Nicolas Costa was the name of the first official day of activity for the Porsche Cup C6 Bank Mastercard in 2023. The competitor in car #999 clocked a time of 1:36.378 in the first official free practice for the Carrera Cup of the season.

Marçal Muller was in second place in the session, followed by Werner Neugebauer, Lineu Pires and Lucas Salles. The top5 recorded all drivers separated by a gap of just 0.505. Pires was the fastest among the Sport competitors, with Bruno Campos, in 12th, leading the Rookie class.

As for the Challenge class, Josimar Júnior closed the official training session with the best time. Sadak Leite, Urubatan Junior, Antonella Bassani and Gustavo Zanon completed the top 5. Leite was fastest in the Sport class. As for the Rookie class, the best time in free training was held by Célio Brasil, 16th in the general classification.

At the end of the afternoon on Friday, the qualifying session for the Carrera Cup was originally scheduled. But qualifying was postponed to Saturday morning, due to rain in Interlagos. The Challenge time-lapse takes place next.

The first race of the Carrera Cup takes place at 13:17, with the Challenge race to follow. The tests are shown live by Band, Sportv and official channels of the category in social media.

What did they say:

“Unfortunately we didn't qualify… For me we could have ridden even in the rain. I know it's a lottery to ride in these conditions, but every rider knows what he does. Always good to finish the day first, always good to have the car competitive too, although finishing first in practice doesn't mean much. Now we are going to work to repeat today’s result tomorrow.”

Nicholas Costa

“I've had a good result in training since yesterday in pre-season. Today I led optional practice in the morning and was third in the afternoon. But actual training doesn't say much. We'll see on Saturday. It's the first stage of the year and we're starting to build a championship. I think tomorrow it won't rain and it will be cooler for everyone.”

Werner Neugebauer

“We were stuck for a long time between the last stage of 2022 and this stage. And the adaptation was very good. We took advantage of practice to work on a lot of settings, we tried a lot of different things and the lap time was very promising. I was in the top five overall and it's a good step up from what we did last year. Now, on Saturday, it’s about trying to keep going like this and start in front, already thinking about the championship”

Lineu Pires

“Since yesterday in the pre-season we have been working to set the car right, trying out different solutions. In this last practice I didn't even expect to finish first and it was good news. But more than getting first and having a good time is knowing that we have a well-tuned car, not just for this race, but for the whole season. Now we are going to try to repeat tomorrow and get out at the front of the grid, because that will be important for the two races of the weekend.”

josimar junior

“I hope tomorrow to be in the top four. We improved a lot from yesterday to today and the goal will be to stay on pole for Sport in this Saturday's quali”

milk sadak

“I've been very happy since yesterday with the tests, but today was the first 'real' practice. I think it helps me prepare for the race and understand who the main competitors are for the race. I was fifth overall and I'm happy with the result. It could have been even a little better, but we already opened the day with quali on Saturday and I hope to keep moving forward. It will be important to fit all the sections correctly in the time taken, to get a good position on the grid”

Antonella Bassani

“It was a really good workout. Yesterday I didn't get much track time because we had some problems and we were adjusting the machine. So I kind of started today from scratch, with a lot of focus. We then went training by training evolving, working a lot with the coach. And the results started to show. I'm very satisfied, leaving the Rookie category and coming to Sport and already getting a top5 overall on the first day. Tomorrow you have to go up and try to take pole with a zero tire.”

Gustavo Zanon

“I am happy with the result. It is positive to start leading in the class. I arrived in the morning and the car still needed tuning, it wasn't 100%. It took me a while to understand what needed to be done, but we found it. So I went to the track to enjoy and learn, and luckily the time eventually came. The car is perfect now. I think the secret is not to look at the time, it ends up happening. We're going tomorrow with the same approach to quali. I am entering now and it is necessary to go with both feet on the ground”

Porsche Cup C6 Bank Mastercard – Stage 1 – Entry list (in numerical order):

Career Cup

#999 Nicolas Costa 1:36,378
#544 Marçal Muller +0.088
#8 Werner Neugebauer +0.322
#888 Lineu Pires* +0,473
#70 Lucas Salles* +0.505
#1 Alceu Feldmann +0.617
#77 Francisco Horta* +0,628
#7 Miguel Paludo +0.724
#88 Georgios Frangulis* +0,895
#29 Rodrigo Mello +1,120
#17 Ricardo Fontanari* +1,141
#33 Bruno Campos** +1,171
#121 João Barbosa** +1,222
#199 Nelson Marcondes* +1,456
#85 Eduardo Menossi* +1,489
#555 Ayman Darwich* +1,685
#9 Edu Guedes** +1,704
#25 Paulo Sousa** +1,753
#87 Nelson Monteiro* +1,854
#44 Gustavo Farah** +1,939
#3 Franco Giaffone* +2,003
#800 Raijan Mascarello* +2,240
#80 Rouman Ziemkiewicz* +2,344
#56 Peter Ferter* +2,672
#99 Nasser Aboultaif** +3,553
#74 Piero Cifali** +3,560

*Sport

**Rookie

Sprint Challenge

#77 Josimar Junior 1:39.882
#66 Sadak Milk* +0.355
#1 Urubatan Junior +0,446
#72 Antonella Bassani +0.615
#33 Gustavo Zanon* +0,680
#21 Miguel Mariotti +0,696
#5 Marcelo Tomasoni +0,734
#71 SangHo Kim* +0,877
#15 Artur Ramos* +0,929
#100 Seba Malucelli* +0,974
#16 Antonio Junqueira* +1,038
#002 Junior Dinardi* +1,058
#57 Ramon Alcaraz* +1,427
#19 Walter Lester* +1,577
#14 Andre Gaidzinksi* +2,038
#139 Célio Brasil** +2,077
#133 Israel Salmen** +4,043
#7 Luiz Souza** +4,308
#38 Eric Santos** +11,109

#3 Cristian Mohr – No time

#51 Americo Lanzoni – No Time

*Sport

*rookie

Porsche Cup C6 Bank Mastercard – Stage 1 – Interlagos:

Saturday, March 4th
08:00 – 08:10 – Quali – Rookie – Carrera Cup
08:13 – 08:23 – Quali – Sport – Carrera Cup
08:26 – 08:36 – Quali – Carrera Cup
08:39 – 08 :49 – Quali – Top10 – Carrera Cup
09:00 – 09:10 – Quali – Rookie – Sprint Challenge
09:13 – 09:23 – Quali – Sport – Sprint Challenge
09:26 – 09:36 – Quali – Sprint Challenge
09 :39 – 09:49 – Quali Top10 – Sprint Challenge
13:17 – 13:45 – Race 1 – Carrera Cup
14:41 – 15:09 – Race 1 – Sprint Challenge

Sunday, March 5th
14:35 – 15:03 – Race 2 – Carrera Cup
15:16 – 15:44 – Race 2 – Sprint Challenge