The champion Pernía and Bernardo Llaver, the winners of the first weekend of the TC2000 season

The spotlight of media and promotional attention has focused on the return of Mattia Rossi, the Toyota driver who returned to TC2000 after a vociferous farewell that neither party deserved. However, they have earned the spotlight Leonel Perniathe current champion of the discipline, e Bernardo Laver (Honda), which celebrated on the top step of the podium in the two races that the category contested on the opening date of the 2024 season.

The three-time champion, aboard the Renault Fluence that took him to TC2000 glory, came on strong in the first race, in which he defeated Llaver and took his first win of the year.

The monarch confirmed his excellent presence in national motorsport, which at 48 years of age is the point of reference in the category. But in reality the lighthouse of the weekend was Llaver’s Honda Civic, which obtained pole position, being competitive with second place in the first final and great success in the last race of the day.

“I am tremendously happy for the Honda team. The summer work was effective. In the last race last year I was 9th. And now I’m ahead. In the final race I benefited from the fight that took place for second place, and from there I managed to manage that difference”, commented the driver of the Japanese brand.

Llaver shares the championship lead, with 43 points, together with Pernía, the two main protagonists of the first round. “I decided to start again from the rope, knowing that I could lose the lead of the race. Llaver goes into the chicane there, then Fineschi jumped on me and then Capurro passed us both. It took me longer to overtake him and from then on I was far from the lead,” explained Pernía.

“I think we had a large number of Push to Passes, if there had been fewer there would have been a greater surprise factor. Perhaps nothing takes away the merit of Bernardo’s (Llaver) victory” underlined the champion.

In addition to the two winners, Damián Fineschi, the engineer, son of the former driver Oscar, also reached the two podiums of the day and celebrated third places with Chevrolet Pro Racing: “The balance is positive. Obviously there are things to refine and improve, but I’m happy, also for the good maneuvers at the start of the second race”, highlighted the driver from Quilmes, who will be a father in 20 days.

In this recovery phase of TC2000, part of the strategy is to appeal to promising young players. And within that group of guys who dream of glory in national motorsports, Nicolás Capurro was the protagonist.

With a fabulous maneuver, taking advantage of the controversies of a frivolous and hard-fought start in the second competition, Matías Capurro, with great determination and audacity, jumped from sixth to second place, baffling everyone. Finally

“I’m very happy with the race I did. I saw the gaps and took advantage of them to move forward. It was a nice way to start the season,” underlined the driver from Necochea, who aims to win the Latam Rookie Cup, reserved for the youngest and with the tempting sum of 40 million pesos for the annual winner.

The surprise on Sunday was the premature abandonment of Matías Rossi. The great character, returning to the category that saw him champion 5 times, suffered an engine failure at the start of the first race, with the spectacular image of the fire under the Toyota Corolla.

“Such a pity. These are things that happen. These are the situations that hurt the most. It was the first leg of the first final and we didn’t have time to react. I’m still intrigued if we had an evolution from Saturday to Sunday. We will have to concentrate for the next round,” complained the Toyota Gazoo Racing driver.

“I started with Vivian and Fineschi contacted me immediately. Maybe it was a first symptom, I would no longer have the final speed. Then I heard a buzz. But anyway the fire broke out and the engine broke,” Rossi said.

TC2000 has put it first and has already started the fiscal year 2024. With the great challenge of fortifying a category that possesses an indisputable heritage, the technology and potential of its vehicles, but with the mission to once again attempt those characters who are conspicuous by their absence today.

Rossi is now back to fight against the great champion Pernía, Honda has recovered the potential with which it was able to make history many years ago and the leadership’s fight to restore the desired splendor. TC2000 is already underway.