The 3rd round of the Rio de Janeiro State Championship was held at the AMA-UFRJ Track on June 13th – 14th.
Saturday was dedicated to free and timed practice, and the JQ / Pro-Line Team found a good balance for the track. The track conditions are very demanding and it is very difficult to find the ideal setup, as the track combines rough sections which ask for lower oils / bigger holes and big jumps with some rough landings asking for higher damping. Both Ricardo Schaefer and Thomas Gisler from the Pro-Line team found their balance and got very consistent, easy to drive cars, relying on
the superior traction of Pro-Line’s HoleShot in X3 compound.
After qualifying, Thomas managed to the 2nd place, while Ricardo, after having a technical problem, ended up in 8th place for the A-Main.
The start for the A-Main went very well for Thomas, sticking right on the rear bumper of TQ Rodrigo Nakad (Mugen/OS), and already opening up a pretty wide gap to the rest of the pack. Opening up lap 2, the first big triple, and when landing, Rodrigo’s OS engine flamed out and Thomas took the lead and never looked back. Doing not the fastest race laps, but driving very consistent, he administrated his lead, staying out of trouble, taking advantage of the superior run-time of the WERKS B6 engine, to take the win. Ricardo was driving a consistent race, moving up position for position, staying always inside the podium range, and then to move into 2nd position after Diego Daier (Intech/Soar) had a small issue. Diego and Ricardo battled it out, changing position often, and Ricardo went into the last lap in 2nd position, having Diego right behind him. Going over the last jump, right before the timing loop, a small problem for Ricardo, recovering quickly, but Diego just managed to pass by and crossed the line 0.2-seconds before Ricardo.
Both Ricardo and Thomas used Pro-Line’s Hole Shot Tires in the X3 compound, which worked perfect under these conditions, and the X3 compound holding up perfectly despite the sunny and hot weather.
1st Thomas Gisler Pro-Line
3rd Ricardo Schaefer Pro-Line
Going into the winter break (no race in July), and being half way through the championship, we see Rodrigo Nakad (Mugen/OS) in the lead, followed by Thomas Gisler (JQ/WERKS/Pro-Line) and Nando Lima (TLR/Novarossi), and all three have 138 points!!! Ricardo Schaefer (JQ/REDS/Pro-Line) is in 6th place with 122 points. It will be an interesting 2nd half of the Championship.
