Antonella Bassani endured her most challenging round in the Porsche Cup Brazil, as the reigning champion battled car issues throughout the fifth round at Interlagos and was forced to recover from the back of the field with strong drives in both races.
Antonella Bassani endured her most challenging round in the Porsche Cup Brazil series at the fifth round of the 2024 season in Interlagos, where the reigning champion battled car issues from the start of the weekend and was forced to recover from the back of the field with strong drives in both races.
Despite remarkable recoveries and amidst changing weather conditions that hindered her progress, Bassani secured a best finish of eighth in Race 2 but was unfortunate to lose the lead in the championship points, with just one sprint round remaining.
The 18-year-old rising star had enjoyed a stellar season to date, taking four race wins in as many weekends: from a win at Goiânia in the season opener, she followed up with a dominant run at Velocittà, then claimed her first win at Interlagos, before continuing her winning streak at Estoril during the series' first trip to Portugal.
Returning to the home of Brazilian motorsport for the fifth sprint round, Bassani aimed to maintain her momentum and extend her championship lead. However, she faced a remarkably unlucky weekend, starting with a difficult testing on Thursday.
Already in the testing sessions, Bassani struggled with her car as she tried to break into the top ten on a circuit where she has historically been very competitive.
In official practice on Friday, she managed to clock a 1:40.059, which placed her eighth fastest, 7 tenths off pace-setter Cristian Mohr—although more work was needed to get her closer to the front-running positions where she belongs.
Things continued to go awry in qualifying, as her #72 Porsche 991 GT3 Cup car—sporting a special livery promoting the new Transformers One movie—left her without a representative lap time in Q1 due to a technical issue. As a result, she had to pit on her final attempt, leaving her P21 on the grid for Race 1.
"There are good days and bad days," Bassani commented after the disappointment. "In both qualifying rounds, I had problems with the car, finishing 21st in the first and 13th in the second." It was her most difficult weekend to date, but she remained ready to fight and determined to recover.
On Saturday afternoon, Caio Castro took the lead of the first race into Turn 1 with a stellar getaway, passing pole-sitter Mariotti and Malucelli. Antonella was on a mission, gaining 7 positions over the first lap, moving up to P15 and showing no signs of holding back as she passed Pontes and Bertucelli on lap 2.
Despite having to overtake, Antonella was among the fastest cars on track, lapping at 1:40.6 as early as lap 3. Ahead, Castro, Campos, Brasil, and Mariotti engaged in a spectacular four-car battle for the lead, with Gerson Campos eventually taking the top spot.
Bassani picked up another position, snatching P12, and then passed Claudio Simao as she closed in on the top ten. Meanwhile, the sky above Interlagos darkened, and the caution was out on lap 6 when Fabricio Simoes had a big hit at the end of Descida do Lago.
The clouds brought full darkness, and rain began to fall— with all drivers out on slicks.
With conditions rapidly deteriorating, the circuit flooded, and the race was called with 5 minutes to go. Gerson Campos won Race 1, ahead of Caio Castro and Célio Brasil. Unfortunately, despite her massive charge through the field, Antonella Bassani finished P11, having gained 11 positions.
"I was having an excellent recovery race, but then the rain came, and the race was finished under the safety car as soon as 75% of the race was completed, as a safety measure for all drivers," Antonella summarized. "Now the car is 100% ready for another recovery race tomorrow, and I will start in 13th place, using my head."
Race 2 on Sunday took place again under changing weather and tricky conditions.
Bassani started P13, with Miguel Mariotti on pole, ahead of Mohr and Malucelli.
At the green flag for the rolling start, Mariotti drove away early, while Antonella immediately went on the attack.
She gained one position, moving up to P12 on the second lap despite the challenging conditions as the rain intensified. But Antonella was unstoppable; she passed Caio Castro into Turn 1, reaching P11, and then began hunting down Lucas Locatelli.
Ahead, Mariotti pulled away, creating a big gap, while a beautiful battle for second unfolded between Feldmann Neto and Cristian Mohr, who kept alternating positions, with Gerson Campos also in the mix.
Bassani cleared Locatelli on lap 4, breaking into the top ten. Feldmann Neto spun with 15 minutes to go as the rain intensified, allowing Bassani to snatch P9. One lap later, Sadak Leite made a mistake, and Bassani continued to climb the order, reaching P8. Pushing hard, she lapped at 1:50.0, one of the fastest cars on track with the pace for a top-three finish.
She caught a group of cars led by fourth-placed Seba Malucelli, who traded positions with Leonardo Herrmann, completing a bold pass around the outside at Descida do Lago. Antonella, late on the brakes at S do Senna, tried to overtake Célio Brasil but went deep into Turn 1 and lost out to Lucas Locatelli, dropping back to ninth with 5 minutes to go.
However, just a few corners later, Brasil spun, handing P8 back to Bassani—who now had Locatelli in her sights.
With two laps to go, the safety car was deployed when Sadak Leite picked up a puncture and his tire blew up on the main straight, scattering debris. While the neutralization wiped away Mariotti's advantage, there was not enough time to resume the race, and Mariotti took victory in Race 2 at Interlagos, followed by Cristian Mohr and Leonardo Herrmann on the podium.
Antonella Bassani finished eighth after another impressive recovery drive, making no mistakes in extremely challenging weather conditions.
Though she lost the championship lead, it was a commendable damage limitation effort after a tough start to the weekend.
“It wasn’t the weekend we were hoping for, but a championship isn’t made up of just one round. We built our season throughout the year with good performances and victories. This gives us the credentials to fight for the title again in the F1 support round. Last year we fought until the end and the victory came. We will work in the same way in 2024,” Bassani reflected.
The final round of the season will again be held at Interlagos, with the series supporting the F1 Brazilian Grand Prix. Last year, Bassani managed to snatch the championship lead and win her first title in the very final race of her rookie season— and she will be aiming for a similar outcome this year on 2-3 November.
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