Brazilian Racing News
8 December 1997
This will be the last racing weekend of the Brazilian motorsports season. STOCK-CAR Brazilians Ingo Hoffmann and Xandi Negrao are battling to see who will be the 1997 Brazilian Stock Car Champion. Ingo (former F-1 driver) is favorite, as he needs only to finish 9th to be the champion, even if Negrao wins the race. If Xandi doesn't finish in the top 5, Ingo will be already champion. This would be Ingo's 10th Stock Car title, a record in Brazil, as this is only the 18th Stock Car season in Brazilian history. Carlos Alves and Paulo Gomes are also favored to win this race. Qualifying and practice it Interlagos will take place on Saturday. The race will be on Sunday morning. F-Chevrolet Duda Pamplona, 1998 F-Chevrolet champion, is a favorite to win the race in Interlagos, as it is the home track of Pamplona's team. Duda, who has had the support of Brazilian Texaco since his karting days, is supposed to do F-3 or Indy-Lights next season. Other drivers to watch are Alex Bachega, Valdeno Brito Filho (who will probably race for Brian Stewart in the 1998 Indy-Lights Championship), and Marcelo Ventre. F-3 Bruno Junqueira clinched the provisional pole for this weekend's race in Rio de Janeiro. Junqueira, already South American F-3 champion, is very satisfied with his settings. Qualifying will be on Saturday at 2 pm. Marc Zimmermann -- The Auto Channel