The 2023 El Pinar TCR World Tour round was the fifth round of the 2023 TCR World Tour. It was held on 18–20 August 2023 at the Autódromo Víctor Borrat Fabini in El Pinar, Uruguay. The event was also the sixth round of the 2023 TCR South America Touring Car Championship. Santiago Urrutia scored pole position for Cyan Racing Lynk&Co. Urrutia managed to keep his lead, winning the first race. Urrutia's teammate Ma Qing Hua won the second race after leading from the start, scoring his first win of the season.
Entry list A total of 30 cars have been entered, including entries from TCR World Tour and TCR South America.
Team Car Drivers Paladini Racing Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2017) 1 Fabricio Pezzini Paladini Racing Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 2 Juan Ángel Rosso Paladini Racing Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 5 Fabián Yannantuoni PMO Motorsport Lynk & Co 03 TCR 8 Rafael Suzuki Cobra Racing Team Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 10 Adalberto Baptista Alfa Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR 13 Carlos Silva Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 15 Enrique Maglione Toyota Team Argentina Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 17 Bernardo Llaver Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 23 Ignacio Montenegro PMO Motorsport Lynk & Co 03 TCR 24 Frederick Balbi W2 ProGP CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR 28 Galid Osman Toyota Team Argentina Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 33 José Manuel Sapag Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 34 Fabio Casagrande PMO Racing Peugeot 308 TCR 35 Gonzalo Reilly PMO Racing Peugeot 308 TCR 36 Damián Fineschi Scuderia Chiarelli Hyundai Elantra N TCR 43 Pedro Cardoso Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 60 Juan Manuel Casella Cobra Racing Team Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 70 Diego Nunes W2 ProGP CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR 77 Raphael Reis Bratton Tito Bessone Team Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 86 Esteban Guerrieri Alfa Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR 90 Michell Bonnin BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR 105 Norbert Michelisz Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 111 Thed Björk Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 112 Santiago Urrutia Audi Sport Team Comtoyou Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) 122 Frédéric Vervisch Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FL5) 129 Néstor Girolami Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 155 Ma Qing Hua Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 168 Yann Ehrlacher Audi Sport Team Comtoyou Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) 179 Robert Huff BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR 196 Mikel Azcona Source:
Results Qualifying Due to the circuit being short and 30 cars entering, the Q1 qualifying session was separated into 2 groups. The top 6 drivers from each group were eligible to compete in the Q2 session. Name Team Car Group Q1 Time Q2 Time Points 1 112 Santiago Urrutia Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR B 1:20.300 1:19.800 15 2 111 Thed Björk Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR B 1:19.917 1:19.885 10 3 129 Néstor Girolami Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FL5) A 1:20.810 1:20.118 8 4 105 Norbert Michelisz BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR B 1:20.361 1:20.200 6 5 122 Frédéric Vervisch Audi Sport Team Comtoyou Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) A 1:20.875 1:20.457 4 6 179 Robert Huff Audi Sport Team Comtoyou Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) B 1:20.852 1:20.457 2 7 60 Juan Manuel Casella Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) A 1:20.810 1:20.733 8 196 Mikel Azcona BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR A 1:20.545 1:20.846 9 168 Yann Ehrlacher Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR A 1:20.443 1:20.922 10 155 Ma Qing Hua Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR A 1:20.871 1:21.162 11 23 Ignacio Montenegro Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) B 1:21.389 1:21.209 12 86 Esteban Guerrieri Bratton Tito Bessone Team Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR B 1:21.054 1:21.356 13 2 Juan Ángel Rosso Paladini Racing Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR A 1:21.365 - 14 28 Galid Osman W2 ProGP CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR B 1:21.405 - 15 8 Rafael Suzuki PMO Motorsport Lynk & Co 03 TCR A 1:21.563 - 16 77 Raphael Reis W2 ProGP CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR A 1:21.716 - 17 24 Frederick Balbi PMO Motorsport Lynk & Co 03 TCR B 1:21.834 - 18 17 Bernardo Llaver Toyota Team Argentina Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR B 1:21.854 - 19 43 Pedro Cardoso Scuderia Chiarelli Hyundai Elantra N TCR B 1:22.004 - 20 15 Enrique Maglione Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) B 1:22.170 - 21 5 Fabián Yannantuoni Paladini Racing Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR A 1:22.186 - 22 1 Fabricio Pezzini Paladini Racing Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2017) B 1:22.456 - 23 70 Diego Nunes Cobra Racing Team Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR A 1:22.574 - 24 33 José Manuel Sapag Toyota Team Argentina Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR B 1:22.819 - 25 34 Fabio Casagrande Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) B 1:23.278 - 26 35 Gonzalo Reilly PMO Racing Peugeot 308 TCR B 1:23.403 - 27 13 Carlos Silva Alfa Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR A 1:24.112 - 28 10 Adalberto Baptista Cobra Racing Team Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR A 1:25.177 - 29 36 Damián Fineschi PMO Racing Peugeot 308 TCR A No time set - 30 90 Michell Bonnin Alfa Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR A No time set - Source:
Race 1 Santiago Urrutia managed to keep his lead after the start, with teammate Thed Björk right behind him. Fabricio Pezzini and Carlos Silva made contact at the back of the field, resulting in the latter retiring. Girolami overtook Björk in the early part of the race but later dropped behind both Björk and Frédéric Vervisch, where he would remain for the rest of the race. Raphael Reis pulled into the pit lane on lap 4 with smoke coming under the hood of his Cupra, leading to his retirement. Enrique Maglione retired on the same lap due to damage done to the front of his Honda. Yann Ehrlacher eventually caught the group and attempted to attack Michelisz for 5th place, but unsuccessfully, and both of them lost time doing so. This allowed Girolami a chance to attack Vervisch for 3rd place with no threat from behind, but the Honda driver made a mistake and compromised his chances for a podium finish. Fabián Yannantuoni came into the pit lane to retire with possible suspension damage following an accident. Björk started to close in on Urrutia but remained 2nd, allowing his teammate to take a victory on home soil. Further down the order, Esteban Guerrieri passed Juan Ángel Rosso for 12th place on the final straight, with just 0.019 seconds separating them at the finish line. Ignacio Montenegro claimed the win in TCR South America, finishing 10th overall.
Name Team Car Laps Time/retired Grid Points 1 112 Santiago Urrutia Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 20 27:29.487 1 30 2 111 Thed Björk Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 20 +0.479 2 25 3 122 Frédéric Vervisch Audi Sport Team Comtoyou Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) 20 +3.131 5 22 4 129 Néstor Girolami Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FL5) 20 +3.544 3 20 5 105 Norbert Michelisz BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR 20 +4.184 4 18 6 168 Yann Ehrlacher Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 20 +5.633 9 16 7 179 Robert Huff Audi Sport Team Comtoyou Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) 20 +14.938 6 14 8 196 Mikel Azcona BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Hyundai Elantra N TCR 20 +16.420 8 12 9 155 Ma Qing Hua Cyan Racing Lynk&Co Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR 20 +20.037 10 10 10 23 Ignacio Montenegro Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 20 +21.409 11 8 11 60 Juan Manuel Casella Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 20 +22.408 7 6 12 86 Esteban Guerrieri Bratton Tito Bessone Team Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 20 +23.985 12 4 13 2 Juan Ángel Rosso Paladini Racing Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 20 +24.004 13 3 14 17 Bernardo Llaver Toyota Team Argentina Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 20 +25.995 18 2 15 8 Rafael Suzuki PMO Motorsport Lynk & Co 03 TCR 20 +29.452 15 1 16 28 Galid Osman W2 ProGP CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR 20 +34.223 14 17 24 Frederick Balbi PMO Motorsport Lynk & Co 03 TCR 20 +35.108 16 18 43 Pedro Cardoso Scuderia Chiarelli Hyundai Elantra N TCR 20 +41.317 20 19 33 José Manuel Sapag Toyota Team Argentina Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 20 +48.163 26 20 70 Diego Nunes Cobra Racing Team Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 20 +48.534 21 21 1 Fabricio Pezzini Paladini Racing Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2017) 20 +1:01.778 24 22 35 Gonzalo Reilly PMO Racing Peugeot 308 TCR 20 +1:02.672 28 23 10 Adalberto Baptista Cobra Racing Team Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 19 +1 lap 25 24 34 Fabio Casagrande Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 18 +2 laps 27 25 5 Fabián Yannantuoni Paladini Racing Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR 13 Accident damage 19 26 15 Enrique Maglione Squadra Martino Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 4 Accident damage 22 27 77 Raphael Reis W2 ProGP CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR 4 Mechanical 17 28 13 Carlos Silva Alfa Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR 1 Accident 23 Fastest lap: Santiago Urrutia, lap time 1:20.774 / Source:
Race 2 The top 10 from qualifying is reversed for the race 2 grid.
Ma Qing Hua kept his lead after the start. Azcona collided with Ehrlacher right after the start, claiming 2nd place. Enrique Maglione received a drive-through penalty for driving a damaged car, as seemingly it wasn't fixed after his Race 1 accident. The safety car was brought out on lap 7 due to one of the drivers knocking over a tyre barrier. The race was resumed on lap 10, with Ma Qing Hua remaining in the lead, followed by Azcona, Ehrlacher, and both Comtoyou drivers. Ignacio Montenegro retired due to a wheel coming loose on his Honda on lap 13. Michelisz, Girolami, and Björk were fighting for 6th place but made several contacts on lap 15, with Girolami and Michelisz both overtaken by Urrutia. The safety car came out right after, because Gonzalo Reilly stopped his Peugeot on the track. Ma Qing Hua made a perfect restart yet again, staying ahead of Azcona for the final two laps and claiming a victory. During an interview, he claimed the race was a highlight of his career because he became the first Chinese driver to win a world championship event driving a Chinese car.