Copa Truck
The Copa Truck is a Brazilian auto racing series, composed of trucks prepared for race. The category replaced the Fórmula Truck series in 2017.
History
The origin of the category came after nine teams left Formula Truck because of disagreements with the troubled management of Neusa Navarro Félix. These teams joined in an association, creating the category that came to replace Fórmula Truck. The new category brought together all the teams and drivers of the old category. In November 2017, it was homologated by the Brazilian Confederation of Automobilismo and was recognised as an official championship.The Truck Cup was officially launched on April 27, 2017, in São Paulo. In the first season, the championship was divided into three regional cups: Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast. The first stage took place on May 28, in Goiânia, with 17 trucks on the grid.
The association is made up of the following teams: RM Competições, AJ5 Sports, DF Motorsport, RVR Motorsports, Dakar Motors, Fábio Fogaça Motorsports, Lucar Motorsports and Clay Truck Racing.
The beginning of everything
It was 1987 when truck driver Aurélio Batista Félix and Portuguese journalist Francisco Santos decided to organize the category's first race. This first Brazilian championship was a huge success, with 35 drivers and an attendance of 20,000 fans. Over time, the category evolved and gained popularity, and today the Truck Cup is the main truck racing category in Brazil, with 36 drivers from 12 teams competing in nine rounds throughout the year, with two races per round in the Pro and Super Elite categories.
Differences between racing and street trucks
The first, and most obvious, is the height: while a standard truck measures 3.6 meters, Copa Truck vehicles are much lower, at about 2.5 meters. Another big difference, of course, is the power: 1,000 horsepower, twice that of an average transport truck. The brakes are also different, with pads capable of withstanding braking at speeds over 200 km/h. And let's not forget the tires, with a special shape and pressure, lower and rounded than those of a road vehicle, to increase grip.
Security
You can't be too cautious when you're inside a truck going 200 km/h, so in addition to the structure of a normal vehicle, the Copa Truck has stabilizer bars, a type of "cage" that offers extra protection to the driver, a special "bucket" type racing seat and five-point seat belts, in addition to all the inspections carried out by professionals to ensure the safety of the drivers.
Women in the Truck Cup
Women have a place in the Truck Cup, with two drivers vying for the top spot on the podium. In addition to Débora Rodrigues, one of the sport's pioneers, the category now also features Bia Figueiredo, who has competed in everything from Formula 3 Sudamericana to the Indianapolis 500.
Racing system
The season is divided into Grands Prix. Each Grand Prix has two qualifying sessions and four races: two with qualifying sessions and two with reverse grid sessions, one each on Saturday and Sunday. Free practice and qualifying are held before the first race. From qualifying, the top ten drivers enter the final round, where they compete for SuperPole. This determines the order of the top ten drivers for the first race. After Race 1, Race 2 begins with the finishing order from Race 1, except for the top eight places, which are reversed. Thus, the first driver in Race 1 will start eighth in Race 2 and vice versa, the second driver will start seventh and vice versa, the third driver will start sixth and vice versa, and the fourth driver will start fifth and vice versa. In Races 3 and 4, the format is similar to that of Races 1 and 2.
Circuits
- Autódromo Eduardo Prudêncio Cabrera
- Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna (Caruaru)
- Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna (Goiânia)
- Autódromo Internacional Ayrton Senna (Londrina) Autódromo Internacional de Brasília Autódromo Internacional de Cascavel Autódromo Internacional de Chapecó
- Autódromo Internacional de Curitiba
- Autódromo Internacional de Guaporé Autódromo Internacional de Mato Grosso Autódromo Internacional de Santa Cruz do Sul
- Autódromo Internacional de Tarumã
- Autódromo Internacional Orlando Moura
- Autódromo Internacional Potenza
- Autódromo Internacional Virgílio Távora Autódromo José Carlos Pace
- Autódromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez Circuito dos Cristais
- Velopark
List of Regional Cup champions
Points standings
It is fair to dismiss the three worst results of the season.| Points | 1° | 2° | 3° | 4° | 5° | 6° | 7° | 8° | 9° | 10° | 11° | 12° | 13° | 14° | 15° |
| Race 1 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Race 2 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |