Goiânia hosts a Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge round for the first time
On the 31st of July and 1st of August, the Goiânia circuit will host the main Gran Tourism series of Brazil over the last decade. For the first time in its history, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge is coming to the capital of Goias state, on the same date and venue of the promotional start of Rally dos Sertões.
There will be four races on Saturday, two of them by Porsche GT3 Cup class and two by Porsche GT3 Challenge class. The two classes race with the iconic Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, the world’s best-selling racing car. On the Cup class, the version used is the most recent one, called “991”. Challenge class uses the “997 – II” version. The main differences between the cars are the engine power (460hp for the Cups and 450hp for Challenge) and the transmission (paddle shift for Cup, sequential for Challenge).
All the cars are identical and prepared by the same teams of mechanics and engineers, making Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge a unique series within the Brazilian motorsport scenario, where all the drivers are team mates.
The synergy with Rally dos Sertões is not a first for the series – over its decade of racing, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge has already shared circuits with events like Formula 1 (preliminary of the Brazilian GP for 10 years), FIA WEC (preliminary of the 6 Hours of São Paulo on the three editions of the race), FIA WTCC (preliminary for two times at Curitiba) and Brazilian Stock Car.
Main attraction of the Brazilian motorsport venues after a recent rebuild, Autódromo de Goiânia is now credited as one of the main circuits of the country. The track will be the 12th in the history of Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge and will now enter a list that includes international rounds like Interlagos, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Estoril and Algarve.
The fifth round of this 2015 season is expected to thrill the audience, with two well disputed championships going on. On the Cup class there were seven different winners throughout the eight races disputed so far. The four two-time champions are a little bit ahead of the pack, having scored now more than 100 points each. The highlight is Constantino Jr., champion of the 2014 season and current leader. Right behind him appears the ex-F1 Ricardo Rosset, followed closely by Miguel Paludo (with more than 50 NASCAR races on his curriculum) and Ricardo Baptista.
Within the Challenge class, the three first drivers on the standings are separated by only two points. Elias Azevedo leads, in front of the current champion Fabio Alves and the young talent JP Mauro.
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge races have 25 minutes plus one lap and are exhibited by TV channels SporTV and BAND. The races are also streamed live by web portal Terra.
The debut from Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge in Goiânia counts on the support from Goiás government and AGETOP, the Goiás government’s agency for works and transport.
