Fórmula Truck

Fórmula Truck
Category	Truck racing
Country	Brazil & South America
Inaugural season	1996; 2021 (current format)
Folded	2017
Constructors	Ford, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Scania, Volvo and Volkswagen
Tyre suppliers	JK Tyre
Last Drivers' champion	Felipe Giaffone (2016)
Last Makes' champion	Mercedes-Benz (2016)
Last Teams' champion	RM Competições (2016)
Official website	formulatruck.com
	Current season

Fórmula Truck is a Brazilian Truck racing series promoted by GT Truck. It originally ran from 1996 until 2017, when it folded due to various disagreements, and was reorganized into the Copa Truck. The series returned in 2021 as a separate championship being promoted by GT Truck.^[1]

History

Early history

The idea for the racing series came from discussions between Aurélio Batista Félix, a truck driver from Santos, and Portuguese journalist Francisco Santos.

The first race took place on 6 September 1987 at the Autodromo Internacional de Cascavel circuit in Paraná. It involved 35 competitors and was named I Copa Brasil de Caminhões ("First Brazilian Trucks' Cup"). It served as a safety test for what was a brand new racing format. However, there was a fatal accident involving one of the participants: Jeferson Ribeiro da Fonseca, a driver who was also the president of Autodromo Internacional de Cascavel. Jeferson Ribeiro's death had a profound impact and led to Francisco Santos leaving Fórmula Truck three years later.

In 1994, a new event for truck drivers and businessmen was created, with safety as a top priority, at the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo. The contest began in 1995, and the four trial races were held in the cities of Cascavel and Londrina (PR), Tarumã (RS), and Goiânia (GO). In Goiânia, over 120,000 people attended the event.

The first championship with defined rules took place in 1996 and was approved by the Confederação Brasileira de Automobilismo (Brazilian Automobile Confederation). The first official competition took place in Guaporé (RS) and had 13 trucks on the grid.

On 5 March 2008, the creator of Formula Truck, Aurélio Batista Félix, died of a stomach hemorrhage. He had heart problems and suffered a heart attack during the first stage of the 2008 season, which was being held in Guaporé.

In 2010, the organisation announced a South American championship, and Roberval Andrade was crowned champion. In 2011, three races were announced for the South American Championship.

Before the start of the 2017 season, several teams left Formula Truck due to disagreements with the way the series was being run. Those teams created the Copa Truck series.

Return in 2021

In 2021, the championship was reformed, being managed by GT Truck.^[2] The new series has trucks with less power and divided into two categories (Electronic and TDI).^[3]

Format

A weekend generally consists of three days, on Friday, each driver is entitled to three 45-minute practice sessions. For qualifying, there is a single 30-minute session to decide two qualifying groups, A and B. Group A defines the drivers on the odd numbered grid spots, with Group B taking the even spots.^[4]^[5]

Qualifying

The qualifying session that decides the starting grid is held the Saturday before the race. Each driver has a warm-up lap, three timed laps, and a slowdown lap. If they give up, the driver is entitled to a single timed lap at the end of the session.

In 2015, the format was changed to have a single 30-minute session to decide the qualifying groups, which are A for odd numbered grid spots, and B for even spots.

Race format

In Formula Truck, the number of laps in each race is determined by the length and conditions of the racetrack and usually ranges from 30 to 35 laps. During the Ceará race, which occurred in 2006, the number of laps was 60, due to the length of the track. Any laps completed with a pace truck are considered invalid. In restarts, pairing of the trucks is stopped and overtaking is allowed only after the checkered flag, or when the green light is lit.

In 2006, when the 12th valid lap is completed, the drivers will receive a chequered flag in green and yellow, which scores the first six places. At this point, the Pace Truck enters the track and neutralises the race for cleaning and removing vehicles on the track, remaining for three to five laps. After restart, trucks complete the preset number of laps and make the podium in accordance with their respective classification in the race or with fewer time penalties if applicable.

The trucks have enough power to exceed 200 km/h (120 mph), in every circuit, there is a designated area with a speed limit of 160 km/h (99 mph), to ensure sufficient safety. This area is generally the fastest point on the track, like the start-finish straight.

Scoring system

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	PP	FL	Lap 12	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Points	25	20	17	14	12	10	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	1	1	Points	5	4	3	2	1

Champions

Brazilian

Year	Driver	Truck	Team	Manufacturer
1996	Renato Martins	Scania	Marfran	Not held
1997	Oswaldo Drugovich, Jr.	Scania	Drugovich Auto Peças
1998	Oswaldo Drugovich, Jr.	Scania	Drugovich Auto Peças
1999	Jorge Fleck	Volvo	ABF Volvo
2000	Jorge Fleck	Volvo	Thermoid-Melitta-Volvo
2001	Wellington Cirino	Mercedes-Benz	ABF Mercedes-Benz
2002	Roberval Andrade	Scania	Muffatão
2003	Wellington Cirino	Mercedes-Benz	ABF Mercedes-Benz
2004	Beto Monteiro	Ford	DF Motorsport	Ford
2005	Wellington Cirino	Mercedes-Benz	ABF Mercedes-Benz	Scania
2006	Renato Martins	Volkswagen	RM Competições	Mercedes-Benz
2007	Felipe Giaffone	Volkswagen	RM Competições	Volkswagen
2008	Wellington Cirino	Mercedes-Benz	ABF Mercedes-Benz	Mercedes-Benz
2009	Felipe Giaffone	Volkswagen	RM Competições	Volkswagen
2010	Roberval Andrade	Scania	RVR Corinthians Motorsport	Volkswagen
2011	Felipe Giaffone	Volkswagen	RM Competições	Volkswagen
2012	Leandro Totti	Mercedes-Benz	ABF Racing Team	Mercedes-Benz
2013	Beto Monteiro	Iveco	Scuderia Iveco	Mercedes-Benz
2014	Leandro Totti	Volkswagen	RM Competições	MAN
2015	Leandro Totti	Volkswagen	RM Competições	MAN
2016	Felipe Giaffone	Volkswagen	RM Competições	Mercedes-Benz
2017	Series cancelled
2022	Márcio Rampon	Scania	Rampon Racing	N/A
2023	Pedro Muffato	Scania	Muffatão/Açucareira Energy	N/A

South American

Year	Driver	Truck	Team	Manufacturer
2011	Felipe Giaffone	Volkswagen	RM Competições	Volkswagen
2012	Leandro Totti	Mercedes-Benz	ABF Racing Team	Volkswagen
2013	Beto Monteiro	Iveco	Scuderia Iveco	Iveco
2014	Leandro Totti	Volkswagen MAN	RM Competições	MAN

End

In 2017, due to disgreements with the way the championship was managed, several teams left the organisation to create a new championship called Copa Truck, featuring drivers such as Felipe Giaffone and Beto Monteiro. The Formula Truck returned in 2021, with Gilberto Hidalgo as the new promoter.^[6]

References

^ Caminhoneiro, Rafael Brusque-Blog do (18 November 2020). "Fórmula Truck anuncia retomada da competição em 2021". Blog do Caminhoneiro (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^ Brusque, Rafael (18 November 2020). "Fórmula Truck anuncia retomada da competição em 2021". Blog do Caminhoneiro (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2 February 2024.
^ Geraldo, João (5 May 2023). "Fórmula Truck retorna fortalecida às pistas corrida". ocarreteiro.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2 February 2024.
^ Santana, Adrielle (25 February 2015). "Fórmula Truck traz mudanças nas regras da competição". MS Notícias (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2 February 2024.
^ "Conheça os principais fatos e curiosidades sobre a Fórmula Truck". Blog Sasnuy. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
^ "Corrida e shows mantém viva a magia da F-Truck". O Carreteiro. 5 May 2023.