Yannantouni takes reversed-grid TCR South America win at Cascavel
Paladini Racing’s Fabían Yannantouni won TCR South America Race 2 at Cascavel from reversed-grid pole.
PMO Racing driver Marcos Regadas started alongside him on the front row, but got away from the line slowly and squeezed team-mate Leonel Pernía onto the grass as he tried to get past. Pernía squeezed him back going into the long turn one, and mid-corner they made contact.
It sent Pernía into the side of their other team-mate Pedro Cardoso, whose car then went sideways and he dropped to ninth. Toyota Team Argentina’s Matias Rossi was the chief beneficiary, climbing from eighth to fourth behind Paladi’s Juan Rosso and Pernía.
The next moment of drama was on lap seven, when Regadas went off at the final corner. That enabled Squadra Martina’s Juan Casella to get by as they started the next lap, but then Regadas touched the rear of Casella’s car at turn one and that enabled him to get back alongside him and then squeeze him off the track.
Casella rejoined down the order, but soon had an opportunity to regain places as W2 Pro GP’s Raphael Reis spun around Regadas, then Galid Osman and Cardoso went either side of Reis. Osman made contact with his team-mate, which then sent him into Cardoso and put put both out of the race while Reis hobbled to the pits.
The safety car was called to clear up the damage, and Reis was handed a drive-through penalty. Racing resumed on lap 12, and Yannantouni avoided any immediate pressure then gradually pulled away from Rosso. Pernía almost drove into the back of Rosso at turn one on lap 17, then stayed on his rear through the remaining laps.
Rosi had to hold off the faster Casella to finish fourth, Squadra Martina’s Race 1 winner Rodrigo Baptista was sixth and Regadas made some overtake to finish seventh on-the-road but a penalty dropped him out of the top 10. Thiago Vivacqua inherited seventh place, with 0.93 seconds covering Norberto Fontana, Fabio Casagrande and Enrique Maglione in eighth to 10th.
