This Sunday (29), Raphael Reis competed in the two races of the Cascavel (PR) stage of TCR Brazil. The driver finished second in race 2 and was leading race 1 when he suffered a puncture in the front right tire and after the change finished tenth. With this Sunday’s results, the W2 ProGP driver continues to lead the championship.
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In the first race, Reis started from fourth on the grid and as soon as the lights went out, the driver from Brasília jumped to third position. Subsequently, the race was interrupted with a red flag after a collision of three cars on the pit straight.
The race was postponed to Sunday and restarted under safety car conditions; Reis maintained his position as soon as the green flag was waved. Halfway through the race, the driver of the #77 Cupra Leon was defending against attacks from the fourth-placed driver but kept in contact with the leaders ahead.
With only 11 minutes remaining, Reis took second place; two laps later, the driver from Brasília took the lead. Reis maintained a safe distance from the second-placed driver, but with less than five minutes left in the race, he suffered a puncture in the front right tire. Reis made the change, but the problem caused the #77 car to take the checkered flag in 10th position.
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In the second race, starting from seventh place, Raphael Reis had a good start and gained a position. Subsequently, the driver became part of a group of four cars that were very close and competing from seventh to fourth place. Reis set a strong pace and moved up to fourth place; the driver of the #77 car was pressing the competitor in search of third position. Subsequently, the safety car was deployed after a car went off track.
With 13 minutes remaining, the race was restarted and Reis maintained his position. The battle to advance in the race continued with the driver from Brasília attacking the car in front and being attacked by those behind. After great battles at the Zilmar Beux circuit, Raphael Reis took the checkered flag in second position.
“It was a difficult weekend; we weren’t doing well in practice, but we evolved and had a good qualifying session. In the first race, we were leading, but a flat tire took us out of the fight with less than five minutes to go. In the second race, we had many battles, but I just wanted to finish in the position I was in to guarantee the lead in the Brazilian championship. The championship is long, our car was good, but there are moments when we need to think about the championship and maximize points, which is what I did today,” declared Reis.
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