Thiago Camilo achieved his first official victory with the RiSE26, the new NASCAR Brasil car. The Full Time driver took advantage of the chaos in the front pack to take the lead and win Race 1 of the first stage of the category’s 2026 season, which takes place in Santa Cruz do Sul (RS).
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Green flag waved and Cacá Bueno was attacked by Tito Giaffone and Gabriel Casagrande, but managed to break free and maintain the lead. Arthur Gama also came close to the lead, but ended up spinning on the track and Alfredinho Ibiapina ended up going off the line as well.
The safety car entered the track to ensure the safe removal of the cars and left with 13 minutes still on the clock. Cacá maintained the lead at the restart, which saw action mainly in the middle of the pack with some overtaking attempts.
On the following lap, Casagrande ended up spinning at the exit of Turn 1 and, as a result, Thiago Camilo moved up to second position. He and Cacá managed to open up a certain advantage over the rest of the pack. The two began a closer battle and Camilo took the lead of the race on lap 6.
A few moments later, Denis Navarro was another to lose control of the car and crashed on the pit straight. The safety car had to be deployed again. At that moment, Camilo was in the lead, with Cacá in second and Vitor Genz in third. In sixth position, Tito Giaffone led the Challenge class.
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Green flag again and Genz secured second place. In the middle of the pack, Victor Andrade spun on the track and, while trying to avoid him, Murilo Rocha, Bruna Tomaselli and Tatiana Calderón ended up causing another safety car after hitting circuit signs. Dudes Castroneves was also out of the race.
The race restarted for one final lap. Camilo shot ahead, followed by Genz and Cacá. The Team RC driver was pressured by Nicolas Costa, who managed the overtake and took third place. In the Challenge, Felipe Tozzo was in the lead, but lost several positions shortly after.
Camilo won comfortably, with Genz and Costa completing the podium in Santa Cruz do Sul. In the Challenge, Alfredinho Ibiapina secured the victory, with Tito Giaffone and Witold Ramasauskas completing the podium.
Race 2 is scheduled for 14h00.
Race 1 Results (top-10)
1st – Thiago Camilo (Full Time) – 13 laps in 26min20s616
2nd – Vitor Genz (Full Time) – +0s782
3rd – Nicolas Costa (Vogel) – +2s014
4th – Cacá Bueno (Team RC) – +2s210
5th – Allam Khodair (Vogel) – +2s376
6th – Ricardo Zonta (Cavaleiro Sports) – +2s707
7th – Galid Osman (Cavaleiro Sports) – +4s249
8th – Alex Seid/Ricardo Maurício (Cavaleiro Sports by Pole) – +4s761
9th – Alfredinho Ibiapina (Full Time) – +5s043
10th – Gabriel Casagrande (Vogel) – +5s218
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