Photo: TCR South America

Galid Osman wins first Buenos Aires race

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W2 Pro GP driver Galid Osman (Cupra) claimed the victory in the first race of the weekend Buenos Aires, host of the eighth round of the 2024 TCR South America season.

Toyota Team Argentina’s Matías Rossi suffered mechanical troubles already at the starting grid and was unable to start the formation lap, instead forced to start the race from the pit lane.

PMO Racing’s Marcos Regadas (Peugeot 308TCR) started from the reversed grid pole position with action starting from the green light.

W2 Pro GP’s Raphael Reis (Cupra Leon VZ TCR) collided with another competitor and spun off track. The Brazilian was able to rejoin, albeit at the back of the pack.

At the front, Osman claimed the race lead from Regadas, with Juan Ángel Rosso (Toyota) and Matías Cravero (Honda) following past.

Squadra Martino’s Fabio Casagrande collided with PMO Racing’s Leonel Pernía and received a ten-second time penalty for the incident.

Cravero overtook Rosso for second place on the third lap, with the Honda driver setting his sights on the leader.

Further back, Toyota Team Argentina’s José María López had a good start, finishing the first lap in eighth place from 16th on the grid. Pechito soon caught Thiago Vivacqua’s (Toyota) back, overtaking for sixth place on lap four.

But López ran wide on lap seven, losing six positions.

At the front, Osman came under increasing pressure from Craveron by lap eight. Rosso, in third place, was also under attack from Squadra Martino’s Juan Manuel Casella.

PMO Racing’s Pedro Cardoso (Peugeot 308TCR) overtook team-mate Regadas on lap 15 for fifth place, with his sights now set for the battle of third place ahead of him.

Pechito López retired on lap 21 after going off the track, with the former WTCC champion having lost ground during the previous laps. Reis also retired with a broken front left suspension on the same lap.

Osman won as the chequered flag fell, with Cravero and Rosso completing the podium. Casella was fourth, prevailing in a photo-finish duel with Cardoso.

Regadas finished in sixth place, followed by Pernía and PMO Racing’s Rafael Suzuki (Peugeot 308TCR). Cosío was ninth, with Matías Rossi in tenth place.

“We are still live in the battle for the championship. Cravero has been strong all the weekend, so I focused on myself and not making mistakes,” said Osman after the race.

Rosso has now overtaken Cardoso in the battle for the championship, leading with 238 points, three ahead of the PMO Racing driver and 21 over Reis.

The TCR South America field returns to the track on Sunday morning for the second race of the weekend at 10:30 local time (15:30 CEST).