Raphael Reis and Jorge Barrio claims Termas de Rio Hondo endurance win
Raphael Reis and Jorge Barrio, sharing a Cupra León Competición of W2 Pro GP team, claimed a dominant victory in the third round of the 2023 TCR South America season, held as a one-hour endurance race at Termas de Rio Hondo.
Barrio took the first stint of driving, taking the lead from pole position at the start, followed by Toyota Team Argentina driver Gastón Iansa and Facundo Marques, driving a Peugeot 308TCR from PMO Racing.
José Manuel Sapag retired after an off-track incident on lap six, as Barrio continued leading.
Both Iansa and Marques went into the pits as soon as the window for the driver changed opened on lap 15, with Llaver and Fineschi taking their turns respectively.
Series leader Ignacio Montenegro (Honda Civic Type R TCR) struggled in 11th place, also pitting for his partner Lucas Colombo Russell to take over the wheel.
The PMO Racing team was quicker at the driver change, with Fineschi returning to the track ahead of Llaver. Barrio took his turn two laps later, with Reis taking over the driving duties in the Cupra. The entire field had completed the mandatory driver changes by lap 20.
Reis controlled the race to claim victory, close to seven seconds ahead of Fineschi, who was nearly 13 seconds ahead of Llaver.
The pair Squadra Martino duo of Juan Manuel Casella and Matías Milla finished in fourth place, with Rafael Suzuki and Matías Signorelly right behind with the Lynk & Co 03 TCR of PMO Motorsport.
Osman and Lapenna were sixth at the line, with Montenegro and Russell in seventh place. Bessone, pairing with Ever Franetovich, finished in eighth place.
Pedro Cardoso shared the sole Hyundai Elantra N TCR of the field with Mathias de Valle for Scuderia Chiarelli to finish ninth, with Enrique Maglione and Rodrigo Aramendia completing the top ten for Honda team Squadra Martino.
The next round of the TCR South America will again be an endurance event at Interlagos (Brazil) on the 10-11th of June.
