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Stock Car Pro Series: Zonta and Massa win, Casagrande champion

Gabriel Casagrande is the 2023 Brazilian Stock Car champion after the iconic Interlagos track hosted the grand finale of the season on Sunday.

The A.Mattheis Vogel driver, who previously won the title in 2021, arrived in Sao Paulo with a 16-point advantage over Daniel Serra.

In the first race, Casagrande showed good pace, but it was not enough for victory. He managed to secure third place after a great battle with Rafael Suzuki.

Former F1 racer Ricardo Zonta, who started from pole position, proved to be unstoppable in the opening stanza. With his podium finish, Casagrande would only lose the title if he finished 18th in the second race in addition to a victory by Serra.

The victory in Race 2 belonged to Felipe Massa, taking his second win of 2023, with Marcos Gomes in second position and Rubens Barrichello in third. Casagrande drove without taking any risks, while Serra could only finish in 12th position.

“It’s a great emotion to be able to confirm this second title,” said Casagrande. “We arrived here as the leader of the championship, we did what we needed and I'm very happy.

“I just have to thank the entire team for everything they gave me throughout the year. It was a year of ups and downs that ended in a very emotional, very tense way, but we did what was enough to win this trophy, and for sure, next year we will be fighting again.”

The second race had a controversial ending: In the final part of the mandatory pit stop window, Massa was the leader but hadn’t pitted before the safety car was required for Sergio Ramalho's crash. Massa then pitted and rejoined still at the front, costing Barrichello a likely win, Rubens dropping to third behind Gomes.

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