NASCAR Brasil opens the 2026 season on March 14 and 15, at the Circuito Panamericano, Pirelli’s testing complex located in Elias Fausto, in the interior of São Paulo, with the debut of tires manufactured exclusively for the category. The launch takes place during The Duel, an event that officially marks the beginning of the RiSE26 era.
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An official partner since the arrival of the NASCAR Brasil Series in the country in 2023, Pirelli developed the new compounds aligned with the characteristics of the new car. For dry tracks, the P Zero comes in. In wet conditions, the Cinturato. The 265/645-18 measurement was maintained, but there was an update of compounds, with performance gains. Production takes place at the Pirelli factory in Campinas (SP), in a module dedicated exclusively to competition tires.
“We will receive the NASCAR Brasil cars on one of our tracks and this means a lot to us: it is a great honor to have such an important category making its first official appearance with the new car and the new compounds in our complex. Although the main focus of our track is not the traditional sports calendar, we are very happy to host this unique event for the category,” says Camila Maluf, director of the Circuito Panamericano.
Development involved thousands of kilometers of testing until the definition of the TH4 model. Evaluations passed through Pirelli’s own complex and tracks such as the Cascavel and Londrina circuits, in scenarios of high wear demand and lateral resistance.
“The TH4 model is a tire that showed good durability, as we always focus on that. It is not only a fast tire for a few laps, but a constant tire,” says Thiago Marques, representative of the NASCAR Brasil Series.
According to him, there was an evolution compared to the previous model, also developed for the category. “Depending on the size of the track, there was a gain of approximately one second compared to the previous model’s tires,” he adds.
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Marques points out that the new set requires adaptation from the teams. “The car setup to use this tire changes a lot; it is a tire that has more grip, that provides more traction, but at the same time the RiSE26 is a car that has more power. So, even so, you have to be careful during acceleration to avoid losing traction. When it comes to a more worn tire, at the end of a race stage, the tire reaches close to 300 km and then it must have a specific setup for that,” he explains.
“Therefore, it will be a different challenge for the teams: the car changes, the tire changes. They will have to make these adjustments in a short period of time and will even have to use the schedule of The Duel on the 14th to start understanding this tire,” adds Thiago Marques.
“The Circuito Panamericano is already, by nature, one of our main proving grounds. Returning to the Pirelli complex for this launch has enormous symbolic value. It will be an event with a format inspired by the dynamism of American motorsport, with duels that promise to be very interesting. Besides being rewarding for NASCAR Brasil, I see this as the first major real competition event at the Pirelli circuit, which further reinforces our partnership in the development of the RiSE26,” he states.
The Duel will have an elimination format on Sunday and will define the starting order for the qualifying of the first official stage, in April, in Santa Cruz do Sul (RS). The 2026 season will feature ten events on the calendar.
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