Photo: TCR South America

Ignacio Montenegro wins action-packed Race 1 at Rosario

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Ignacio Montenegro (Honda Civic Type R TCR) claimed a dominant win in the first TCR South America race of the weekend at Rosario, with his competitors trampling on each other to fight for the remaining podium positions.

The three Lynk & Co 03 TCR drivers of PMO Motorsport – Fabrizio Pezzini, Rafael Suzuki and and Frederic Balbi – started from the back of the grid due to engine changes.

At the start, Bernardo Llaver (Toyota Corolla TCR) took the lead ahead of pole sitter Juan Angel Rosso (Paladini Racing) and Montenegro, with Galid Osman (Cupra Leon Competición) in fourth place.

The top three drivers remained close together initially, but Llaver out braked himself on lap two, losing three positions, handing the lead to Rosso.

Rosso also made a mistake not long after, leaving Montenegro in the lead ahead of Osman and Llaver, with rain reported in certain parts of the track. Rosso recovered and overtook Llaver for third place on lap four.

The two Toyota drivers overtook Osman, who also fell behind Juan Manuel Casella (Honda Civic Type R TCR) and Fabian Yannantuoni (Toyota Corolla Type R TCR), as Montenegro continued clocking fastest laps at the front, opening a seven-second lead.

Juan Pablo Bessone (Peugeot 308TCR) of PMO Racing retired to the pits on lap seven with mechanical issues after a driveshaft change prior to the race.

Rosso, Llaver and Casella continued their fight for second place, with the Honda driver overtaking the Toyotas on lap nine after Llaver and Rosso made contact with each other, also allowing Montenegro to extend his lead to over nine seconds with five minutes plus one lap left on the clock.

W2 ProGP driver Osman overtook Llaver for fourth placed on lap eleven, but the Cupra driver lost out on the following lap against the Toyota driver as well as reigning champion Pezzini, who had made his way up to fifth place after recovering quickly from the back on the grid.

The Lynk & Co driver then overtook Rosso to climb up to fourth place, with Rosso losing several positions to Osman and his team-mate Raphael Reis.

Squadra Martino driver Montenegro claimed his second win of the season at the chequered flag, eight seconds ahead of Casella, while Llaver completed the podium.

Pezzini was fourth, followed by Osman and Reis, with Pedro Cardoso (Hyundai Elantra T TCR) in seventh place. Rosso could only manage eighth place at the line, followed by Suzuki and Manuel Sapag (Toyota Corolla TCR).

Race 2 is scheduled for 12:55 local time, 17:55 CEST.