Rossi extends lead with win at San Juan

Matías Rossi has extended his championship lead at San Juan, taking his first victory with Toyota Team Argentina from pole position ahead of 2010 champion Norberton Fontana.

Toyota Team Argentina driver Matías Rossi and reigning champion Norberto Fontana in his Ford Focus shared the front row after winning their respective qualifying races in the morning. The two drivers had a great start when the lights went out, heading side-by-side into the first corner.

The racing line favoured the pole-sitter Rossi, which gave the Corolla the lead from Fontana, with Toyota’s Mariano Werner slotting into third despite a scary tail-slide on the first lap.

A crash on the first lap eliminated Honda Racing driver Nestor Girolami and Fiat’s Emiliano Spataro, but the race continued with no safety car interruption.

There was more pain for Fiat, as José María López’s race ended early, with the Fiat Linea pulling to a stop on lap nine out of fourth place, promoting Honda’s Leonel Pernía.

Gabriel Ponce De León took over as the top running Fiat driver after López’s retirement in fifth, and the top five remained in place throughout the race. The TTA Corolla of Werner was right on the tail fighting to get second place from Fontana throughout all 34 laps of the race, waiting for a mistake from the Ford driver, but with no success.

The biggest fight was therefore from sixth position, with Guido Falaschi the top placed Renault Fluence driver. The independent Sportteam Renault driver drove the race looking in his mirrors holding off a multi-car train throughout.

Falaschi first held off Mariano Altuna’s Honda Civic for several laps, and on lap 18 when Altuna tried to pass Falaschi around the outside, the Ford-YPF Focus of Juan Manuel Silva snuck up the inside and into seventh place past the Honda and behind the Renault.

It took Silva another five laps before he was able to pass Falaschi for sixth position. Altuna meanwhile had his hands full with the pair of Peugeot Cobra Team 307s behind him. Facundo Ardusso charged down the inside on lap 23, forcing the pair wide and the second 307 of Juan Cruz Alvarez was able to get ahead of both of them.

With two laps to go, the train behind Falaschi was growing bigger, with the Toyota of Bernardo Llaver, Ford’s Fabian Yannantuoni and both the Chevrolet Cruzes joining the fight, but Falaschi held firm, losing just one spot to Alvarez’s Peugeot and holding on to finish in eighth place.

Up front there was little to worry about, as Matías Rossi took a comfortable win, two seconds clear of Norberto Fontana. This was Rossi’s first win since the 2010 season finale at San Luis with Renault, and the 27-year-old’s first win with his new team Toyota Team Argentina.

Rossi extends his championship lead over ‘Pato’ Silva, as the series heads to Chaco for the next race in two weeks time.