Team RC puts GT3s on top at Interlagos

In a hotly contested fourth round of the 2021 Império Endurance Brasil season, the No. 27 Team RC Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo of Cacá Bueno and Ricardo Baptista beat the stronger prototype opposition at Interlagos and put the GT side on top for the first time this year.

To say this was a JLM Racing AJR lockout was an understatement, as seven examples took the first eight positions, with the new Sigma P1 from FTR Motorsport being the first different model in the grid, and the No. 11 Motorcar AJR held the sister No. 444 car, which was forced to the defensive until the No. 113 JLM AJR found room to attack, and taking advantage of the extra pace, went for the lead battle.

With some body rubbing included, Pedro Queirolo put the No. 113 in first place, as the four car lead pack had a big gap over the rest of the field, but with the same extra effort used by the No. 113, the No. 65 NC Racing AJR climbed its way to the lead.

Regular pit service and a Safety Car period gave the lead again to the No. 113 JLM AJR, and more to the second hour, an oil leak hindered the No. 65’s progress, which left the current leader in a lone run for practically the whole second hour, only to see the No. 26 Mottin AJR get first place at the halfway point until the regular service time came. A lengthy yellow flag period held the No. 113 in the lead, but another car appear to the party, as the No. 02 FTR Sigma had more pace during the final half of the third hour, eventually taking the lead with 20 minutes remaining to the final hour, opening the gap as the No. 113 had a pace loss to be solved, with work being done during the final pit stop to solve it.

Ignition issues during the final pit stop held the No. 2 FTR Sigma for more than a minute than planned, which gave the lead back to the No. 113 JLM AJR, though the prototype was in the striking zone of the No. 27 Team RC Mercedes, as the GT3s were getting closer and closer to the overall top, with some prototype resistance in between.

With less than 25 minutes to go and 112 laps done, the No. 26 Mottin AJR put themselves again as contenders by beating the No. 113 on sheer speed, only to spin under braking a lap later and give it back to the previous leaders, though the No. 113 still had the No. 27 on the chase and getting closer.

The pace advantage was the thing needed for Cacá Bueno to put the No. 27 Team RC Mercedes in front, and not even a really late yellow flag was enough to take out of them the first overall win of the season, with the No. 113 JLM AJR being the best P1 in second overall.

4 Hours of Interlagos - Race results

The only other class winner in the overall top-10 was the No. 155 SulRacing Ferrari, which won the GT3 Light exactly from tenth place after a trouble-free race. With most GT4s facing issues at different points of the race, the No. 117 Stillux Ginetta not only won the GT4 Light class but was also the best car of the spec, barely beating the GT4 class winner, the No. 22 AutLog Mercedes, which also had the No. 64 MC Tubarão BMW on its tail.

Along with the good debut race of the new Sigma P1, which finished fourth overall, FTR Motorsport had a P2 class win to celebrate with the No. 18 MCR, finishing eleventh overall as the other machines of the class faced problems or crashes along the way. The P3 class was won by the No. 74 LT Team MRX, counting with a mix of home advantage and the least troublesome run of the class.

The Império Endurance Brasil competitors return to action on 4 September, and while the initial plans point to Santa Cruz do Sul, the venue will likely be changed in order to give more time to get the Rio Grande do Sul state circuit ready, while also counting with the possibility of having fans attending trackside.

PHOTO: Império Endurance Brasil/MS2