Lights-to-flag win for Rodrigo Baptista in El Pinar’s Race 1

Rodrigo Baptista took an authoritative lights-to-flag victory in TCR South America’s Race 1 at El Pinar’s Autódromo Víctor Borrat Fabini. The Cobra Racing driver and his Audi RS 3 LMS beat the current points leader Pepe Oriola in the W2 Racing Honda Civic, and so the Brazilian reduced by five points his gap in the standings, which is now of 15 points.
Baptista had won pole position in a strange Qualifying session that saw the field split in two groups, each one taking part in a 20-minute segment. Raphael Reis was the fastest in the first group with a lap of 1:31.871, but Baptista and championship newcomer Rodrigo Pflucker topped the second group with laps of 1:31.390 and 1:31.530 locking the front row for the first race. Oriola was third fastest in the second group and fourth overall behind his teammate Reis. Ayrton Chorne’s Alfa Romeo Giulietta missed the Qualifying and couldn’t start in the race after suffering from technical issues in the first practice. The Squadra Martino Honda Civic Fk2 that local driver Juan Manuel Casella had qualified in fifth position did not make the grid either following an engine failure at the end of the Qualifying session.
At the start, Baptista sprinted to the lead and Oriola squeezed between Pfuckler’s Hyundai and the pit wall moving into second. Pfuckler managed to keep Reis at bay to retain third. The top three pulled away, split by several seconds with Baptista well ahead, Oriola second and Pflucker third.
Behind them there were a couple of thrilling fights for the positions. Reis defended the fourth place from Juan Manuel Sapag who made a mistake in lap 8 and found himself chased by Cyro Fontes on his first appearance at the wheel of a PMO Motorsport Lynk & Co 03. Sapag reacted, closed in on Reis again and eventually passed him for P4 in lap 10. His teammate Gonzalo Reilly overtook Fontes for P6 and then Reis for P5; however, Reilly spoiled everything going off onto the gravel trap in lap 15. Sapag sweetened the pill for Squadra Martino by stealing the third position from Flucker in the same lap.
Baptista took the chequered flag with a margin of 9.5 seconds ahead of Oriola; Sapag completed the podium ahead of Reis, while Diego Martínez beat Fontes on the line for P5; as for Pflucker, he dropped to seventh during the final laps.
The second race will start tomorrow at 09:00 local time (14:00 CEST); with the ten fastest qualifiers reversed on the grid, Pablo Otero’s Lynk & Co will be on pole with Adalberto Baptista’s Audi alongside. Live streaming at www.tcr-series.com. 

El Pinar – Race 1 
1. Rodrigo Baptista (Cobra Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 17 laps
2. Pepe Oriola (W2 Racing, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 9.489
3. José Manuel Sapag (Squadra Martino, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 12.096
4. Rafael Reis (W2 Racing, Honda Civic Type R FK7), 24.571
5. Diego Martínez (PropCar Racing, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce), 27.787

Championship points
1. P. Oriola 146 pts; 2. R. Baptista 129; 3. R. Reis 96

Picture: TCR South America/Viktor Kudlik