Three weeks, three races, one title – that was the stakes for the drivers as they arrived in Brazil earlier. Brock Kidd took yet another pole position, but with the race taking place in torrential wet conditions, it’s anyone’s race to win, especially with home hero Felipe Cesar starting 2nd. Kidd started nicely as per usual to hold the lead into turn 1, but behind, the drivers could barely see anything due to the spray. Cesar and Kip Maxwell were rather cautious as a result and Oleksandr Zozulya, starting 4th, took full advantage by sliding pass the two to vault up to 2nd. It only took half a lap before the first retirement, when Steffen Rosenberg hit the barrier at turn 6. It was clear some drivers were thriving in the conditions – Alexander McLaughlin eased past Stuart Harrison and Luke Stokey. The driver who looked absolutely impervious though was Will Taylor. He passed drivers at will, making up 3 places before a safety car was called a couple of laps before quarter distance. Otso Toivonen slid off at the last corner due to the amount of standing water – but more importantly, on the Mars straight, Kidd aquaplaned and spun dramatically. His car came to a rest at the next corner, but he was beached on the kerb – and the title leader was out. As everyone gathered their bearings behind the safety car, Zozulya found himself in the lead, ahead of Cesar, Maxwell and Ryota Yoshida.
The safety car pulled in after 5 laps and Cesar immediately was on the attack. He looked for a way past Zozulya at turn 1 but couldn’t get alongside in time. He couldn’t stay close enough out of turn 4 to attack at turn 6. So, with nothing to lose, the Brazilian went for a bold move on the inside of the final corner. Zozulya – perhaps thinking about the title – left him space and to the delight of the crowd, Felipe Cesar took the lead of the race. Behind the top 3, Renault pulled off a beautifully synchronized double move, with Einarrson and Harrison passing Yoshida and McLaughlin at the same time for 4th and 6th. Taylor moved into the top 10 with a pass on Sebastian Bergkvist, while Steven Kasami was brought back down to Earth after the highs of Morocco when his car stopped just before halfway distance. Zozulya kept close to Cesar despite the pass, but Maxwell was slipping back. Einarsson, loving the wet conditions, pounced first to move onto the podium, followed by Yoshida who eased around Maxwell at the penultimate corner. There was plenty of action in the midfield as Harrison went off at the same place as Toivonen and also retired, while Robert Stefansson overtook McLaughlin to move himself well into the top 10. Taylor continued to ruthlessly climb up the order – he overtook Stokey and McLaughlin in quick succession to take 7th. Then, for reasons Maserati still don’t know, something inside Cesar’s car broke, and a spring came flying out the back. It went straight at Zozulya’s suspension and broke it – and just like that, the two leaders found themselves out of the race. They parked at the side of the track and another safety car was called. Einarrson now lead, having started 6th, with Yoshida breathing down his neck and Maxwell now looking backwards at the young Stefansson in 4th. The safety car came in after a few laps and Einarsson took off, with Yoshida in pursuit. The gap between them ebbed and flowed, but Einarrson crucially kept the gap at around 1 second. Maxwell desperately fought off Stefansson for some time but with the race end in sight, the Icelander got his head down and passed the Downton at turn 7 with a fantastic move. Taylor easily powered past Maxwell and tried to pass Stefansson, but with a maidin podium in sight, the Lada driver stood firm and fended off the Jaguar. But up front – for the first time this season – Einarrson took a fantastic win, keeping his head when others lost there’s. Yoshida dropped back towards the end and took 2nd, while Stefansson was over the moon with 3rd. Taylor’s 4th from 16th, along with the fastest lap, was arguably one of the drives of the season, just behind Stefansson and just ahead of Maxwell. McLaughlin’s race went stale after the start and he finished 6th, ahead of Bergkvist who made up a place late in the race by passing Stokey, who salvaged 8th. Judson Sikes took his first points in motorsport in over 3 years in 9th and Jochem van Snelheid finished 10th. After the first half of the race, Kidd was possibly in dismay as Zozulya looked to take the title lead. But his unfortunate retirement means Kidd remains 5 points ahead of his rival. Taylor moves into 3rd, albeit 29 points behind Kidd. Einarrson moves level on points with McLaughlin in 6th but ahead on countback. In the teams’ standings, Jaguar retake the title lead after Downton moved one-point clear following Kidd’s pole – the former now lead by just two points. Renault extend their lead in 4th over Mitsubishi and Porsche.
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