Fórmula Truck
 | |
| Category | Truck racing |
|---|---|
| Country | Brazil & South America |
| Inaugural season | 1996 |
| Folded | 2017 |
| Constructors | Ford, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes Benz, Scania, Volvo and Volkswagen |
| Last Drivers' champion |
 |
| Last Teams' champion | RM Competições (2016) |
| Last Makes' champion | Mercedes-Benz (2016) |
| Official website | formulatruck.com |
 | |
Fórmula Truck is a Brazilian motorsport series, competed in by truck tractor units.
History
The concept originated from discussions between Aurélio Batista Félix, a truck driver from Santos, and Portuguese journalist Francisco Santos.
On September 6th 1987, the first race took place at the circuit Autodromo Internacional de Cascavel in Paraná. The trial involved 35 competitors and was named, I Copa Brasil de Caminhões (First Brazilian Trucks' Cup), and served as a test to ascertain the safety of this new type of race. 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. This disturbed the project, resulting in Francisco Santos being made to leave three years later.
In 1994 safety was made a priority for the creation of a new event for truck drivers and businessmen in the sector at the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo. The consolidation begun in 1995, with the four trials, held in the cities of Cascavel and Londrina (PR), Tarumã (RS) and Goiânia (GO). In the latter city, the crowds were over 120,000 people.
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.
2006 in Curitiba.
On March 5, 2008, the creator of Formula Truck, Aurélio Batista Félix, died of a stomach hemorrhage. He had heart problems and suffered a heart attack in the first stage of the 2008 season, which had been held in Guaporé.
In 2010, the organization announced a South American championship; Roberval Andrade was crowned champion. In 2011, three races were announced for the South American Championship.
Organization
The qualifying session that decides the starting grid is held the Saturday before the race. Each pilot can have a warm-up lap, three timed and more of a slowdown. If he gives up his back, he is entitled to a single attempt at the end of training.
Formula Truck in the number of turns of a step varies between 30 and 35, depending on the length of the track and the conditions of the racetrack, the step of Ceará, which was included in 2006, because the runway is short, the event was planned with 60 laps. The laps completed with Pace Truck are not counted as valid. In restarts and there is a pairing of the trucks stopped and overtaking is allowed only after the checkered flag, or when the green light is lit.
In 2006, when the 12th lap is valid, the pilots will receive a checkered flag in green and yellow, which scores the first five places. At this point, the trail enters the Pace Truck, which neutralizes the race for cleaning and removal of vehicles on the track, staying three to five laps. After restart, trucks complete the preset number and make the podium in accordance with the classification in the race, plus the times of the penalties, if applicable.
The trucks have enough power to exceed 200 km/h, but, just in one point of the circuit, is a speed limit of 160 km/h, to ensure better safety. The inspection takes place with the help of "radar" installed at some points around the track.
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 | |
Scania | Marfran | Not held |
| 1997 |  |
Scania | Drugovich Auto Peças | |
| 1998 | |
Scania | Drugovich Auto Peças | |
| 1999 |  |
Volvo | ABF Volvo | |
| 2000 | |
Volvo | Thermoid-Melitta-Volvo | |
| 2001 | |
Mercedes-Benz | ABF Mercedez-Benz | |
| 2002 | |
Scania | Muffatão | |
| 2003 | |
Mercedes-Benz | ABF Mercedez-Benz | |
| 2004 |  |
Ford | DF Motorsport | Ford |
| 2005 | |
Mercedes-Benz | ABF Mercedez-Benz | Scania |
| 2006 | |
Volkswagen | RM Competições | Mercedes-Benz |
| 2007 | |
Volkswagen | RM Competições | Volkswagen |
| 2008 | |
Mercedes-Benz | ABF Mercedez-Benz | Mercedes-Benz |
| 2009 | |
Volkswagen | RM Competições | Volkswagen |
| 2010 | |
Scania | RVR Corinthians Motorsport | Volkswagen |
| 2011 | |
Volkswagen | RM Competições | Volkswagen |
| 2012 | |
Mercedes-Benz | ABF Racing Team | Mercedes-Benz |
| 2013 | |
Iveco | Scuderia Iveco | Mercedes-Benz |
| 2014 | |
Volkswagen | RM Competições | MAN |
| 2015 | |
Volkswagen | RM Competições | MAN |
| 2016 | |
Volkswagen | RM Competições | Mercedes-Benz |
| 2017 | Series cancelled | |||
South American
| Year | Driver | Truck | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | |
Volkswagen | RM Competições | Volkswagen |
| 2012 | |
Mercedes-Benz | ABF Racing Team | Volkswagen |
| 2013 | |
Iveco | Scuderia Iveco | Iveco |
| 2014 | |
Volkswagen MAN | RM Competições | MAN |
End
In 2017, several teams left the organization to create a new championship called Copa Truck. After 2 rounds of the 2017 season, the lack of audience, partners and drives forced the postponement of the 3rd race twice. After that, the organization website announced that the 2017 season was cancelled and that they would try to return in 2018
References
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fórmula Truck. |
- Official website of the Fórmula Truck (in Portuguese) - (in Portuguese)