Campos Racing are trying to find enough sponsorship to sign Argentine José Manuel Urcera for the 2017 World Touring Car Championship season, after the 25-year-old impressed in a recent test.
Urcera is currently signed to race for Citroën in the 2017 Argentine Súper TC2000 season, and with no date clashes with the WTCC he is looking to the possibility of also racing in the WTCC this year.
Campos Racing General Manager Ruben Espin is trying to convince Argentine sponsors to get behind ‘Manu’ for a full season of racing in the WTCC, instead of just a single outing at the Argentine round of the championship.
Campos ran just one full-season car for John Filippi in 2016, and the Frenchman’s departure to Sébastien Loeb Racing for 2017 means that there are currently no full-season drivers for the team’s Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1.
“Everybody saw last season in Termas the job of the team with a great driver on board in Esteban Guerrieri,” said Espin. “In Manu we have found another diamond who really deserves the support of Argentinian sponsors and promoters.
“He has the talent to become the surprise of the year and Campos Racing is going to do its best to fulfil the budget for the full season. Having him in the team for Termas will be great but having his talent for the full season can be amazing for the championship.”
Urcera described the experience of racing the WTCC car in comparison to his TC2000 machine, having also spent two days testing a Campos GP3 car.
“The WTCC car is softer, smother than Súper TC2000 and rolls much more,” said Urcera. “The turbo is tricky because when it opens the car tends to skate but with more laps I can improve the lap time easily.”
Urcera will line-up in this year’s TC2000 championship alongside Néstor Girolami, who has already had several WTCC outings in recent years.