Arthur Gama won on the night of this Saturday (1st), the NASCAR Brazil night race at the Mato Grosso International Autodrome. The 2,800-meter external circuit, a new addition to the calendar, delivered a 1h10 extremely lively race with battles until the last lap for the fifth stage of the 2026 championship. Check it out:
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Green flag and Alfredinho Ibiapina managed to keep the lead at the start. The first lap saw Gabriel Casagrande overtake Cacá Bueno to secure second place. Bueno also lost position to Arthur Gama and Nicolas Costa, but Bueno managed to recover and stay in fourth.
The race continued with the cars very close and Casagrande managed to take the lead precisely at the moment the safety car came onto the track to remove Tito Giaffone’s car, which stopped off the track but managed to return and was benefited by the Lucky Dog, allowing him to return on the leader’s lap.
The race resumed with 55 minutes still on the clock. Casagrande maintained the lead, while Cacá Bueno advanced to third and Arthur Gama placed himself in second fight. The battle in the front pack was more intense, with Denis Navarro going after Bueno.
Bueno ended up spinning on the track and Thiago Camilo, Nicolas Costa, and Alfredinho Ibiapina were also involved, with Camilo damaging his car’s suspension. After the incident, Navarro consolidated third position, while Murilo Rocha moved up to fourth.
The race continued with many movements in the middle of the pack. Up front, Felipe Tozzo appeared in fifth.
At 22 minutes, the race stopped again due to lighting failures on the circuit. At this moment, night was already falling in Cuiabá.
The first stage of the 100-mile race ended with Casagrande’s victory, while Gama and Rocha completed the top-3.
The cars went for the mandatory refueling before the second part of the race.
For the second stage, the top six were reversed. Home driver Jorge Martelli started in front, with Felipe Tozzo, Murilo Rocha, Arthur Gama, and Gabriel Casagrande behind. Denis Navarro was supposed to be third but started at the back of the grid. Martelli managed to defend second position, while Alfredinho Ibiapina, in sixth, gained three positions. Tozzo began to pressure Martelli, who resisted. Further back, Witold Ramasauskas went off the track.
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Without a yellow flag, Ibiapina and Gama fought for second place. They even completed a whole lap side by side, with Gama managing to stay in second a few moments later.
Gama went after Martelli and managed to overtake with 14 minutes to go. He was followed by Ibiapina and Tozzo. Martelli managed to defend Casagrande’s attack and keep fourth position.
Shortly after, Ibiapina took first position and Tozzo also overtook Gama for second place. The race became extremely lively. Casagrande and Costa also passed Martelli.
Tozzo took the lead of the race, with practically six drivers on his tail. But the driver quickly went off the track and thus Gama managed to overtake. Taking advantage of the confusion, Casagrande moved up to third and soon reached second place, going side by side with Gama and overtaking him.
But the lead did not last long. Soon Tozzo regained it and Gama also managed to overtake. The pack was very close at this moment and Casagrande ended up falling to eighth. Ibiapina returned to third place.
Shortly after, Casagrande spun on the track, with five minutes left in the race. The front pack dispersed and the race calmed down.
However, the last two minutes were full of excitement. Ibiapina caught up to Gama and managed to overtake. But Gama soon retaliated, bringing Tozzo with him. The three entered a fierce battle and Ibiapina ended up in third. Jorge Martelli and Nicolas Costa came right behind.
With two laps to go, Tozzo tried to overtake and succeeded, but then went off the track and the victory went to Gama. Nicolas Costa secured third place, while Bruna Tomaselli and Vitor Genz completed the top-5.
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