The first edition of the Cascavel de Ouro as part of the Império Endurance Brasil calendar had everything and more, between failures, strategy and a thrilling end with Box99 celebrating an almost unlikely win by a close margin when pace wasn’t in favor of the No. 99 JLM Racing AJR of Leandro Romera, Pietro Rimbano and Ricardo Rodrigues, who were topping the podium for the first time in the competition.
The No. 28 JLM AJR kept the top position, with the No. 02 Tech Force Sigma taking the second place from the No. 444 Motorcar Sigma, with most of the field taking a cautious approach to make sure the fuel makes the full stint despite the high pace of the Cascavel track.
After the first pit window the No. 35 JLM AJR took the lead but had the company of the No. 9 A. Mattheis Ligier, putting David Muffato in a really tight management where it would position or durability. About problems with fuel and tires, the No. 27 Team RC Mercedes was an example of the bad side of things, with two front right blowouts caused by huge lateral stress in the tires. The engine failure of the No. 75 FTR AJR and a rear right suspension failure in the No. 02 Tech Force Sigma proved that the mechanical stress in the cars was real.
Further rear right tire blows in the No. 9 and the No. 28 shook the order of the race right before the second pit stop, and after the stops the No. 444 Motorcar SIgma had a front right blow while the new No. 11 Motorcar Sigma had a front right suspension failure. In the end, the No. 99 RSports AJR became the new leader with more than 30 seconds to the No. 9 in second.
Also, the GT3 machines were getting closer to the overall top spot, like the No. 8 Team RC Mercedes that was leading the class from third overall, though they lost ground to the No. 15 Pole BMW, though the positions inverted again as the No. 15 had a front right puncture, and with the No. 444 and the No. 117 JLM AJR claiming third and fourth, quickly pushing the GTs out of the overall top-5.
With some strategy adjustments, the No. 9 A. Mattheis Ligier took the lead but it was on an insufficient fuel load to make it to the end, which would mean tightening the consumption to avoid a splash and go. The definitive turnaround for the No. 9 came with 20 minutes to go, as the No. 99 Box99 AJR wasn’t clocking below 1 minute and took a second lap from the No. 9, which would keep the Ligier in first even with a splash and go.
In the end the No. 9 A. Mattheis Ligier did the splash and go, but was saved by a late Safety Car as it was still on the run with only a few backmarkers to the No. 99 Box99 AJR. With 5 minutes of green flag, Marcos Gomes was easily closing down on Leandro Romera, but the extra straightline speed coming from the DRS kept the No. 99 in front, with an incredibly narrow victory of 0.116 seconds.
Endurance Brasil - Cascavel de Ouro results
The No. 15 Pole BMW kept the GT3 lead in the final hour and converted it in a class win, while the No. 21 Stuttgart Porsche did the turnaround in a GT4 class that appeared dominated by the No. 5 MC Tubarão Audi.
The next round will be held on 11 November as the Velopark was finally confirmed as host of the penultimate round.
IMAGES: Endurance Brasil/MS2, Master catve
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