Two started with the 10-placed grid reversion for a 22-lap action and Diego Nunes kept the lead after the start. Valdeno Brito and Átila Abreu closely followed him. Behind them, Felipe Fraga, Rubens Barrichello, Denis Navarro and Daniel Serra fought for every single lap to overtake each other - Barrichello and Navarro swapped positions for five times - a delight for the crowd at the grandstands.

Nunes tried to get away from Brito, but a safety car almost put his plans down. Valdeno came closer and tried to make a move on the final lap. The TMG driver was cautious, though, which gave the União Química ace his second Stock Car win (the first one was back in 2010 in Curitiba) - once again, by the team lead by engineer Eduardo Bassani.

"I gave everything at the beginning to build a margin, but the safety car ruined my strategy, so Valdeno closed the gap. In the end, my rear tyres were worn and my job was to keep myself on the track - and in the lead. If we had one more lap I don’t think I could be able to hold him", said Diego. "I had a better breaking point over him at the opposite straight, but to risk everything for only one point was not worth it, so I preferred to keep myself in P2", confirmed Brito, who scored his first podium finish for his new team TMG Racing. Átila Abreu came third after a great recovery starting from 17th in Race 1 - he finished the first heat in P8 to start from the third position.

Daniel Serra takes the championship lead with 37 points, only three ahead of his teammate Bueno. Felipe Fraga is third with 31, followed by reigning champion Marcos Gomes (29).

The third round of Brazilian and South-American V8 Stock Car Championship will be held at Goiânia (GO), on May 22nd.

Results (unofficial)

Race 1

Race 2

Championship Standings

1-) Daniel Serra - 37 points
2-) Cacá Bueno - 34
3-) Felipe Fraga - 31
4-) Marcos Gomes - 29
5-) Diego Nunes - 29
6-) Átila Abreu - 29
7-) Valdeno Brito - 28
8-) Rubens Barrichello - 28
9-) Denis Navarro - 25
10-) Max Wilson - 19
11-) Rafael Suzuki - 14
12-) Vitor Genz - 13
13-) Ricardo Zonta - 12
14-) Felipe Guimarães - 12
15-) Allam Khohdair - 11
16-) Luciano Burti - 11
17-) Gabriel Casagrande - 8
18-) Thiago Camilo - 7
19-) Bia Figueiredo - 7
20-) Sérgio Jimenez - 5
21-) Ricardo Maurício - 4
22-) Felipe Lapenna - 3
23-) Lucas Foresti - 3
24-) Fábio Carbone - 2
25-) Popó Bueno - 1

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