Leonel Pernía closes in on title as he and Néstor Girolami share Rosario wins
Leonel Pernía moved a step closer to securing his second consecutive TCR South America title after winning the second race of the penultimate 2026 round at Rosario, while championship rival Néstor Girolami claimed victory in the opening encounter.
Girolami continued his strong form from the previous round at Posadas, taking pole position and a third consecutive victory in his Hyundai Elantra N TCR, despite carrying 40kg of compensation weight.
The Hyundai driver led the opening race from start to finish but came under increasing pressure from Pernía in the closing stages.
The Honda Racing driver launched several attacks on the final lap, but Girolami defended successfully to take the chequered flag just 0.245 seconds ahead of his championship rival.
Tiago Pernía completed the podium in third position, followed by Fabián Yannantuoni and Juan Ángel Rosso.
Nelson Piquet Jr. finished sixth, ahead of Camilo Trappa and Fabricio Pezzini.
The result initially allowed Girolami to reduce Pernía’s championship advantage, but the situation changed dramatically in the reversed-grid second race.
The second race was heavily disrupted by two lengthy safety car periods, with only five of the 13 laps completed under green flag conditions.
Fabricio Pezzini took the lead at the start, passing reversed-grid pole-sitter Gabriel Moura, while Pernía rapidly climbed through the field to second.
A major accident involving Lucas Carabajal, Gabryel Romano, Sebastián Quirno and Juan Manuel Casella brought out the first safety car, eliminating all four drivers.
When racing resumed on lap seven, Pernía immediately attacked Pezzini and took the lead under braking for Turn 2.
Girolami, meanwhile, had already lost ground following contact with Joaquín Cafaro at the start and was involved in another incident shortly after the restart.
The collision, which also involved Cafaro and Tiago Pernía, forced all three drivers into retirement and triggered another safety car period.
Pernía maintained his advantage over the final two racing laps to claim his third victory of the season, with Pezzini finishing second in his Lynk & Co 03 TCR.
Pezzini’s Paladini Racing team-mate Nicolás Fuca completed the podium after passing Raphael Reis at the final restart. Reis finished fourth, followed by Enzo Gianfratti.
The victory, combined with Girolami’s retirement, leaves Pernía with 510 points compared to Girolami’s 429, an advantage of 81 points with 85 still available at the season finale.
With dropped scores taken into account, Pernía effectively holds an 80-point advantage and can secure the championship by finishing inside the top three in qualifying at the final round.
The TCR South America season concludes at El Pinar in Uruguay on December 4-6.
