Miguel Costa: great performance in the Virtual Challenge of the Stars with pole and fourth place among 26 drivers

Brazilian driver started in pole position of race 2 due to the inversion of the grid and starred in an exciting dispute for fourth place with Pedro Cardoso, taking the best of it in the final meters of the race; second stage happens next Wednesday (22)

At just 11 years old, the young Miguel Costa was one of the highlights of the Virtual Challenge of the Stars, held last Wednesday (15) on the iRacing platform bringing together drivers from the elite of world motorsport, such as F1, F2, F3, F4 , Indy, Le Mans, WEC, Stock Car, Truck etc. Member of the Sauber Karting Team, the Brazilian driver started from pole position in race 2 due to the inversion of the grid and starred in an exciting dispute for fourth place with Pedro Cardoso, from Stock Car, taking the best of it in the final meters of the race.

“It was a very cool stage. I was very constant in both races with a very good pace, especially in the second one. In the first, I didn't get a good training and even starting p22 I got a good recovery for the top-10 and the pole in race 2. The dispute with Pedro was also very cool and I was very happy to be able to support the pressure. I believe that everyone was able to have a lot of fun in this first stage of the tournament and I hope that the next events will be even more competitive”, says Miguel, who finished tenth in race 1.

Miguel Costa is the youngest Brazilian to be part of a pilot academy linked to an F1 team, Alfa Romeo. Taking advantage of the quarantine period, Miguel has used time when he would be at the karting circuit to compete in virtual races and keep up with the competition.

“It is a period when we all have to help each other and I am sure that the virtual tournaments will help us return to racing more prepared than ever. So, we will continue to work hard to, who knows, win the next heat ”, adds Miguel, who was Italian karting champion among the rookies in 2019.

The Virtual Challenge of the Stars is organized by Dudu Barrichello and Enzo Fittipaldi. Throughout the competition, the public that follows the races on BandSports' YouTube Channel is encouraged to make donations to campaigns such as "USP Vida" (program of the University of São Paulo to promote activities to combat Covid-19) and "United against Covid-19 ", promoted by Fiocruz (Fundação Oswaldo Cruz), giving the event a charitable character.

All pilots and organizers are promoting the event for free and working to collect donations - the links are https://fiocruz.colabore.org/combateacovid19/single_step and https://www.fusp.org.br/usp-vida

The Virtual Challenge will have five stages, every Wednesday at 8 pm, and great names are confirmed to participate in some of the events such as: Felipe Nasr, Rubens Barrichello, Nelsinho Piquet, Felipe Massa, Marcos Gomes and Sérgio Jimenez.

Full grid of the Virtual Challenge of the Stars (race 2):

1 – Miguel Costa (WSK Kart)

3 - Rafael Matta (Virtual driver)

4 - Ralph Benitez (Virtual driver)

5 - Nathan Brito (Sprint Race)

6 - Cristiano Bohessef (Virtual driver)

7 - Guilherme Salas (Stock Car)

8 - Edson Coelho (Stock Light)

9 - Suellio Almeida (Virtual driver)

10 - Felipe Drugovich (F2)

11 – Miguel Paludo (Porsche Cup Brasil)

12 – Marcelo Battistuzzi (F-3000)

13 – Enzo Fittipaldi (F3)

14 – Bruno Risseto (Virtual driver)

15 – Diego Acebedo (Virtual driver)

16 – Daniel Serra (WEC e Stock Car)

17 – Eduardo Barrichello (USF2000)

18 – Pedro Cardoso (Stock Car)

19 – Enzo Vidmontiene (WSK Kart)

20 – Nonô Figueiredo (Stock Car)

21 – James Calado (F-E e WEC)

22 – Caio Collet (F-Renault)

23 – Gabriel Bortoleto (F4)

24 – Leo Lamelas (IMSA)

25 – Felipe Fraga (WEC e Stock Car)

Result of race 2 (top-10):

1 - Felipe Drugovich (F2)

2 – Enzo Fittipaldi (F3)

3 - Rafael Matta (Virtual driver)

4 - Miguel Costa (WSK Kart)

5 – Pedro Cardoso (Stock Car)

6 - Cristiano Bohessef (Virtual driver)

7 - Ralph Benitez (Virtual driver)

8 – Edson Coelho (Stock Light)

9 – Miguel Paludo (Porsche Cup Brasil)

10 - Diego Acebedo (Virtual driver)

1 – Felipe Drugovich (F2)

2 - Suellio Almeida (Virtual driver)

3 - Edson Coelho (Stock Light)

4 – Guilherme Salas (Stock Car)

5 - Cristiano Bohessef (Virtual driver)

6 – Nathan Brito (Virtual driver)

7 – Ralph Benitez (Virtual driver)

8 – Rafael Matta (Virtual driver)

9 – Beto Monteiro (Copa Truck)

10 – Miguel Costa (WSK Kart)