Raphael Reis and Felipe Fraga wins intense endurance Super Challenge at Interlagos
The W2 Pro GP duo of Raphael Reis and Felipe Fraga claimed victory in the TCR South America Super Challenge endurance race at Interlagos.
The cars formed two-by-two and side-by-side for a rolling start, with Fraga at the wheel of the Cupra in pole position, taking the lead at the start ahead of Leonel Pernía (Honda) and Gaetano di Mauro (Hyundai).
Jenson Brickley overtook Di Mauro for third place on lap two. Santiago Urrutia (Lynk & Co) climbed up to fifth place, just ahead of Honda’s Esteban Guerrieri who is co-driver to Tiago Pernía.
Lap six saw a contact between Enrique Maglione (Peugeot) and Gabryel Romano (Hyundai), with both retiring from the race.
Juan Angel Rosso held seventh place for Lynk & Co and closed the gap to Guerrieri, challenging for sixth position on lap eleven. Rosso went for the inside at Turn 1 on lap 12, with Audi’s Gaston Iansa right behind. Iansa would lose to Galid Osman (Peugeot) later during the lap.
Marcos Regadas, partnering Nelson Piquet Jr. (Honda), who started from the back of the grid due to an engine change, came into the pits at the end of lap 12 with mechanical issues, later returning to the track.
Fraga opened a six second gap at the front as the window for the driver change approached (laps 17 to 22), whilst Leonel Pernía endured the attack from Brickley.
The leading Cupra came into the pits for the driver change on lap 18, with Reis taking the wheel, as did Brickley, Urrutia, Iansa and Hyundai’s Camilo Trappa and Diego Ciantini.
Leonel Pernía pitted from the lead on the following lap, as did Reis and Enzo Gianfratti.
Julian Santero, taking over from Leonel Pernía, returned to the track just ahead of Gianfratti.
Pedro Cardoso (Cupra) overtook Bruno Massa (Cupra) for ninth place on lap 22. The 2024 champion continued charging ahead, catching and overtaking Juan Manuel Casella (Peugeot) for eighth position.
Piquet Jr. retired to the pits on lap 23, as Néstor Girolami (Hyundai) returned to the track after a very long stop and driver change, only to retire a lap later.
Julián Santero (Honda) started to close the gap to Reis a three-tenths per lap, but the safety car was called into action on lap 28 due to Casella crashing out of the race.
The race went green on lap 31, with Fuca (Lynk & Co) overtaking Moura (Audi) for fourth position. Alex Ley (Hyundai) also went past Moura for sixth position later on the same lap.
Reis was able to open a gap over Santero to take the victory, with Gianfratti completing the podium.
Fuca finished fourth, ahead of Moura and Alex Ley. Tiago Pernía (Honda) crossed the line in eighth place, followed by Javier Merlo, who had partnered Frabricio Pezzini in the Lynk & Co. Alex Seid completed the top ten in the Audi shared with Mariano Pernía.
“Fraga did a good job and gave me the car with a good advantage,” Reis said after the race. “The team worked very well and I’m very happy for this victory.”
After the third round of the season, Leonel Pernía leads the championship with 145 points, seven ahead of Reis.
The next round of the 2026 TCR South America season takes place at Cuiabá (Brazil) on the 25-26th of June.
