The intensity level was cranked up and temperatures ran hot in Rio...and for once, it wasn’t due to Zika. The FRL WTCC series paid a visit to the streets of Rio for the Race of Brazil. Qualifying on the previous Thursday may have been light, but a full complement of racers would turn out for the Sunday night event, setting a new participation record for the FRL with thirteen drivers on hand.
Trouble would start for two drivers before the green flag even waved as Allen Ruff and Carter Merkling - making his first appearance in the series here - both had pace lap incidents that led to their having to pit while the rest of the field lined up on the start grid. They would start from the pit lane once the race began. The green flag waved and a mostly clean start got the first heat underway. Round 2 winner Paul Maestri would suffer from a poor start and lost his P3 starting position very quickly. Further troubles would plague him as he would have to work forward from the rear of the field.
Andrew Steppat made the most of his 3rd straight Heat 1 pole position, leading from the start and maintaining P1 all the way to the finish. Travis Billingsley and Ethan Maestri would swap positions in the opening lap as Travis found it difficult to keep his #18 Summit Racing Volvo off the retaining wall. He would sort it out though, pulling up on Ethan’s bumper for several laps of tight racing before finally fading back and eventually getting turned around on the track, a turn which sent him to the pits. Bryan Dean would overcome some early sketchiness during the early laps and began running lap times comparable to his R.Z.M. teammate Ethan Maestri. Bryan would be there to capitalize on Travis’ misfortune and take over P3.
There was a lot of action and place swapping in the middle and back of the pack as some drivers struggled to keep their cars off the wall, and each other, in a mad scramble for position. Tony Tyree led a tight knot of four cars in the early going of the heat, but as he rounded the sweeper into the esses in the late stages of the course, he would clip the tire wall and spin hard, facing oncoming traffic that was immediately behind him. The resulting carnage damaged the Mercedes A-Class of Tom Henderson and #12 Matthew Smith and all but ended Paul Maestri’s charge toward a Top 5 as his #86 Audi was up-ended and wound-up on its top. Matthew would be the only one of the four drivers involved to be able to get to the pits and back in the hunt, finishing in P5 for the heat.
For the second heat the finishing order was reversed and Allen Ruff led the field around for the beginning of Heat 2. The drop of the green flag would see a real fireworks show kick-off as the jostling for position was immediate. A colorful group of 13 cars swept along the scenic coastline with bumping and passing taking place everywhere as the group worked to sort itself out. Turn 3 would cause trouble for a few drivers as there were several spins here. Ethan Maestri was nearly spun out of contention but was able to save the car and continue his charge through the grid right behind Andrew’s #001 BMW. As the rolling melee continued its inexorable push forward, the group topped the hill and swept into Turn 9 were Ethan would make his move around the outside of Andrew Steppat and Nicholas Hargrove. Pushing the Audi hard out of the turn and on the long run downhill, he would make the pass stick and set sail for the start finish line. Andrew would get collected by an incident and would have to push toward P1 from way back, and as it seems, too far back to catch Ethan as the #85 Razorback Motorsport Audi would win the heat. Travis and Paul would play cat-and-mouse further back, encountering heavy lap traffic throughout the heat. Eventually Travis would settle into P3, with Paul redeeming his Heat 1 performance and finishing P4. Carter Merkling would somewhat successfully navigate the carnage and would bring his #16 Chevy Cruise home in P5 - his first Top 5 finish in FRL series racing.
Allen Ruff started this heat from the front and would do very well, keeping the interaction with surrounding traffic to a minimum and coming in P6. While teammate Bryan Dean suffered some early setbacks and would have to settle for P8. Tony Tyree would set his fastest lap of the night in this heat, fully two seconds ahead of at least half the field, but on track incidents held him to a P9 finish. Drew Dilbeck was looking at having a pretty good night overall, but several incidents in this heat dropped him to P12. Also suffering from heavy damage incurred in this heat was Matthew Smith. He too looked to be having a stellar night, but was collected in several altercations that left his #12 A-Class heavily damaged and he had to exit the heat, posting a P13 finish.
Frustration levels were high at this event. While everyone assumed that passing would come at a premium and patience on the track would be in a driver’s best interest, it seemed the roughness of the circuit and narrow areas of the track was more than some could deal with. When approached by reporters who inquired about some heated radio exchanges during the race, driver Paul Maestri immediately began shaking his head and dismissed the media, turning and walking straight into his team hauler. The FRL issued a statement that it is any drivers prerogative to decline to make a comment after a race if that is their desire. Bryan Dean was similarly annoyed with some of the situations experienced on track but followed with “I’m certain we’ll be in the mix going forward. Anything can happen, from technical trouble to someone’s Volvo turning on them.”
The drivers will get a couple of weeks to cool their heels as the series now heads over the Atlantic and into its European leg of the tour. Round 4 of the series will be the Race of France at famed Le Mans for a night race on the Bugatti Circuit.
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