Three podium finishes by the CRT Team in the brace of Brazilian GT3 races held at the Ayrton Senna circuit has allowed Ferrari to open up a healthy gap at the top of the manufacturers’ standings.

Three podium finishes by the CRT Team in the brace of Brazilian GT3 races held at the Ayrton Senna circuit last weekend has allowed Ferrari to open up a healthy gap at the top of the manufacturers’ standings. Rafael Derani and Alencar Jr claimed second place in race one and third in the second round, while the similar CRT Team Ferrari F430 of Cláudio Ricci and Walter Derani took second place in race two, an improvement of three places on their race one finish.

Ferrari arrived at the Ayrton Senna International circuit in the city of Goiânia for the fourth round of the series (race 7 and 8) trailing Lamborghini in the manufacturers’ standings by 23 points. However a very difficult weekend for its Bologna-based rival’s previously all-conquering Lamborghini Gallardos, which collected just a solitary point, the Prancing Horse-running teams left Goiânia having helped to vault Ferrari above Lamborghini at the top of the table, and with a comfortable 24 point advantage in hand.

In after two exciting races which saw many position changes, Xandy Negrão and Andreas Mattheis (Dodge Viper) won both rounds of the Brazil GT3 Championship last Sunday. The crew now takes over the leadership in the drivers’ championship with 63 points, compared to the 57 of Alceu Feldmann and Paulo Bonifácio; the former series leaders didn’t finish either race due to the failure of their Lamborghini Gallardo's engine as a result of an overheating issue. With just two rounds remaining in the GT3 Championship, these two crews are the only realistic contenders remaining in the fight for the inaugural title. Feldmann and Boni though have their second position overall threatened by Walter Derani and Claudio Ricci (Ferrari). They finished in second place followed by the other Ferrari from CRT Team piloted by Alencar Júnior and Rafael Derani, the son of Walter.

“Being on the podium with my son is a very special sensation, just because of this I feel even more satisfied,” said Walter Derani. “To achieved the second podium in my second race is a very good result, but still more special is sharing that moment with my father by my side, I hope to be the first of many,” said Rafael Derani.

One of the notable drives of the day was by former F1 pilot Roberto Moreno. He started from pole-position in his Ferrari F430, with Negrão looming in his rear-view mirror all the time. Ricci started in eighth position on the grid and after a great performance which saw him overtake several cars, by the fifth lap he had passed Alencar Júnior, to move into third place. On the following lap, Negrão squeezed by Moreno, and Valdeno Brito (Porsche 997) overcame Alencar Júnior to assume fourth position in the track.

Moreno overtook Sérgio Lúcio's Viper as he started fighting again for first place and he assumed the top spot again on the sixteenth lap. The following lap saw Ricci pass Negrão, just before the obligatory stops to change pilots got underway after 23 minutes of racing. Moreno was the first to stop, and five minutes later Brito was replaced by Antonio Hermann; however the Porsche retired with mechanical problems on lap 24. In the 34th minute, it was Xandy Negrão's time to leave the car to his teammate Mattheis while two minutes later Ricci passed the F430 on to Walter Derani. The race proceeded with the pilots struggling against the lack of adherence of the asphalt, generated by the heat.

One of the biggest dramas of the weekend was the fate of the Lamborghini Gallardo driven by Feldmann and Bonifácio. Suffering in the heat in the city of Goiânia, with temperatures oscillating between 35° and 37° (Celsius), the engine overheated during the first race of the day and was destroyed. The team wasn’t able to change the engine in time for the second race and that resulted in a disaster in terms of their title hopes. The Boni Sports team, which has led the GT3 classification since the first race, will have to recover from the setback during the final two rounds, which will be held at Interlagos, São Paulo, on 1st and 2nd December.

by Claudio Perlini

Brazilian GT3 Championship Rd 7 – classification: 1) Andreas Mattheis/Xandy Negrão - Dodge Viper; 2) Rafael Derani/Alencar Jr. - Ferrari F430; 3) Antonio Hermann/Valdeno Brito - Porsche 997 GT3; 4) Carlos Crespo/Roberto Pupo Moreno - Ferrari F430; 5) Walter Derani/Cláudio Ricci - Ferrari F430; 6) Renato Cattalini/Luís Otávio Paternostro - Ferrari F430; 7) Sérgio Laganá/Marcelo Fernandes - Ferrari F430; 8) Paulo Bonifácio/Alceu Feldmann - Lamborghini Gallardo

Brazilian GT3 Championship Rd 8 – classification: 1) Xandy Negrão/Andreas Mattheis - Dodge Viper; 2) Cláudio Ricci/Walter Derani - Ferrari F430; 3) Alencar Jr./Rafael Derani - Ferrari F430; 4) Roberto Pupo Moreno/Carlos Crespo - Ferrari F430; 5) Luís Otávio Paternostro/Renato Cattalini - Ferrari F430; 6) Marcelo Fernandes/Sérgio Laganá - Ferrari F430; 7) Fábio Casagrande/S. Lúcio - Dodge Viper; Not classified: Valdeno Brito/Antonio Hermann - Porsche 997 GT3

Classification of Brazilian GT3 Championship after 8 rounds: Drivers - 1) X.Negrão/A.Mattheis: 63; 2) A.Feldmann/P.Bonifácio: 57; 3) W.Derani/C.Ricci: 48; 4) R.Matias/A.Mazzochi: 32; 5) R.Derani/A.Junior: 30; 6) L.Paternostro/R.Cattalini: 25; 7) A.Hermann: 20; 8) L.Kaesemodel: 15; 9) M.Fernandes/S.Laganá: 11; 10) R.Moreno/C.Crespo: 10; 11) P.Tarso/L.Burti: 7; 12) F.Casagrande, Valdeno Brito: 6; 13) A.Collares: 4; 14) Sergio Lúcio: 2; Teams - 1) CRT: 99; 2) A. Mattheis: 63; 3) Boni Sports: 57; 4) WB: 41; 5) Occhi: 32; 6) RC Competições: 25; 7) Casagrande: 12; 8) Action Power: 7; Manufacturers - 1) Ferrari: 124; 2) Lamborghini: 100; 3) Dodge: 71; 4) Porsche: 41