Tiago Pernía and Juan Ángel Rosso take lights-to-flag wins
The 2025 TCR South America’s Brazilian leg began at Curvelo’s Circuito dos Cristais that proved to be a racetrack where is nearly impossible to overtake. Both races, the first two of the season counting towards TCR Brasil, were mainly processional and ended in lights-to-flag victories for Tiago Pernía’s Squadra Martino Honda Civic and Juan Ángel Rosso’s Paladini Racing Lynk & Co. Both drivers took the lead at the start and never relinquished it despite being chased closely throughout the race.
Leonel Pernía settled for two fourth places that helped him to increase his lead in the TCR South America standings to 112 points over his teammate Nelson Piquet jr, while last year’s champion Pedro Cardoso has dropped to third, 123 points behind, after an engine failure sidelined him in Race 1.
Race 1 – Tiago Pernia had claimed his second pole of the season, leading a Squadra Martino 1-2-3 ahead of Piquet and his own father Leonel; the latter was demoted to P6 on the grid due to a penalty from the previous event. Technical issues before the start sidelined Fabian Yannantuoni’s Lynk & Co (clutch) and Pedro Cardoso’s Peugeot (engine) that were fifth and eighth on the grid. Tiago Pernía made good use of the pole and led ahead of Raphael Reis who sprinted from P3 ahead of Piquet and Leonel Pernía. The leading quartet ran in close formation for the first nine laps, then at the beginning of lap 10, Reis took to the inside into T1, but Tiago Pernía was able to reject his assault. Piquet benefitted from the fight and overtook Reis for second. For the rest of the race, Tiago Pernía completed a spotless performance to score his maiden win ahead of Piquet, Reis and Leonel Pernía.
Race 2 – Championship newcomer Léonardo Reis sat on pole with Rosso alongside him, while Cardoso was at the back of the grid after an engine change. Rosso was faster than Reis at the start and for the whole race he held on to the lead. Reis followed him at a striking distance, with gaps swaying between two and five tenths, but as his rival didn’t make the lesser mistake, he was never in the position to attempt an overtaking move. Yannantuoni followed them in third position to complete the podium, while Leonel Pernía pocketed another fourth place. Cardoso recovered from P15 on the grid to sixth, right behind Raphael Reis.
TCR South America and TCR Brasil will resume on September 12/14 at Cascavel.
Race 1
- Tiago Pernía (Honda YPF Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 19 laps
- Nelson Piquet jr. (Honda YPF Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5), 0.310
- Raphael Reis (W2 Pro GP, CUPRA Leon VZ), 1.957
Race 2
- Juan Ángel Rosso (Paladini Racing, Lynk & Co 03), 22 laps
- Léonardo Reis (W2 Pro GP, CUPRA Leon VZ), 0.534
- Fabián Yannantuoni (Paladini Racing, Lynk & Co 03), 3.792
Championship points – TCR South America
- L. Pernía, 462 pts; 2. N. Piquet jr., 350; 3. P. Cardoso, 339
Championship points – TCR Brasil
- T. Pernía, 68 pts; 2. J.Á. Rosso, 64; 3. R. Reis, 59
Picture: TCR South America/Magnus Torquato
