A week after winning his first podium in the Grand-Am, Ricardo is already preparing for a new challenge, this time in Virginia, with the fourth stage of the season, scheduled for Sunday (27). "The third place in Mexico gave a great boost to the team," said the pilot, who disputes the season for Krohn Racing, the only time to opt for developing the Lola chassis, which reached its best result so far in the last stage, when Ricardo was not only on the podium but was in a direct fight for victory.

The expectation could not be different for the race in Virginia. "On this track, the car adapts well," said Ricardo, speaking on a track where he has some experience. "We've tested in Virginia, but it was only on part of the circuit, the complete design I still do not know," revealed Ricardo. Altogether, the Virginia International Raceway complex offers four choices of track. The largest, with 5,232 meters, which will be used by Grand-Am. The race will have a total of 77 laps within the limit of two and a half hours, covering a total of 400 km.

Although the field of Scott Pruett / Memo Rojas, who have won twice in a row this year, Grand-Am comes to Virginia with another favorite. Max Angelelli, who runs in partnership with Michael Valiante, always among the first placed in scoring, but his name appears to have gained strength because he has won twice at this circuit. The first, in 2004. The other, last year. But, at least for now, he is still behind the duo of Ricardo and Nic Jonsson, who with a third and fourth place in the season so far, now rank fifth in the championship table.

In addition to directly fighting for the championship, even with a car still in development, Ricardo also strengthened his position in another competition after the podium in Mexico. He is a major competitor for the title of  Rookie of the year in Grand-Am, In this fight, which offers $10 thousand in prizes for the winner, he jumped to second, only behind Tim George Jr (who is in the GT class). Considering only the pilots of the DP category, the Brazilian would be the leader among beginners. The race in Virginia will be held this Sunday at 13.00 local time.

Championship standings after 3 races:

1 Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas, 102 pontos

2 Marc Goossens/Jim Matthews, 86

3 Alex Gurney//Jon Fogarty, 85

4 Oswaldo Negri/Mark Patterson, 81