Photo: STC2000

Leonel Pernía wins Super TC2000 feature race in Río Cuarto

Renault Sport driver Leonel Pernía won the Super TC2000 feature race in Río Cuarto and was followed on the podium by points leader Matías Rossi and privateer driver Marcelo Ciarrocchi of FDC Motorsport.

Pernía started from the front row alongside Ciarrocchi following the results of yesterday’s qualifying race.

Pernía made the best start while Toyota driver Rossi overtook Ciarrocchi for second.

The safety car came out on lap two of 41 as Hernán Palazzo was forced to retire due fire in the engine compartment of his factory-prepared Toyota. The 20-year-old was able to get out on his own without any problem.

José Manuel Urcera of Monti Motorsport suffered a similar issue yesterday, as can be seen in this dramatic video, but his team managed to repair his car, meaning that he could start the race from the back of the grid.

Pernía quickly opened up a gap over the rest of the field when the race was resumed.

Title contender Agustín Canapino of Chevrolet YPF moved up to sixth from eight just as the safety car was called out again.

This time it was due to TCR Europe entrant José Manuel Sapag spinning off at Turn 3 in his privateer FDC Citroën, retiring from the race due to a gearbox issue.

Ricardo Risatti of privateer team Midas Racing, who started from seventh, managed to get past Franco Girolami as the race resumed. Meanwhile, Rubens Barrichello retired from ninth after suffering brake failure.

Matías Milla retired on lap 26 due to a fuel leak in his Renault Fluence.

The race proved to be demanding for the cars and drivers as the championship usually does not race during the Argentinian summer and the high temperatures that comes with it.

Rossi kept chasing Pernía for the lead but could not get close enough to seriously challenge him.

Maximum time was reached on lap 38, with Pernía crossing the line to win the race just 0.644 seconds ahead of Rossi while Ciarrocchi completed the podium.

Risatti and Canapino finished in positions fourth and fifth while Facundo Ardusso rounded off the top six.

Rossi heads the standings on 108 points, followed by Canapino on 79 points.

The Super TC2000 will race again in Río Cuarto next weekend with three races left of the 2020/21 season.