This Saturday (11), Vitor Genz secured pole position and the sprint race victory in the first stage of the 2026 NASCAR Brasil season, which takes place at the Autódromo Internacional de Santa Cruz do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul.
Read more NASCAR Brasil: watch the qualifying and the sprint race LIVE
The first part of qualifying began under strong sun on the Rio Grande do Sul track. The drivers had 30 minutes to leave the pits, but preferred to wait until the last 10.
Tatiana Calderón was the first to head out, leading the pack. The cars already left at a strong pace to warm up the tires.
The first laps were established in the 1min30s range, with Vitor Genz taking the lead with 1min30s086 and his teammate, Thiago Camilo, right behind by just 0s047. Galid Osman placed third with 1min30s345.
On the second lap, Genz dropped the time to 1min29s008. Position changes were happening at every moment and there were still six minutes left on the clock.
With two minutes remaining, some drivers preferred to save tires and returned to the pits. Ricardo Zonta, Alex Seid, and Cacá Bueno remained on track to improve their times.
Qualified for the sprint race: Vitor Genz (Full Time), Thiago Camilo (Full Time), Arthur Gama (Cavaleiro Sports), Gabriel Casagrande (Vogel), Tito Giaffone (Full Time), and Cacá Bueno (Team RC).
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Sprint Race
The six cars went out for the race. Genz managed to maintain the lead, but was directly attacked by Camilo and Gama. The Cavaleiro driver managed to move up to second position. On the second lap, Camilo tried to retake the runner-up spot, but Gama defended well.
On lap 4, Casagrande tried to close in on Camilo, but also failed to make the overtake. Meanwhile, Gama took the opportunity to close the gap to Genz’s car.
Genz managed to maintain a strong pace on the final lap and took the victory in the first sprint race of the year, securing pole position for Race 2, as well as 10 points for the championship.
For Race 1, the top six start in reverse order, and as a result, Cacá Bueno will start at the front. The race starts at 8h30.
Check out the grid for this Sunday’s Race 1 in Santa Cruz do Sul:
1 – Cacá Bueno (Team RC)
2 – Tito Giaffone (Full Time)
3 – Gabriel Casagrande (Vogel)
4 – Thiago Camilo (Full Time)
5 – Arthur Gama (Cavaleiro Sports)
6 – Vitor Genz (Full Time)
7 – Alfredinho Ibiapina (Full Time)
8 – Gui Backes (Vogel)
9 – Murilo Rocha (Full Time)
10 – Allam Khodair (Vogel)
11 – Ricardo Zonta (Cavaleiro Sports)
12 – Felipe Tozzo (Team RC)
13 – Denis Navarro (Cavaleiro Sports)
14 – Galid Osman (Cavaleiro Sports)
15 – Victor Andrade (Full Time)
16 – Nicolas Costa (Vogel)
17 – Bruna Tomaselli (SG28 by Pole)
18 – Dudes Castroneves (Pole Motorsport)
19 – Tatiana Calderon (SG28 by Pole)
20 – Witold Ramasauskas (Team RC)
21 – Alex Seid/Ricardo Maurício (Cavaleiro by Pole)
22 – Gustavo Bandeira (Team RC)
23 – Jorge Martelli (Team RC)
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