Robson Luiz Perin Kolling was originally from the western region of Santa Catarina State. As a teenager he moved across the state to Joinville, where he worked at JK Pneus - a tyre store belonging to his family, between 1996 and 2004. Kolling then relocated to Curitiba, the capital of Paraná State, and lived there for the next ten years. Kolling participated in other Brazilian endurance races and was a frequent figure in touring car meetings at Curitiba, competing in the Campeonato Metropolitano de Marcas e Pilotos (Metropolitan Drivers and Makes Championship). Kolling had also participated in several races of the Top Series category for touring cars.
The fourth free practice session for the 500 Milhas de Londrina took place early in the afternoon of Friday, 13 December. Kolling and Garcia's red MRX, impeccably prepared by Billy Motorsports, was one of the favorites for an outright win. Kolling put a series of fast laps; one of them, at 1min16.331s, was in fact the best lap of that session and would have been good enough to place the red prototype number 71 in fourth place overall in the starting grid. After completing sixteen laps, though, the Kolling's MetalMoro did not slow down at the end of start/finish straight. After making the fast, sweeping right-hand approach that takes to the Curva da Caixa D'Água - the race used the shorter of the two variants of the circuit - Kolling's car continued straight on, crossing a grassy area. The track makes a tight left turn at that point, almost as it folding onto itself; therefore the MRX, after running over the grass, hit the back side of the inner kerb at the exit of Curva da caixa D'Água, and took off with its nose pointing to the sky. The car flew on straight line for some ten meters before landing on its rear end, at the right side of the pavement. It dragged its rear over the outer kerb and continued to slide as such, with the nose still pointing up. Kolling's car went across the grassy run-off area and the section of the long circuit variant that was not being used for the 500 Milhas - cutting it at a nearly perpendicular angle. It then crashed against the wall between Curva da Caixa D'Água e Curva do Estádio that separates the racing circuit from the karting track.
The remainder of the session and a second free practice that would take place that same afternoon were cancelled. Activities were resumed with another practice session at 19h30 that evening, which was preceded by a special briefing to drivers and teams. Shocked by Kolling's death, several teams withdrew from the 500 Milhas.
R.I.P
