Sunday was full of emotions at the Porsche Cup C6 Bank in Interlagos. In a cerebral race marked by numerous lead changes, Jeff Giassi won after watching the Boost exchanges between Matheus Comparatto and Alceu Feldmann from a front-row seat and making the decisive move on the #118 during a restart. Marçal Muller, in fourth, completed the podium ahead of Thiago Vivacqua and leaves São Paulo leading the Carrera championship, ahead of Giassi and Comparatto.
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The race marked a 100% success rate for Pipo Massa in Carrera Rookie.
Gerson Campos, in Challenge, and Cecilia Rabelo, in Challenge Sport, also swept both victories of the weekend.
In Trophy, Sergio Laurentys converted pole into victory, including the fastest lap of the race.
The second stage of the season takes place on the last weekend of March at Velocitta. Once again, cars from the three generations will be in action, with the Carrera, Challenge, and Trophy classes.
The races
Carrera
At the lights out, Alceu Feldmann defended the lead well. Jeff Giassi tried a move, but it had no effect. Matheus Comparatto was very clever attacking from the outside and also counted on the respect of Sebá Malucelli, who knew how to be overtaken when he saw the #118 had gained space.
The first lap ended with Feldmann leading followed by Comparatto, Malucelli, Giassi, and Thiago Vivacqua.
At the start of lap 3, Comparatto used the Boost to take the lead. Feldmann retaliated the same way on the next pass. Then on the following lap, Comparatto activated the Boost again and regained the lead. His goal was to pull away to neutralize any potential use of the additional power mechanism by car #1 on the next lap.
Feldmann followed his competitor closely and, from the outside, retaliated against Comparatto once more. The #118 then tried to attack in the infield without using the overtake button. The battle favored Giassi’s arrival.
At the start of lap 8, Comparatto used the Boost again and went into the lead. Giassi, also with flashing headlights, passed Feldmann and moved up to second place.
The safety car was then deployed with half the race completed.
The top 5 showed Comparatto, Giassi, Feldmann, Vivacqua, and Muller. The #1 led in Sport. In Rookie, 16th overall, Bruno Campos led followed by Pipo Massa.
The restart came at the start of lap 9. Giassi read the leader’s acceleration well and went up the straight tucked behind Comparatto to make the move and take the lead at the braking zone of the Senna S.
Next, it was Feldmann’s turn to use the Boost to pass Comparatto again. Vivacqua and Muller arrived to try and join the fight, but the #118 held third position. In 15th, Massa took the lead in Rookie.
Muller used the Boost to attack Vivacqua, who knew how to neutralize the attempt. Feldmann, in turn, used it to increase the gap over Comparatto, while Giassi had more than a 2s lead at the front, favored by the battle between second and fifth places.
At the start of the last lap, with the Boost, Muller passed Vivacqua.
Giassi won with authority. In second, Feldmann was the best in Sport. Comparatto, Muller, and Vivacqua completed the podium. In 14th, Pipo Massa repeated the victory in Rookie, closing with a 100% success rate in his debut race.
Challenge
Front-row members Cecilia Rabelo and Will Cesar rounded the Senna S in the same starting positions. Then on the Opposite Straight, Sadak Leite attacked Cesar and prevailed at the entry of the Lago corner. Daniel Neumann and Gerson Campos completed the first lap in the top 5.
At the end of lap 2, Sadak attacked Cecilia from the outside on the Subida do Café and took the lead at the Senna S. Daniel Neumann ended up following the line and moved into second place at the end of the Opposite Straight. Gerson Campos then reached the #98 competitor, bringing Caio Castro in tow.
Gerson then passed Cecilia, while Daniel tried to induce Sadak into an error by waving car #21 behind #66.
On lap 5, Caio Castro went off track with an apparent tire puncture. Neumann then attacked and passed Leite at the entry of the Senna S. Gerson tried to exit faster than #66 on the Opposite Straight and threatened at Laranjinha, but Sadak defended well. Cecilia remained in fourth, under heavy pressure from Will Cesar.
On lap 7, Gerson Campos timed the maneuver over Sadak Leite perfectly. He pulled alongside at the Senna S but sacrificed the entry of the first leg behind the competitor. Then he knew how to gain space on the inside in the second leg and at Sol, to cross the Opposite Straight on the inside and complete the maneuver before the Lago entry.
In Rookie, the lead was held by Raphael Bernardes, ninth overall.
The race entered the final 10 minutes with Gerson and Neumann trading fastest laps. Sadak was comfortable in third, while Cecilia remained under pressure from Cesar, defending skillfully.
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Gerson reduced the gap to less than 0.5s at the start of lap 13. He followed the competitor, caught the draft on the Subida do Café, and dove decisively to take the lead at the braking zone of the Senna S. Sadak remained in third, while Cecilia defended against Will Cesar.
Neumann started the final lap faster than Gerson, who wobbled at the braking zone of the Senna S. They crossed the first section separated by millimeters, but Daniel was the one who wobbled the car at Laranjinha and fell too far back to attack at the end. At the checkered flag, Gerson repeated the previous day’s triumph, with Daniel again glued to his car. Sadak was third with Cecilia in fourth and Cesar in fifth. In ninth overall, Rapha Bernardes won in Rookie.
Trophy
The grid of 19 competitors was led by Sergio Laurentys in the #72 Porsche for the first 20-minute plus one lap race of the calendar.
The start happened safely, and the first attack of the race was led by Vinicius Mota, in the #0 Porsche, against Nelson Almeida for fourth position.
Then on the second lap, Guilherme Figueiredo reached the leader, and Denis Ferrer followed the pace, with a triple battle for the front of the pack.
On the third lap, Ferrer pulled alongside Figueiredo, and the cars made contact at the Lago braking zone. Thus, at the start of the fourth lap, the top 5 showed Laurentys, Neylson, Mota (leading in Sport) under pressure from Alexandre Assolini and Marcelo Kairis.
Then at Laranjinha, Assolini and Mota made contact. Kairis took the lead in Sport as a result, and Paulo Muzy followed. In Rookie, the lead was held by Manu Herrmann in car #29.
With half the race gone, Laurentys had a margin of over 5s over Neylson. Kairis remained third overall, leading in Sport. And Manu Herrmann already appeared inside the top 10, consistent in seventh place with the lead in Rookie.
At the start of lap 9, Assolini held the outside line at the Senna S braking zone and passed Mota with the most beautiful maneuver of the race, for 12th position.
On the penultimate lap, Paulo Reales appeared in the Rookie lead and seventh overall, crowning a formidable recovery race after starting last.
Laurentys crowned his “Sunday drive” to win the first of the year with a Grand Chelem. Neylson finished second, with the overall podium completed by Sport drivers Marcelo Kairis, Gustavo Costa, and Paulo Muzy. In seventh, Paulo Reales prevailed in Rookie.
The next Trophy stage takes place on the last weekend of the month at Velocitta.
What they said:
“It was a difficult race. The level of the Porsche Cup is very high and I am happy with the victory. The team worked hard, we arrived and got the win. I fought for many, many years to be here and I don’t know if I expected to be here winning today”
Jeff Giassi
“I wanted to have won the race (overall), but second place is great. I stayed very close to Giassi and he was really fast, he had the best car on the track. He deserved it, and I am happy with second”
Alceu Feldmann
“I think I fell a bit short. I lost a lot of performance after the safety car entry, I don’t know why. But I’m happy with third place, now it’s about understanding what happened and going for it in the next one. For sure, I remain optimistic.”
Matheus Comparatto
“It was very important to have a great qualifying and race 1. We faced difficulty in today’s overtakes, but we didn’t want to take any risks, considering what happened last year. Fourth place is solid, good for the championship and now we have to continue at this pace to fight for the title”
Marçal Muller
“We feel the pressure, but you have to get used to it. I’ve felt this pressure my whole life, mainly because of the surname, but that’s something I have to face with my head held high. I managed to make history, being the youngest to win on debut, so I’m even happier to win both stages. These results are a huge relief and I’m already looking for the next ones”
Pipo Massa
“I think these were the hardest races I’ve done in the Porsche Cup. Incredible to have the whole race without a safety car at this pace. I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity at the end, but I attacked and it worked. Then on the final lap I ended up making a mistake and the door was left open. But I managed to hold on until the checkered flag. I am very satisfied”
Gerson Campos
“We certainly started the season on the right foot. Two races, two victories right in the first weekend. We are confident in winning the title in the Sport category and getting these points to fight for the overall title.”
Cecilia Rabelo
“At the beginning it was difficult because second and third were pressing and I wanted to work for the car to reach the ideal tire temperature. But then the race became calmer and I am happy with the victory”
Sergio Laurentys
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