Leonel Pernia wins safety car-affected first race of 2026

Leonel Pernia made the most of his pole position to win the first TCR South America race of 2026 at Curvelo ahead of Néstor Girolami, a race which was twice interrupted by the safety car.

Honda Racing driver Pernia made a strong start to head the field ahead of Hyundai MSA driver Girolami.

Tiago Pernia made really strong start from fourth on the grid to snatch third from Cupra driver Raphael Reis.

Disaster struck Honda driver Nelson Piquet Jr who was forced to pit with a loose bonnet, dropping right down the field after having started fifth. The Brazilian driver later worked his way back up to finish tenth.

W2 Pro GP driver Reis made a bold move for third place on the outside of Tiago Pernia at Turn 1 with 19 minutes left of the race.

But the move resulted in contact between the two, allowing Lynk & Co driver Juan Angel Rosso to pass them both.

Tiago Pernia and Reis then continued to go side-by-side for several corners, with Reis coming out on top.

The safety car was called into action for the first time with 18 minutes left of the race as both Bruno Massa (Cupra) and Enrique Maglione (Peugeot) came to a halt on track due to technical issues.

The racing resumed with 15 minutes left and the safety car was back out with just under five minutes left of the race as Enzo Falquete went off track.

The field was released again with a single lap left of the race and the positions remained unchanged until the chequered flag.

Leonel Pernia won the race with less than a second ahead of Girolami, while Rosso rounded out the podium.

Reis finished fourth ahead of Cupra rival Pedro Cardoso and Honda driver Pedro Cardoso.

The second TCR South America race starts at 13:05 local time/17:05 CET.