Team RC wins thrilling 4 Hours of Interlagos

The 4 Hours of Interlagos was expected to be a bit more predictable continuation of the 2022 Império Endurance Brasil season, but in fact the number of cars facing problems was probably equal as from the season opener at Goiânia, allowing the reliable GT3s to shine again with the No. 27 Team RC Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo of Cacá Bueno and Ricardo Baptista winning overall.

In between some new cars, the most celebrated arrival was the Sigma designed and built MC Tubarão XI, with the new No. 5 inheriting most of the current gen Sigma P1 but with an open cockpit, as team preferences led to the use of an aeroscreen-like system to offer protection to the driver’s head. It was a project promised last year and it marks MC Tubarão’s return with in house prototype projects.

The No. 444 Motorcar AJR held the lead at the start but the car leading the chase against it was the No. 12 FTR Sigma, with the leading contenders isolating themselves from the rest of the field, as the No. 20 Tech Force Ginetta was trying to hold the third place. BTZ Motorsport had a dreadful start with gearbox issues, which held their Ligier JS P320 in the garage to not return again.

Another race winner saw misfortune fall over them, as the No. 22 AutLog Ford was sent to the wall with the No. 7 Sette Car MRX by a Stuttgart Motorsport Porsche GT4, bringing in the Safety Car for the first time. Gustavo Kiryla in the No. 444 was caught napping at the restart and the No. 20 got the lead, but Kiryla showed the pace of the No. 444 again, retaking the lead within two laps while José Roberto Ribeiro was dealing with the No. 20 in front, passing to second once the room was offered.

The first hour ended with the No. 444 leading but the No. 12 stopped on track, although even the current leader had its issues, with the No. 444 stopping out of schedule due to oil pressure drop, which gave the lead again to the No. 20, this time with the No. 28 JLM AJR being in pursuit at the moment. Behind the P1 podium, the GT3 class had action with the leading No. 16 Blau TMG McLaren holding as much as possible the No. 9 Mattheis Mercedes, with the fight decided by contact in favor of the No. 9, at least until the drive through penalty was issued, which handed the class lead to the No. 8 Team RC Mercedes.

While the Ginetta G58 had the lead, it was slightly off the pace of the No. 28 JLM AJR, just before another Safety Car takes place with few minutes to hit the halfway mark. The No. 99 RSPORTS AJR took the lead of the race for most of the third hour while the GT3 field was starting to occupy the top spots due to the troublesome races of the P1 class cars, and even the leading No. 99 became a victim, stopping on track near the final hour with no fuel left. Fuel pump issues were a thing for the No. 9 while in second overall, leaving the lead totally for the No. 27 Team RC Mercedes.

It was basically equipment management for the No. 27 for the whole final hour, but the No. 55 Stuttgart Porsche was coming closer as a consequence, which could have brought a battle for the lead, but a tire blow with 2 minutes to go allowed Cacá Bueno to go back to the fuel consumption target in the No. 27, and also win the race overall.

4 Hours of Interlagos - Race results

The No. 28 JLM AJR just missed the overall podium, but still got the P1 class win as it was hit by more manageable issues during the race. Stuttgart Motorsport still had a GT4 win to celebrate as the No. 718 Porsche led the No. 21 Porsche in a dominant run in the class. The No. 34 Motorcar MRX got the P2 Light win while the No. 199 SulRacing Lamborghini was the P2 class winner.

The third round is set for 18 June, but the venue still needs to be decided.

PHOTO: Endurance Brasil/MS2