Motorcar Sigma prevails at 3 Hours of Velopark

The Império Endurance Brasil went down to the south to hold the 3 Hours of Velopark, and Motorcar Racing did the job at home with the No. 444 Sigma P1 G5, as Vitor Genz, Vicente Orige and Luiz Bonatti conquered the win with authority, knowing when to push hard and when to manage equipment.
 

It was a special race for AMattheis Motorsport in more than one way, with not only this being the first race of their new Ligier JS P320 LMP3, but the emotional fact that this was the first race without the late Xandy Negrão, who passed away at 70 a month away, and who was an important part into Brazilian motorsport along with his own driving accolades. The Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo that was the last car he drove in a competition was used as the leading car for the starting procedure, and homage was done before the start.
 
Due to safety concerns, it was opted to start the race on a single file as the majority of the drivers asked for it, with the polesitter No. 444 Motorcar SIgma leading the four car prototype train until the No. 35 JLM AJR conquered it. Some parts of the track were still damp due to the Friday rain, but the heat from the late morning was quickly dissipating the remaining water.
 
In 10 minutes of racing the traffic was already appearing in front of the leaders, which split the pack with the AJRs in front while the No. 9 AMattheis Ligier was leading the chasers, but the fight for the top sport was luring in the No. 9 to make it a three way battle, or more like a tug of war between them before the first pit window, and a Safety Car intervention near the end of the first hour held the field enough for it to favor the No. 9.
 

The second hour would prove that the advantage of the No. 9 would be short lived, as Vicente Orige was throwing the No. 444 Motorcar Sigma all over Marcos Gomes, who saved himself with the help of the traffic until near the halfway mark as the straightway deficit to the No. 444 was too big despite the Velopark not having huge straights. It was the point where the laps were at its fastest, with some of them being below 50 seconds.
 

Further down the field, the No. 16 Blau McLaren was having a dominant run like it hardly happened before, with the GT3s suffering as much with the traffic as the prototypes. Once the door of the No. 16 inconveniently decided to not shut off during the second pit window, the No. 8 Team RC Mercedes was leading a three way battle with the No. 55 Stuttgart Porsche and the No. 27 Team RC Mercedes, but contact came trying to find space during the battle and the No. 27 capitalized for some minutes before Ricardo Maurício closed down on Cacá Bueno and bring the No. 55 to the top of the class.
 
With four minutes to enter the final hour the race was interrupted as a violent crash happened with the No. 64 MC Tubarão BMW, which was pushed aside by the No. 8 Team RC Mercedes, sliding through the grass until a hard hit on the barriers that flipped the car. Rescue crews were quick to provide help and Vitor Foresti left the car unharmed, but a bit shocked because of the impact.
 

Counting the time with the clock stopped and Safety Car laps, the whole procedure took around 40 minutes, with the green flag also bringing the final hour of racing, where the No. 444 Motorcar Sigma was more into management mode as the gap to the No. 117 BTZ Ligier was good enough to avoid risks, with only 10 seconds separating the two prototypes at the finish. The No. 02 car also made a big name for the Sigma P1 G5 as it passed the No. 35 JLM AJR in the final minutes, with the No. 99 RSports AJR completing the podium despite a troubled race.
 
3 Hours of Velopark - Race results
 

Stuttgart Motorsport capitalized in an excellent final hour with its best drivers on the wheel putting the No. 55 Porsche on top of the GT3 class and the No. 718 Porsche as the best GT4, with class fights flipping the order from time to time until the final moments.
 
The competition stops for three months before the next event, as the Goiânia double header will be held on 23 and 24 September, with seven hours of racing in a single weekend awaiting the competitors in what is usually a punishing track due to its hot and dry weather, being recently dominated by BTZ Motorsport.
 
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