Photo: Edu Leporo

Néstor Girolami signs for Brazilian Stock Car championship in 2016

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Argentinian Super TC 2000 Championship championship contender Néstor Girolami has signed for the Schin Racing Team to compete in next year’s Stock Car Brazil championship, which may signal the end of plans to join the World Touring Car Championship next season.

The reigning Super TC 2000 champion was strongly championed by WTCC promoter Francois Ribeiro as a potential star of the future in the championship, and a challenger for two-time champion José María López.

Girolami made two outings earlier this year with Nika Racing in their Honda Civic WTCC in Slovakia and Portugal, as well as taking part in a test at the Hungaroring with Lada Sport, but is understood to have been told no factory drives are available for next season.

Lada are set to retain their current driver line-up, while Volvo are expected to announce an all Swedish pairing later this month, leaving Honda the only manufacturer with drives available.

There is only one clash between the series’ two calendars, but with Girolami committed to a full season in Stock Car Brazil with the Schin Racing Team this rules out a full-time drive in the WTCC, with the Shanghai WTCC round clashing with the Londrina round of Stock Car Brazil.

Girolami’s team-mate in the series will be Vitor Genz. Girolami will also be the first Argentinian to race full-time in the Brazilian championship. He will get his first run in the series this weekend as he fills in for Rafael Matos, who along with Lucas Foresti, has been suspended for 30 days by the sporting authority after after both drivers failed a doping test in Curitiba.

“We are happy and confident with our signings for 2016,” said Schin Racing team principal Carlos Alves. “We are confident that Vitor and Bebu (Girolami) will add and contribute greatly to the success of Schin Racing Team. We hope that this change let us even more competitive and put us back at the front of the category. 2016 will be full of challenges, achievements and many points for our team.”

The calendar for the 2016 Super TC 2000 Championship has not been set yet, but is likely to preclude Girolami from competing in a full season with his Stock Car Brazil commitments. There is just one round left for the 2015 season, and Girolami heads into the finale 0.5 points behind Renault’s Leonel Pernía.