Road tourism returns with a historic season that will see New Generation cars as protagonists

You hear the sound of engines in El Calafate and boy, is it relevant news. Not because a new season of Road tourism is about to start but why that of 2024 It won’t be one more. It will remain marked in the history of the highest category of local motoring due to the generational turnover of the cars.

It’s true that the Falcon, the Dodge, the Torino and the Chevy will still be on the asphalt, but near the Perito Moreno glacier the news is that the circuit will dress up to officially welcome the new ones. Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang e Dodge the challenger,and the modifications of Turin AND Toyota Camrymany of whom were testing on the circuits of La Plata and San Nicolás.

Both vintage and new generation cars will share the track as, due to budget problems, not all entries for this season were able to assemble the modern chassis. Furthermore, most drivers will use, at least at the beginning of the competition, the classic cars of the category.

The drivers who will drive the new generation cars are Christian Ledesma, Ricardo Risatti and Marcos Quijada (Camaro), the reigning champion Mariano Werner, Juan Bautista De Benedictis and Nicolás Trosett (Mustang), Tobías Martínez (Turin), Juan Martín Trucco ( Challenger NG) and Andrés Jakos and Gastón Ferrante with the new Toyota Camry with next generation updates.

This year road tourism has less recordedbecause not all drivers managed to get the budget normally needed to race in this very popular category.

It will be there in 2024 43 pilots, ten less than last year. And in the TC Pista, the opening category of the TC, 37 drivers will compete.

Gabriel Ponce de León, in fact, will not be able to compete on the inaugural date because he was unable to find the budget to make the trip to the Santa Cruz circuit. Juninense participated in 11 of 15 races in 2023.

The person who will debut in the TC is Agustín Martínez, son of Omar, the “Gurí”, a historical figure of the category. He ranked second in the TC Pista, will start with the Ford and then get into a Toyota Camry. Tobías Martínez, Facundo Chapur, Lautaro De La Iglesia and Sebastián Abella will also make their debut in the top category.

Even if there are few new cars that will take to the track, after the tests carried out by the drivers and teams in La Plata and San Nicolás there are already useful data for motorsport enthusiasts in general and TC in particular to know which ones we will meet this end week.

The Mustang proved to be the more balanced vehicle in the analysis of aerodynamic load and air resistance. Will use in the front axle a divider 120 millimeters.

The Camaro had the best front load ratings and will have the divider 100mm. On the other hand, in the rear area it was necessary to compensate with a typographical element stretcher to increase air support.

The new generation Toyota Camry has received category permission for divider 120mm, but at the same time the same stretcher compared to the bun model.

The Dodge Challenger, as already known, is the vehicle on which the most work should have been done to achieve the values. will have a divider of 150mm to improve the front aerodynamic load, added to the variations of the radiator air outlet ducts, while highlighting a rear load considered acceptable.

These Dodge Challengers will not have defined specifications, as the dimensions that the air intake and outlet will have to have will be defined as the dates advance in the calendar, while in other cars the maximum size they will have is 750mm x 130mm.

The Torino ACTC, as the new era of this car will be called, has everything to show starting from the El Calafate circuit, where it will make its first contact on the track, given that the model was presented in the last few hours. For now, the weekend will begin with a divider 100mm, the same as the Chevrolet Camaro will have.

The wings of these new and demanding cars will be homologated and supplied by the ACTC, as indicated from the beginning. They are of the monoplane type with a loss position that must be 1,285 mm with respect to the rear axle, 1,000 mm with respect to the floor of the car and the famous end plate It will measure 310mm x 220mm.

El Calafate, which entered the calendar last year, was chosen by the Road Tourism Corridors Association as the setting that gives the green light to the season.

Although the full program has not yet been confirmed, it is known which provinces and cities the riders will visit until the seventh date.

After El Calafate, the second appointment will be on March 17th in Viedma and the third on April 7th in Neuquén. The fourth race will take place on April 28th in Toay, La Pampa, and the fifth race will be at the Termas de Rio Hondo racetrack on May 12th. It will be a special event for the category, which will share the stage with National Tourism.

The sixth round will be held in Concepción del Uruguay on May 26th and the seventh will be held on the legendary Rafaela circuit, temple of speed.

The 17th edition of the Gold Cup will begin on September 15, while the next four matches of the tournament are scheduled for September 29, October 20, November 10 and December 1, with no venues confirmed so far.

Not only are changes in car models new, but there will also be changes in public TV broadcasts. From this year the Saturday rankings will be broadcast on that open channel and on DeporTV from 3pm to 5pm, while on Sunday the broadcasts will start at 10am and end at 2pm on public TV.