The drivers of Panasonic Racing team had a difficult race. Although Ricardo, managed to get his first points in the season with a 14th place. A position, at least, interesting for someone who started 24th. "The beginning was difficult, I was in the middle of the grid and had to try avoid two accidents," said Ricardo, referring to hits that led to the entry of the safety car twice in the first round.

 

The first of them even directly involved Ricardo . Thiago Marques, who was immediately in front of him, had slowed down and was hit in the back by Ricardo, while overtaking in the rising of "Laranjinha" sector, Zonta managed to move forward. A new accident stopped the race in the restart. This time, with Luciano Burti, Nonô Figueiredo and Daniel Serra. After the yellow flags, the pit stops were setting the direction of the race.

 

The Panasonic Racing pit stop was good and Ricardo managed to fight back in the points. In the end, he managed to get two points, with a 14th place, after a good overtake on Antonio Pizzonia, in the last lap. "I had a brake problem and I could not improve much. The important thing was that there was respect on both sides of the dispute and I managed to get the position," concluded  Ricardo, who next Tuesday (15) heads off to Mexico, for the Grand-Am race.

 

The chief engineer of the Panasonic Racing was happy with the result. "Given the position we started in, which was not favorable, the race was good for us, especially in the case of Ricardo Zonta, who got important points for the championship," said Augusto Cesário. "I was pleased to finish the race with both cars, but I know that we need to change, mainly in the qualifying sessions" he said.

final result at Interlagos:

1º) Marcos Gomes (CA, SP), 25 Laps em 50:59.920 (speed 126.73 km/h)

2º) Thiago Camilo (CA, SP), a 3.259

3º) Cacá Bueno (ML, RJ), a 5.730

4º) Ricardo Mauricio (P3, SP), a 8.436

5º) Antonio Jorge Neto (ML, SP), a 9.798

6º) Atila Abreu (P3, SP), a 11.700

7º) David Muffato (P3, PR), a 14.536

8º) Popó Bueno (CA, RJ), a 14.607

9º) Felipe Maluhy (ML, SP), a 16.971

10º) Hoover Orsi (CA, MS), a 17.897

18º) Ricardo Sperafico (Panasonic Racing, P3, PR), a 37.557