The accident in the previous stage at Velopark charged another high price for Antonio Pizzonia. The car, involved in a bad crash with Lucas Foresti, could not be recovered by Prati-Donaduzzi Team´s mechanics in Petrópolis and a new chassis is already in the final assembly process for the double round of Stock Car on 21st in Santa Cruz, also in Rio Grande do Sul. "The staff is doing overtime to complete the services, but we hope to finish the work until Sunday”, explained technical director Rodolpho Mattheis.
The inspection carried out by the technicians of the team still in the boxes at Velopark verified the extent of the irreversible damages in Pizzonia´s car. "Some tubes can be replaced even if badly damaged, but this is not what happens when a crash occurs a little behind the rear axle, so we had no choice but to order a new chassis", continued Mattheis.
In an extremely balanced season, in which time differences are counted in the hundredths of a second and the fight for a place among the six racing drivers with access to the final part of qualifying is getting more and more intense, Pizzonia will have an extremely thankless mission. Punished for the episode at Velopark, he will be forced to leave the last grid position at the opening of the schedule in Santa Cruz do Sul. The circuit opened in 2005 in the central region of the state was the scene of the first of two victories that the former Formula 1 driver conquered in 2014.
With the first battery compromised, Mattheis acknowledges that Prati-Donaduzzi Team's focus on Pizzonia will be the second round. "We already have a very clear strategy and we are confident in a great result in this race. I think we can dream big, maybe even in the top three", he said. For Julio Campos, the racing partner of Pizzonia, the priority will be the opening of the programming. "The two initial stages have shown that we have a competitive car. Let's get the first podium for him".