21 drivers and 22 cars have been entered for the season opener of the TCR South America series this weekend in Córdoba, where PMO Motorsport’s Fabricio Pezzini is looking to defend his championship.
21 drivers have been confirmed for the 22 seats, with only one TBC left against PMO Motorsport’s fourth Lynk & Co 03. The team has now confirmed that 57-year-old Argentine Walter Hernández, who made his début in the series last year, will race a third car alongside Pezzini and Frederick Balbi.
Also confirmed is that Alfa Racing, being operated by Squadra Martino, will field a sole Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR for Argentine Gonzalo Alterio this weekend. He team has two Alfa Romeos in its possession.
The field has much more consistency for its third season, with numerous drivers returning for another year.
W2 Pro GP returns for a second season with its CUPRA Leon Competición cars, with Brazilian Raphael Reis the series’ most experienced competitor heading up the charge alongside Galid Osman.
Squadra Martino will field four Honda Civic FK7s for Brazilian Fabio Casagrande, Uruguayan Enrique Maglione and Argentines Ignacio Montenegro and Juan Manuel Casella.
As well as its Lynk & Co operation, PMO will also run four Peugeot 308 TCRs under the PMO Racing banner. Three Argentines – Juan Pablo Bessone, Diego Gutierrez and team owner Pablo Otero will be joined by Brazilian Guilherme Reischl.
Five new Toyota Corolla GRS TCR cars have been entered. Two will be run by Toyota Team Argentina for Bernardo Llaver and José Manuel Sapag.
Another two Corollas are entered by Paladini Racing for Juan Ángel Rosso and Fabián Yannantuoni, whilst a third is run by Cobra Racing for Adalberto Baptista.
Cobra Racing has also entered the sole Audi RS3 LMS TCR in the field, for newcomer Diego Nunes.
Scuderia Chiarelli will field one Hyundai Elantra N TCR this weekend for Brazilian Pedro Cardoso, with another car to appear later in the year.
TCR South America will be run in conjunction with the inaugural season of TCR Brazil, which commences its season in June at Interlagos.
Two events will also form part of the TCR World Tour calendar – a race at El Pinar on 19 – 20 August and a second event in San Luis a week later, rumoured to take place at the La Pedrera circuit.
“We are very happy and with high expectations for the start of this season of TCR South America,” said President of TCR South America, Federico Punteri.
“We had a first year where we were able to show what the TCR concept was in the region, a 2022 with full growth and this 2023 will surely mark the consolidation of the category with more cars and more drivers and that generates great expectations for the future.
“This year we are going to have two World Cup dates on our calendar and that makes us very happy and proud.
“This makes us set a high standard for our events to bring them to the level of a world category and it will also do the TCR concept very well to show the region what this motorsport is. We also have the mid-year start of the first national category with TCR Brazil.”
2023 TCR South America entry list
W2 Pro GP – CUPRA León Competition TCR
#77 – Raphael Reis (Brazil)
#28 – Galid Osman (Brazil)
Cobra Racing Team – Audi RS 3 LMS SEQ / Toyota Corolla GRS TCR
#70 – Diego Nunes (Brazil)
#10 – Adalberto Baptista (Brazil)
Squadra Martino – Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR
#34 – Fabio Casagrande (Brazil)
#23 – Ignacio Montenegro (Argentina)
#15 – Enrique Maglione (Uruguay)
#60 – Juan Manuel Casella (Uruguay)
PMO Motorsport – Lynk & Co 03 TCR
#27 – Walter Hernández (Argentina)
#1 – Fabricio Pezzini (Argentina)
#24 – Frederick Balbi (Uruguay)
(TBC)
Alfa Racing – Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR
#69 – Gonzalo Alterio (Argentina)
PMO Racing – Peugeot 308 GTI TCR
#7 – Juan Pablo Bessone (Argentina)
#55 – Diego Gutierrez (Argentina)
#20 – Pablo Otero (Argentina)
#37 – Guilherme Reischl (Brazil)
Toyota Team Argentina – Toyota Corolla GRS TCR
#17 – Bernardo Llaver (Argentina)
#33 – Manuel Sapag (Argentina)
Scuderia Chiarelli – Hyundai Elantra N TCR
#43 – Pedro Cardoso (Brazil)
Paladini Racing – Toyota Corolla GRS TCR
#2 – Juan Angel Rosso (Argentina)
#5 – Fabián Yannantuoni (Argentina)