1-2 finish for W2 Pro GP in TCR South America at Interlagos

W2 Pro GP confirmed its superiority in the TCR South America’s endurance races, as the Brazilian team claimed 1-2 finish at Interlagos. Galid Osman and Felipe Lapenna drove their CUPRA Leon Competición to an authoritative victory and they were followed by the sister car of Rafael Reis and Jorge Barrio who had won the previous event at Termas de Río Hondo. Osman and Lapenna became also the first race winners in the new TCR Brazil championship.

These results also meant that Reis, who was placed third before this race behind Ignacio Montenegro of Squadra Martino and Bernardo Llaver of Toyota Team Argentina, moved into the lead of the standings as he also benefitted from the fact that both his rivals retired. Montenegro has slipped down to third, 26 points behind Reis and five behind his own teammate Juan Manuel Casella who completed the podium sharing his Honda Civic with Gaetano Di Mauro.

The first part of the race was enlivened by the battle for the lead between Juan Ángel Rosso in the Paladini Racing Toyota Corolla, Osman and Diego Nunes in another Corolla run by Cobra Racing. In lap 9, Osman overtook Rosso and began to build a gap before pitting for the driver change precisely at mid race. Lapenna replaced Osman but found himself behind Nunes’ codriver Thiago Vivacqua that he quickly overtook. For the rest of the race, Vivacqua remained in contact with Lapenna and finished close behind before being demoted to ninth by a 90-second penalty for an infringement of the minimum pit-stop time. His penalty promoted Barrio and Di Mauro to second and third, split by only half-a-second. The two Paladini Racing Toyota cars of Rosso-Luciano Farroni and Fabián Yannantuoni-Beto Monteiro were classified fourth and fifth.

Both series will resume at Rivera, in Uruguay, on 21/23 July.

Interlagos – Race

1. G. Osman/F. Lapenna (W2 Pro GP, CUPRA Leon Competición), 34 laps

2. R. Reis/J. Barrio (W2 Pro GP, CUPRA Leon Competición), 5.174

3. JM. Casella/G. Di Mauro (Squadra Martino, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 5.702

Championship points – TCR South America

1. R. Reis, 223 pts; 2. JM. Casella, 202; 3. I. Montenegro, 197

Championship points – TCR Brazil

1. G. Osman/F. Lapenna, 77 pts; 2. R. Reis/J. Barrio, 63; 3. JM. Casella/G. Di Mauro, 59

Picture: TCR South America/Duda Bairros