The classification of the fifth stage of NASCAR Brazil, held this Friday (31), was marked by fierce battles on the external circuit of the Mato Grosso International Autodrome, in Cuiabá (MT). After defining the six fastest drivers in the qualifying session, the pole position decision was left for the Sprint Race, in which Alfredinho Ibiapina confirmed his good performance to secure first place on the grid, ahead of Cacá Bueno and Gabriel Casagrande. Check it out:
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For this stage, the drivers went out in pairs to record their times. Victor Andrade and Gui Backes were the first, with Backes leading with 1min00s660. Andrade recorded 1min00s993.
Bruna Tomaselli and Denis Navarro went out next, but the red flag was triggered after lighting problems on the track. They managed to return a few minutes later and the driver recorded 1min00s638. Navarro took the lead with 59s867.
Then it was the turn of Gustavo Bandeira and Witold Ramasauskas. Both clocked over 1 minute, but managed to place second and third, respectively.
The next pair to accelerate was Tatiana Calderón and Juninho Berlanda. The driver ended up spinning on the post, but still managed to complete another lap. Calderón finished sixth, while Berlanda moved up to second with 1min00s049, recovering from the incident.
Ricardo Zonta and Thiago Camilo were next. Camilo achieved the third-best time, while Zonta was only ninth.
Jorge Martelli and Gabriel Casagrande went out next. Casagrande managed 59s532 on the external circuit of Cuiabá and took the lead of the session. Martelli did not manage to set a time.
Alex Seid and Tito Giaffone were the next pair. Giaffone recorded 1min00s643, finishing eighth. Seid did 1min00s097 and placed fourth.
Then it was the turn of Dudes Castroneves and Arthur Gama. The better performer was Gama, who reached second place with 59s536. Castroneves finished 15th.
Cacá Bueno and Alfredinho Ibiapina went to the track next. Ibiapina took third place on his first attempt, while Bueno recorded 59s274. With another lap, Ibiapina managed to surpass the competitor by 0s136, taking first position.
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Nicolas Costa and Murilo Rocha went out for their attempts. Costa finished fifth, while Rocha closed his participation in sixth place.
Vitor Genz and Firás Fahs were next and ended up in the middle of the grid. Then, Galid Osman and Felipe Tozzo went on track. Osman finished 12th, while Tozzo spun on the track and fell behind.
The first part of qualifying ended with a last attempt by Martelli, who managed to finish 16th.
Sprint Race
Ibiapina, Bueno, Casagrande, Gama, Costa, and Rocha went to the five-lap race to decide the pole position of the stage.
Green flag and Ibiapina managed to maintain the lead, while Rocha took fifth place from Costa, but was soon overtaken.
The pack stayed close, but without attempts in the next two laps. However, the scenario changed on the fourth lap, with Ibiapina having to defend against Bueno and Casagrande trying to attack. Bueno even went off track but did not lose second place.
Casagrande tried, but Bueno crossed the finish line second, right behind Ibiapina. Gama, Costa, and Rocha completed the top 6.
NASCAR Brazil holds its 1h10 race on Saturday, at 1800 Brasília time.
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