He chose to start from behind Rafaela and it worked perfectly – Ardusso’s brilliant strategy to win in TC2000

Domestic motorsport usually has these things that seem to provide permanent ingredients to scare the unsuspecting or those not very familiar with each of the categories, who have their own systems. He TC2000 He tries to rebuild his image after a transitional season and with a controversial and rejected ballast system, which his leadership, with common sense, has finally eliminated. But in a discipline where the fastest often seem to be under the cars, surprising strategies for obtaining results.

It was the case with Facundo Ardussothe rider from Las Parejas, who is almost a local in his neighboring city of Rafaela, where in training he showed the speed of the Honda Civicalthough even there, together with the team, they noticed a loss of speed driving around the fast Santa Fe track with no intake.

And from that diagnosis, the team made the decision together with the rider: do not go out to qualify. Something that seems unheard of, the Rafaela circuit allows for this kind of decision. Why? Simply because being such a fast track, the place on the starting grid loses its relevance.

On that basis therefore, Honda was left in the pits on Saturday afternoon and, of course, without using the push to passthe device that provides more power to the engine, enabled as an option for each weekend instance.

And what was stipulated in theory, crystallized in practice. Ardusso started from the bottom and started to gain positions. Honda, which no longer had room to accelerate on its own, relied on the “help” of going in groups, given that it was losing aerodynamic load at the front.

And that’s how he gained positions to reach second place, behind Leonel Perníawho had quickly captured the front line of the competition and was managing a gap that seemed unattainable.

Ardusso, in addition to his excellent strategy and supreme driving, was also favored by the abandonment of two rival candidates for victory: his own teammate, Bernardo Llaver, and Julián Santero (Toyota), also from Mendoza. maneuver that scared everyone, as the car ran into the corner exit.

“We unloaded the hindquarters to advance in training. But we lacked straightline speed, which is crucial at this track. Saturday’s strategy was key, as we didn’t use shots from push to passso they left for the final race,” explained Ardusso after his win.

The pilot of Las Parejas also made references to the problems of others: “The desertion of Santero, also of Llaver, has favored us. This is luck, but the strategy was very good. We got a great victory, without a doubt.”

Rafaela fits in very well with Ardussosince last year, in the best race of the TC2000 of that season, he also imposed his name on the winners list, and with the same vote.

Although Ardusso commented that he had more shots from push to pass compared to his rivals, there is one detail that is not secondary: the problems that afflicted Pernía, annoyed by the second place, when he believed that victory was guaranteed with the Renault Fluence.

“We did everything right as a team to win the race. The car went sideways at 250 km/h. Unfortunately from the middle of the race the Push to Pass started to fail. It was a race won. I will take advantage of those first two laps, in which I was able to overcome many track problems to move forward”, complained the two-time world champion in the category.

Similarly, his teammate, Ignatius Montenegrinshe finished in third place, obtaining an excellent result, after a very consistent race.

Despite Pernía’s annoyance at seeing how victory eluded him, the current monarch remains top of the league, with 74 points, followed by Ardusso, with 45, and Montenegro, with 43. The third date will be April 23, on a stage to be confirmed. Trelew is the priority, although Alta Gracia, in Córdoba, sounds like an alternative.

A Pernía who won in Rafaela

Despite Leonel Pernía’s regret for a victory that seemed assured and that he could not fight as he wanted due to problems with the Push To Pass, according to the pilot himself, another Pernía won. It was his son Tiago, which won the TC2000 Series, a discipline that shares a track with the senior category. Behind Tiago Pernía were Mateo Polakovich and Emiliano Stang.

In the National Formula it was a historic surname that triumphed: Traverso, in this case the young Juan Pablo, in a rough race, with a few touches and including overturning, without consequences for the drivers. The podium was completed by Andrés Brion and Santiago Chiarello.

Rafaela, Santa Fe. Special for Clarion.