Photo : Christian VIGNON - ACO / Nikon

Well before becoming one of the favourite circuits of Formula 1, Interlagos was a great venue for GT racing, before welcoming the recent Le Mans Series.

The first Mil Milhas Brasil (also known as Mil Milhas Brasileiras) was held on the 25th November 1956. This event was created at the initiative of Wilson Fittipaldi Sr, journalist and father of Emerson Fittipaldi, promoter of the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the first Brazilian World Champion in Formula 1. In 2006, Mil Milhas Brasil was won by an Aston Martin DBR9 driven by a prestigious quartet, consisting of Nelson Piquet (triple F1 World Champion), his son Nelsinho, Christophe Bouchut (winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1993) and Helio Castroneves (three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500).

On th 10th November 2007, Mil Milhas Brasil also witnessed the final of the Le Mans Series season with a 1-2 finish of the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP of Marc Gene, Nicolas Minassian and Pedro Lamy and Stéphane Sarrazin. Two teams this year in the FIA World Endurance Championship have won in their respective classes: Larbre (2007 Aston Martin DBR9) in LM GT1 and Team Felbermayr-Proton (Porsche) in LM GT2.

The fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship , the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo can be followed on the 15th of September live streaming on www.lemans.org.

Jean-Philippe Doret

Photo : SAO PAULO (BRAZIL), INTERLAGOS, MIL MILHAS BRASIL, 10 NOV  2007. The winning Peugeot 908 HDi FAP of Marc Gené and Nicolas Minassian.