Leonel Pernía clinches the TCR South America title
Squadra Martino’s Leonel Pernía clinched the TCR South America title after the first race of a troubled penultimate event of the season at Cuiabá. Stormy weather with torrential rain and strong winds hit the circuit in the State of Mato Grosso, delaying proceedings by several hours, until the two races were eventually held under floodlight at 18:30 and 23:00 on Saturday.
At the wheel of his Honda Civic, Pernía converted the pole into his sixth victory of the season ahead of his teammate Nelson Piquet jr. who completed an impressing recovery from the back of the grid. Piquet then took an authoritative win in the second race and jumped into the lead in TCR Brasil standings.
Race 1 – Pernía had claimed his third pole of the season beating Piquet by three tenths; the Brazilian was demoted to the back of the grid after an engine change and Enzo Gianfratti advanced to the front row.
The race started in a rainy Saturday evening behind the safety car. Pernía led from the beginning followed by Gianfratti and Léonardo Reis, while Juan Ángel Rosso retired from sixth at the end of lap 2. In lap 5, Raphael Reis overtook Fabián Yannantuoni for P4, just before the safety car was deployed after Léonardo Reis had spun off. At the restart, in lap 7, Yannantuoni retook P4 from Raphael Reis who went wide after they made contact and lost another place to the charging Piquet. In the last two laps, Piquet completed his recovery from 14th on the grid to second as he passed Yannantuoni and Gianfratti. Yannantuoni was then demoted to eight by a 10-second penalty for the collision with Raphael Reis.
Race 2 – Series newcomer Ernani Kuhn had the pole on the reversed grid, with Tiago Pernía in P2; when the start was given at 11:00pm under floodlight, Kuhn stalled and Genaro Rasetto led from P3. During the first lap, Rasetto, Tiago Pernía and Raphael Reis came together, which allowed Rosso into the lead ahead of Léonardo Reis, Yannantuoni, Rasetto and Piquet. In the middle of the pack, Leonel Pernía and Kuhn came together; Kuhn retired and the safety car was deployed. When racing resumed, Piquet overtook Rasetto for P4 and one lap later Léonardo Reis took the lead from Yannatuoni while pushing him wide. A close fight for the lead followed with Reis chased by Yannantuoni, Piquet and Rosso; they swapped places several times, until Piquet emerged on top. The leaders were joined by Gianfratti and the recovering Leonel Pernía who spun off prompting a second safety car intervention. The race restarted for two last laps, Piquet held on to the lead, while Rosso made a mistake which allowed Gianfratti, Yannantuoni and Rasetto to fill the positions between second and fourth.
TCR South America and TCR Brasil season finale will be at Interlagos on December 12/14.
Race 1
- Leonel Pernía (Honda YPF Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 12 laps
- Nelson Piquet jr. (Honda YPF Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 3.066
- Enzo Gianfratti (G Racing Motorsport, CUPRA Leon VZ), 6.012
Race 2
- Nelson Piquet jr. (Honda YPF Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 16 laps
- Léonardo Reis (W2 Pro GP, CUPRA Leon VZ), 0.643
- Fabián Yannantuoni (Paladini Racing, Lynk & Co 03), 5.104
Championship points – TCR South America
- L. Pernía, 576 pts; 2. N. Piquet jr., 480; 3. R. Reis, 411
Championship points – TCR Brasil
- N. Piquet jr., 202 pts; 3. L. Reis, 161; 3. R. Reis, 156
Picture: TCR South America/Magnus Torquato
