Miguel Paludo, Constantino Jr. win inaugural races of the season; Challenge class is dominated by young JP Mauro
On a day that the names of Constantino Jr., Miguel Paludo and JP Mauro shone, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Brasil opened its 2015 season in great style. There were four very agitated races and the final podium of the round united the four two-time champions of Cup class, bringing a small dose of how tight will be this 2015 championship. On the 10th year of the series, the spotlights certainly will be directed to the dispute of the first three-time championship crown.
The journey was opened with the first Cup race, lead from start to end by current champion Constantino Jr. Ricardo Rosset, the main contender of Constantino in 2014 and also a two-time champion, abandoned the race while he was second, after defending his position against young and fast Pedro Piquet, who started fifth and was overtaking the champions one by one. Pedro finished his first race for Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge in 18th, defining his starting position for the next race of the day. On Race 2, Pedro made a brilliant recover, finishing fourth. The winner was Miguel Paludo, with Constantino Jr. in secod.
Current champion of Cup Sport, Eduardo Azevedo was the highlight of the subclass, with a pair of podiums in Curitiba. On the Cup Master subclass, the highlight was Maurizio Billi, with two victories.
On the Challenge class, the owner of the day was exactly the younger driver of that grid, JP Mauro: pole on the first race and starting second in the other race, he won both. And more, he could enjoy his first triumph on Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge with his uncle Marcio Mauro also on the podium, thanks to an audacious overtaking maneuver on the last lap of Race 1.
On Challenge Sport subclass, an electrifying duel between Daniel Corrêa and Rodrigo Mello on Race 2 showed a bit of how competitive this season will be. The drivers of cars #69 and #19 disputed until the checkered flag and left their cars exhausted after the duel.
Porsche GT3 Cup – Race 1
1. Constantino Jr.
2. Miguel Paludo
3. Ricardo Baptista
4. Edu Azevedo
5. Marcel Visconde
6. Maurizio Billi
7. Daniel Schneider
8. Carlos Ambrósio
9. Sylvio de Barros
10. Beto Posses
11. Marcelo Stallone
12. Sérgio Ribas
13. Gil Farah
14. Rodolfo Ometto
15. Guilherme Figueiroa
16. Marcio Basso
17. Carlos Silveira
18. Ricardo Rosset
19. Pedro Piquet
20. Lico Kaesemodel
21. Gui Affonso
22. Adalberto Baptista
23. Pedro Queirolo
Porsche GT3 Cup – Race 2
1. Miguel Paludo
2. Constantino Jr.
3. Edu Azevedo
4. Ricardo Rosset
5. Ricardo Baptista
6. Daniel Schneider
7. Marcel Visconde
8. Carlos Ambrósio
9. Rodolfo Ometto
10. Lico Kaesemodel
11. Maurizio Billi
12. Pedro Piquet
13. Gui Affonso
14. Gil Farah
15. Sérgio Ribas
16. Carlos Silveira
17. Guilherme Figueiroa
18. Beto Posses
19. Marcio Basso
20. Marcelo Stallone
21. Pedro Queirolo
22. Adalberto Baptista
23. Sylvio de Barros
Porsche GT3 Cup – Standings
1. Constantino Jr e Miguel Paludo 40
3. Edu Azevedo 32
4. Ricardo Baptista 30
5. Marcel Visconde 23
6. Daniel Schneider 20
7. Maurizio Billi 17
8. Carlos Ambrósio 17
9. Ricardo Rosset 14
10. Rodolfo Ometto 10
11. Sylvio de Barros 8
12. Beto Posses 7
13. Marcelo Stallone 6
14. Lico Kaesemodel 6
15. Sérgio Ribas 6
16. Gil Farah 6
17. Gui Affonso 3
18. Guilherme Figueiroa 2
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Porsche GT3 Challenge – Race 1
1. JP Mauro
2. Elias Azevedo
3. Fábio Alves
4. Daniel Paludo
5. Tom Filho
6. Marcio Mauro
7. Daniel Corrêa
8. Marcello Sarcinella
9. Ramon Alcaraz
10. Vitor Scheid
Porsche GT3 Challenge – Race 2
1. JP Mauro
2. Elias Azevedo
3. Daniel Paludo
4. Kreis Junior
5. Fábio Alves
6. Rodrigo Mello
7. Daniel Corrêa
8. Marcio Mauro
9. Ramon Alcaraz
10. Marcelo Sarcinella
11. Tom Filho
12. Vitor Scheid
Porsche GT3 Challenge – Standings
1. JP Mauro 40 pontos
2. Elias Azevedo 36
3. Fábio Alves 28
4. Daniel Paludo 25
5. Marcio Mauro 20
6. Tom Filho 19
7. Daniel Corrêa 19
8. Kreis Jr 14
9. Marcello Sarcinella 14
10. Ramon Alcaraz 14
11. Rodrigo Mello 10
12. Vitor Scheid 6
