The second season of the TCR South America series gets underway at the Autódromo Velocitta in Brazil this weekend, with 14 cars taking to the track from seven different manufacturers.
However, reigning champion Pepe Oriola will not be present on the grid, with the Spaniard not returning to the regional series to defend his title.
Nor will 2021 runner-up Rodrigo Baptista return to the series, meaning that last year’s third-placed driver, Raphael Reis, must surely go into the forthcoming season as one of the favourites, with the Brazilian this year continuing with W2 Pro GP but this time in brand new CUPRA machinery.
Reis will be teamed up with 39-year-old Brazilian Antonio Junqueira in a second CUPRA Leon Competición.
Argentine José Manuel Sapag who last year finished fourth overall having missed two events, has switched to PMO Motorsport for 2022, where he will race a Lynk & Co 03 TCR, one of two of the Chinese cars on the grid.
The other Lynk & Co will be raced by Argentine Fabricio Pezzini, who won twice last year when he raced the car in Cordóba and Concepción del Uruguay, making him also a favoured driver for title honours.
PMO team boss Pablo Otero will once again take to the grid, this time in a Peugeot 308 TCR, with the outfit’s other Peugeot being campaigned by Franco Farina for this weekend’s races.
For the second event, the team is planning to field Uruguayan drivers Juan Manuel Casella and Enrique Maglione in its two Peugeots.
A sole Hyundai Elantra N TCR is entered for the opening event with Scuderia CJ, being raced by Pedro Aizza, the Brazilian having taken part in two endurance events last year, the latter in the same car he will race in 2022.
Argentine Súper TC2000 regular Juan Ángel Rosso will race one of Squadra Martino’s Honda Civic FK8 cars, with the other being campaigned by Fabio Casagrande, who was one of only a few drivers to take part in most of last season’s races.
Cobra Racing is the largest team on the grid this year, fielding three Audi RS3 LMS cars for Bia Figueiredo, the series’ first female racer, the returning Adalberto Baptista and Guilherme Reischl.
PropCar Racing will again field an Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR, this year for Fernando Croce. A second car is expected to be entered in future events.
Crown Racing had planned to enter two cars for the event, but only Gabriel Lusquiños will take to the grid in one of the team’s Honda Civic cars.
The field is expected to expand to 20 cars for the second event at Interlagos in May.
“We are very happy to kick off the second season of TCR South America,” said TCR South America president Federico Punteri.
“A year where there will be more teams and new brands and where great prizes will be at stake for all our champions.
“After a first year where, despite all the difficulties, we finished in the best way, I am sure that 2022 will be the season where the new concept of world motorsports will take hold in the region.”
Qualifying is scheduled to take place at 15:10 local time (19:10 BST, 20:10 CEST) on Saturday 2 April. Race one is scheduled for 09:10 local time (13:10 BST, 14:10 CEST) followed by race two at 11:10 local time (15:10 BST, 16:10 CEST) on Sunday.
Entry list
3 – Ana ‘Bia’ Figueiredo (Cobra Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS)
7 – Fabricio Pezzini (PMO Motorsport, Lynk & Co 03 TCR)
10 – Adalberto Baptista (Cobra Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS)
13 – Pablo Otero (PMO Racing, Peugeot 308 TCR)
26 – Juan Ángel Rosso (Squadra Martino, Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR)
33 – José Manuel Sapag (PMO Motorsport, Lynk & Co 03 TCR)
34 – Fabio Casagrande (Squadra Martino, Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR)
35 – Pedro Aizza (Scuderia CJ, Hyundai Elantra N TCR)
37 – Guilherme Reischl (Cobra Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS)
61 – Antonio Junqueira (W2 Pro GP, CUPRA Leon Competición TCR)
77 – Raphael Reis (W2 Pro GP, CUPRA Leon Competición TCR)
84 – Fernando Croce (PropCar Racing, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR)
87 – Franco Farina (PMO Racing, Peugeot 308 TCR)
TBC – Gabriel Lusquiños (Crown Racing, Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR)