Cardoso keeps on leading the TCR South America standings

The PMO Racing-run Peugeot cars remain the leading force in TCR South America, with Pedro Cardoso and Leonel Pernía finishing on top in both races at Mercedes. Eventually, Cardoso was handed a penalty that stripped him of his victory in Race 1, which was inherited by his title rival Raphael Reis, while Pernía claimed a lights-to-flag undisturbed win in Race 2. This was the seventh victory for a Peugeot in the latest eight races.

Despite losing the victory, Cardoso keeps on leading the standings, 34 points clear of Reis, while the third-placed Juan Ángel Rosso, who retired in race 1 and did not start in Race 2, has dropped 69 points adrift.

Race 1 – Reis had topped a qualifying that was disturbed by beating rain that had begun towards the end of Q1 and had forced to red-flag Q2 until the situation did not improve; Cardoso had been second fastest, two tenths behind. P6 on the grid was empty as Rafael Suzuki had withdrawn with technical problems, while Matías Rossi’s Toyota had been demoted from 11^th to 16^th following an engine change. At the start, Reis got away well ahead of Cardoso, while Norberto Fontana dropped from third to fourth behind Fabián Yannantuoni. During the first lap, Uruguayan newcomer Diego Noceti spun off after clashing with Rodrigo Baptista, his Toyota crashed into the tyre wall and the safety car was deployed. At the restart, Yannantuoni spun after colliding with Fontana. The leader Reis was chased by Cardoso, while Fontana defended the third place from Pernía. In lap 7, Cardoso muscled his way into the lead, while Reis went wide as they had clashed; in the following lap, Fontana went wide and rejoined in eighth position. Cardoso pulled away, while Reis was chased by the quartet of Pernía, Casella, Baptista and Rossi; in lap 11, Rosso pulled up from P7 with a smoking engine. The rest of the race was uneventful with Cardoso finishing ahead of Reis and Pernía; however, Cardoso was handed a five-second penalty for the contact with Reis and dropped behind the Brazilian.

Race 2 – Noceti and Pernía shared the front row of the reversed grid, Suzuki started from the last spot following an engine change, while Rosso and Thiago Vivacqua had been sidelined by the technical issues suffered in Race 1. Noceti made a slow start and was swallowed by the field, while Pernía led from Baptista and Casella. During the first lap, Baptista went wide at T2 and dropped to third behind Casella. After the leading trio, Yannantuoni, Galid Osman and Cardoso were fighting for P4. As Pernía began to pull away, Squadra Martino teammates Casella and Baptista swapped places in the hope to close the gap. However, Baptista was no able to catch up with the leader and the pair were joined by Osman and Cardoso in a battle for the second place. In lap 13, both Baptista and Osman made mistakes, which helped Casella and Cardoso into second and third. Baptista then dropped further after pitting to replace a punctured tyre. Up front, Pernía built a solid margin and took the win, while Casella successfully defended the second place from the assaults of Cardoso and Osman.

TCR South America will now move to Argentina for the last part of the season that will begin on September 13/15 at San Juan Villicum.

Mercedes – Race 1

1. Raphael Reis (W2 Pro GP, CUPRA Leon VZ), 19 laps
2. Pedro Cardoso (PMO Racing, Peugeot 308), 0.725
3. Leonel Pernía (PMO Racing, Peugeot 308), 1.975

Mercedes – Race 2

1. Leonel Pernía (PMO Racing, Peugeot 308), 24 laps
2. Juan Manuel Casella (Squadra Martino, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 6.775
3. Pedro Cardoso (PMO Racing, Peugeot 308), 7.035

Championship points

1. P. Cardoso, 317 pts; 2. R. Reis, 283; 3. J.Á Rosso, 248

Picture: TCR South America/Hernán Capa