Photo: TCR South America

Pedro Cardoso wins Race 1 in Cascavel as top three hits punctures

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Pedro Cardoso won the postponed first TCR South America race of the weekend at Cascavel as the top three drivers in front of him suffered punctures.

The race was started behind the safety car following the start crash of yesterday, with the Honda duo of Tiago Pernia and Leonel Pernia heading the pack of 19 surviving cars.

But disaster struck Tiago Pernia with 12 minutes left of the race as he pitted with a slow front-right puncture, rejoining the track a lap down in 17th place.

This handed the lead to Leonel Pernia who only could survive a lap further, pitting with a puncture just like his team-mate.

The double Honda punctures saw W2 Pro GP driver Raphael Reis heading the pack ahead of rival Cupra driver Cardoso.

But with just below five minutes left of the race, Reis became the third victim of the punctures, heading into the pits with a blown front-right tyre, handing the lead to Cardoso.

Cardoso’s G Racing Motorsport team-mate Enzo Gianfratti attacked Néstor Girolami for third place on the penultimate lap, making the move stick with a solid pass.

Cardoso won the race in style, close to seven seconds ahead of Peugeot driver Joaquin Cafaro who drove a quiet race to second place.

Gianfratti was third ahead of Girolami and Erick Shotten while Gabriel Moura and Camilo Trappa rounded off the top eight.

Girolami heads the standings on 83 points while Trappa is second on 68 and Cardoso is third on 67.

The second and final race of the weekend is scheduled for 14:00 local time/19:00 CEST.