Los Pernía, a crack factory: Leonel and Tiago, father and son champions on the track

“It’s the happiest day of my life,” she exclaimed. Leonel Pernia in the rain in Concepción del Uruguay. The last final of the year of TC2000category in which he had already achieved his second title early, extending their league lead on the previous date, in Córdoba.

What had happened? Tiago, his son, at the age of 18, had finished his consecration in National formulathe great seedbed of Argentine motorsport, after a definition that had four candidates.

“It makes me happy because he got what he wanted. But I’m most proud of how she handled the situation. He was very cold and intelligent and he won the title he so desired”, explained Leonel, the father who swells with pride at his son’s success and who, at 46, is living his happiest hours in motorsport.

The two champions celebrated together on the podium in Concepción del Uruguay. There were Tiago’s mother, Denise, and his uncle Mariano, who also competes in motorsports and who excelled in soccer, even playing in the 2006 World Cup for Spain.

In fact, Leonel has had his time in football as well. He played in the United States when Tiago was born in Dallas, in the hospital where the American president died John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

“We knew we were the main candidates and we have not lost faith. At the beginning of the year it was impossible to think about this reality. And it happened. My father didn’t even know if he would race in the TC2000 and I wasn’t thinking about the championship. How not to be happy? is a dream”, confessed Tiago, who hugged his father from time to time.

“Everything I learned was from my father. He taught me every step and every path I had to take in motorsport. And he made many things easier for me. My father is my idol and I follow him in everything he does”, described Tiago, while Leonel’s eyes filled with tears.

It is true what the young pilot said about his father. As of early 2022, the chances of continuity within the TC2000 were slim. Renault departed as the official team of the category and Ambrogio Racing, the structure that manages the competition, took on the role to move forward. And they didn’t just comply. They won the title.

A promise made through a note during the transmission of carburetion it came true. You had to shave your head. Leonel knew he couldn’t help her. And after showing himself on the podium the “1” in the lead, like Tiago and Facundo Marques, also champion of the TC2000 Series, Ambrogio Racing rider, when he arrived at his home in Canning he kept his word.

Obviously Tiago also continued with a shaved head. And the two, father and son, posed with their uncle Mariano, bald by nature, to show on social media that they had respected the pact. From Tandil, the grandfather Vicente Pernía, a former footballer and pilot, celebrated the conquest of the family.

“In my case I highlight the team. I think there is no other case like mine, of such loyalty with the same team. I have been with this structure for a decade and a half and I have never seen them demotivated. In recent years many titles have been won with different riders and the new season is always approached with the same enthusiasm. This is fundamental,” Leonel stressed about the team led by Marcelo Ambrogio at Villa Carlos Paz.

A striking case for Argentine motorsport is that father and son consecrate themselves in two national categories at the same time. The Pernías, part of a dynasty that began with a passion for irons of the successful footballer Vicente, who, being world champion with Boca, asked the then president Alberto J. Armando Dedicate yourself to the world of speed.

The “tanHe accelerated in the main categories of those years and passed on that passion for speed to his heirs, who have assimilated it very well to live a present they never even dreamed of: two kings of the same family.

What will the 2023 TC2000 look like?

The idea of ​​TC2000 is to start the 2023 championship on February 26th. Beyond the date, which would be earlier than the one to which the category is used, it indicates some characteristics that support and solidify the discipline.

There has been a lot of talk about incorporating SUV models into the TC2000, so that they share the track with conventional sedans in the first place and in the medium-term future everything is exclusive to SUVs.

As exclusively reported by Clarin, each brand has its own prototype designedcontinuing in line with what marks the automotive market, since this type of vehicle has gained space within the marketing in Argentina.

This was stated by Alejandro Levy, president of the category carburetion that there is probably an age limit for drivers to drive this type of car. “We will certainly put an age limit so that it is the drivers who can drive these cars and in this way have a renewal in what the drivers and future drivers of the TC2000 will be,” she said.

“The SUVs will definitely show up during the summer. They are working together with the CDA to get the first models starting to be produced,” Levy shared.

In turn, the announcement of Chevrolet, which ceases to have an official team. This resulted in the departure of Agostino Canapino of the category.

However, the discipline is working to increase the number of vehicles. The goal is for each team to have an SUV vehicle, and for more powerful structures to increase the number of cars.

Indeed, Honda Argentina has already officially announced its continuity and that of Facundo Ardusso. And the idea of ​​a street circuit in Mar del Plata remains firm.

Special for Clarin