Eric Schotten claims maiden win at Cuiabá
W2 Pro GP driver Eric Schotten claimed his maiden TCR South America win in Race 2 at Cuiabá, a race marked by several incidents and a safety car intervention.
The race took place as the sun set over the Mato Grosso district, where the Cuiabá race track is located, with decreasing track temperatures.
Schotten took the lead from the reverse grid pole position from the rolling start, coming under pressure from the Lynk & Co drivers Juan Angel Rosso and Fabián Yannantuoni.
Hyundai driver Camilo Trappa was pushed off the track by Yannatuoni at the first corner, hitting the barriers and retired from the race.
Tiago Pernía (Honda) and Pedro Cardoso (Cupra) battled side-by-side, with Pernia pushing the Cupra driver off track.
They both managed to continue under their own power, but Pernía received a drive-through penalty for the incident and then another one for speeding in the pit lane.
Leonel Pernía (Honda) overtook Yannatuoni for third place, with the Lynk & Co driver later suffering issues and came into the pits.
Raphael Reis (Cupra) had claimed fourth place at this stage ahead of Néstor Girolami (Hyundai) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (Honda). Cardoso retired from the race on lap three due to a technical issue.
The various incidents allowed Schotten to open a three-second gap at the front.
Cupra driver Enzo Gianfratti overtook Piquet Jr. for sixth position on lap eight, as Girolami went off the track due to a puncture.
The safety car was called into action on lap ten as both Girolami’s Hyundai and Enrique Maglione’s Peugeot were stranded on the track side with separate issues.
The race went green again on lap 13, with Schotten retaining the lead ahead of Rosso and Leonel Pernía.
Further back, Juan Manuel Casella (Peugeot) and Fabricio Pezzini (Lynk & Co) made contact as they battled for eighth place, sending the Peugeot into a spin.
Reis managed to overtake Leonel Pernía for third position on the same lap.
Schotten claimed his first TCR South America victory ahead of Rosso and Reis completing the podium.
Leonel Pernía finished in fourth place, ahead of his team-mate Piquet Jr. Gianfratti was sixth, followed by Joaquín Cafaro (Peugeot), Pezzini and Nicolás Fuca (Lynk & Co). Bruno Massa (Cupra) completed the top ten.
“I’m very happy, we did a good start and restart and kept a good control of the tyres,” Schotten said after the race.
Leonel Pernía leads the championship after the races at Cuiabá with 207 points, 14 ahead of Reis and 57 over Girolami.
The next round of the TCR South America takes place at Velocittá on the 24-26th of July.
