Moraes takes first win in F3 Brazil at Interlagos

Photo: Carsten Horst / Hyset

Lukas Moraes took his first ever F3 Brazil race victory this Saturday at Interlagos.

The Prop Car driver led from lights to flag and was never challenged for the laps. It was only during the final laps that second-placed Vitor Baptista was faster than Moraes but he was unable to close the gap enough to mount a proper challenge. A late safety car period also helped Moraes and would prove instrumental in shaping the race results.

The race started behind safety car due to rain. As such, Moraes kept first place and, once the green flag was waved after three laps, he opened up a three-second advantage over Baptista. The Cesario man had started third but passed teammate Sergio Sette Camara at Senna S. The driver from Minas Gerais? race then went from bad to worse as he made a mistake at turn 5 and lost another four positions.

Meanwhile, with Moraes in the lead, Baptista was able to improve his pace and kept Renan Guerra at bay. There wasn?t much of a battle between these two drivers, but staying in close proximity to each other meant they couldn?t find a way to close the gap to first place.

With two laps to go, Mauro Auricchio spun in turn two, bringing out the safety car. As the daylight ceased, the checkered flag was waved, and Moraes celebrated his first win in F3. It was also the first triumph for Darcio dos Santos since his legendary Prop Car team’s (1997 Sudamericana champions) return to the series.

Baptista crossed the line second, and was declared the Class B winner. Guerra was third, followed by Bruno Etman. The Argentinean was not under much pressure for fourth throughout the race, but made a small mistake in the final minutes, allowing Pedro Piquet to get closer. The points leader tried to overtake, but the Hitech driver kept his position.

As such, Piquet had to settle for fifth, while Camara finished his first race in cars sixth. Matheus Leist ? in Class B machinery ? rook seventh, while Leonardo de Souza, Artur Fortunato and Victor Miranda rounded out the top ten.

With today?s results, Camara will start on pole this Sunday thanks to the reverse-grid rule. Piquet will lineup alongside him and Moraes will be only sixth.

Race results