Photo: TCR South America

Juan Manuel Casella claims second Buenos Aires race victory

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Squadra Martino’s Juan Manuel Casella (Honda) claimed a hard-fought victory in the second race of the weekend at Buenos Aires, host of the eight round of the 2024 TCR South America season.

Matías Cravero (Honda) was slow off the blocks from pole, with his Squadra Martino team-mate Juan Manuel Casella taking the lead, followed by PMO Racing drivers Leonel Pernía and Pedro Cardoso (Peugeot).

Jake Cosío (Toyota) and José Manuel López (Toyota) tangled on lap one, with the Mexican drive receiving a drive-through penalty for the incident.

Cravero stepped up the pressure during the final laps of the race, but that didn’t prevent Casella from winning, with the Argentinian driver in second place and Pernía completing the podium.

Cardoso was fourth to claim the inaugural TCR Brazil title, followed by Rosso and Rossi, with W2 Pro GP’s Raphael Reis (Cupra) in seventh place.

PMO Racing’s Rafael Suzuki (Peugeot) was eighth, followed by Enrique Maglione (Honda) and W2 Pro GP’s Galid Osman.

Cardoso still leads the championship with 282 points after the Buenos Aires races, 23 points ahead of Casella and 40 over Reis.

The penultimate round of the 2024 TCR South America season takes place at Termas de Río Hondo on November 8-10.