Bruna Tomaselli scores triple podium in Stock Series Brazil

Bruna Tomaselli made history at the second round of the 2024 Stock Series season by reaching the podium three times at Cascavel and collected important points to now moved into the top 6 of the championship. Kaká Magno also recorded her personal best result of the year in race 3.

Just under a month after the opening round of the 2024 season, Stock Series Brazil returned to action at the Zilmar Beaux Circuit, in Cascavel, where Bruna Tomaselli collected new trophies and important points for the championship. Despite some challenges faced in the previous stage, in Interlagos, she had reached the podium as second place among the rookies in race 3, and now repeated the feat 3 times over the last weekend.

The good results for Tomaselli began to materialize from the first free practice sessions, where she improved her best laps in each outing, placing P3 in FP1 and P2 in FP2.

Kaká Magno, from RTR Sport Team, also adapted to the conditions of the circuit and the car, making good progress over the weekend and was P9 and one of the sessions.

In the qualifying for races 1 and 2, held on Saturday morning, the two young women kept their gaps stable in relation to the lap times recorded in previous sessions. Bruna Tomaselli qualified in P3 and P4 respectively - and Kaká Magno took P12 on the starting grid for both races. Enzo Bedani and Arthur Gama were in pole positions.

Race 1

Just under two hours later and under cloudy skies, 12 of the 13 drivers returned to the Zilmar Beaux Circuit track for the first race of the weekend. After the start, pole-sitter Enzo Bedani remained ahead of the pack and a little further back, Bruna Tomaselli had lost the third place to Arthur Gama. Still on the first lap, Tomaselli had the chance to regain third, however she ended receiving a 5-second penalty from the stewards after a close battle with Gama.

On lap 5, it started to rain and the RTR duo entered the pits to change tires: Kaká Magno returned to the track in P12; the other drivers stayed out and began to struggle for low grip, until Mathias de Valle and Guto Grotta - who was second- spun. Following the incidents, the safety car was deployed, neutralizing the race for 3 laps. At the restart, Bedani continued in the lead, followed by Bruna Tomaselli, who gained a position with Grotta's retirement. Kaká Magno also gained two positions, reaching the top 10.

In the remaining 5 minutes of the race, the track began to dry and Tomaselli resisted the pressure from her opponents as long as she could, but was overtaken by Arthur Gama and then Gustavo Frigotto - in maneuvers in which both used the 'push-to-pass' button to overtake her. Bedani crossed the finish line first, and even with 5 seconds added to her final time, Bruna Tomaselli remained in P4 - which also meant P2 among the rookies and a trip to to the podium. The pit-stop strategy ended up not being favorable for Kaká Magno, who closed the overall top 10.

"We had a very positive day here in Cascavel. In the qualifying, we had the fourth best time, following our good performance in practice. In today's race, we had the chance to fight for victory the entire time. The rain appeared during the race and gave an extra emotion. In the end, we crossed the finish line in fourth position and I reached the podium in P2 among the rookies. Tomorrow there are two more races and we’re going for it, looking for victory!” - said Bruna Tomaselli after the race.

Race 2

On the morning of Sunday, all 13 cars lined up on the starting grid for race 2, which saw Arthur Gama in pole position, Bruna Tomaselli in fourth and Kaká Magno in 12th. With fog over the circuit and the track still damp, the starting procedure was carried out with the safety car in front of the field during the first two laps.

In the first laps under green flag, the drivers remained in their respective starting positions, until on lap 4 when Tomaselli was overtaken by Vinicius Paparelli and Gustavo Frigotto, dropping to 6th place. A little further down, Kaká Magno lost one position, after being overtaken by Alfredo Ibiapina.

In the final lap, Arthur Gama and Enzo Bedani fought for victory - but Gama got the better of him and crossed the finish line first. Without many conditions to fight for better results, Tomaselli finished in the same positions - P6 and P13 respectively.

Race 3

With the reverse grid format considering the result of the previous race, Erick Shotten occupied pole position, followed by Alfredo Ibiapina and Bruna Tomaselli in third. Kaká Magno started in P13. In the following laps, Tomaselli was pressured by Enzo Bedani, who was trying to take her place in the top 3, but the driver of the #97 Garra Racing car defended herself very well and maintained her position.

On lap 6, Felipe Barrichello Bartz and Akiu Myasava collided in turn 1, causing the deployment of the safety car. The restart was authorized on lap 10, but shortly afterwards the action had to be neutralized again, after Erick Shotten lost control of his car and crashed into the barriers at the entrance to the main straight.

There were less than 3 minutes left in the last race of the weekend in Cascavel, when the safety car returned to the pits, and Ibiapina maintained the lead until the end. Bruna Tomaselli - who had taken P2, ended up being overtaken by Arthur Gama, but resisted well from the pressure of Bedani. Thus, she took the checkered flag in third place overall - second among the rookies - earning the right to stand on the podium twice at the awards ceremony.

Before the end of the race there were two more incidents: Hugo Cibien went off track and soon after Gustavo Frigotto also hit the tire barrier after receiving contact in a duel with Mathias de Valle. Kaká Magno ended up gaining two positions and crossed the finish line in P8 - recording her best result of the season.

"The weekend here was very good!", explained Tomaselli. "We started well in all the practice sessions until the races, and I achieved my first overall podium in the Stock Series as third place."

"I know we could have gone a little further, because on the restart, when I went to accelerate, I lost the rear of the car a little and had to defend more than attack, but I'm very happy with the result!" - said Bruna about the last race of the weekend.

Kaká Magno also shared her impressions of the weekend's results: "We managed to save P8 in the second round of the Stock Car Series in Cascavel. Our progress throughout the weekend was very positive. I love racing here. But we know we have a lot of work ahead of us and that is challenging. Let's focus on the goal!"

After the 3 races held at the Zilmar Beaux Circuit, the drivers' standings see Arthur Gama in the lead, with 156 points. Bruna Tomaselli's good performance allowed her to collect 52 points, so she climbed 4 positions and now sits sixth with 80 points. Kaká Magno also scored important points and now has 63 in total, climbing to 11th place.

The Stock Series will return to activities on June 30, at the Velocittà Circuit, in Mogi-Guaçu, where the 13 drivers will continue fighting for a place in the main Brazilian series.