Here's the thing about fighting a championship with a heavy car: sometimes survival is the absolute best victory you can claim. That was the reality for defending Turismo Carretera champion Agustin Canapino after the final in San Nicolas, where he wrestled his Canning Motorsports machine to a tenth-place finish to keep his championship hopes alive.
Let's be clear, winning was never on the cards for the driver from Arrecifes. He knew it, and he admitted it straight. Carrying extra weight meant the machine simply lacked the pace to run at the very front of the field. Yet, considering those handicaps, the performance was entirely logical.
There are three finals left, there is still a long way to go and the races have to be run,
“It was a good weekend because we maximized what could be done both in San Luis and here in San Nicolas,” Canapino explained after crossing the line 10° in both finals. While he missed out on fighting for the podium, he pointed out that he was the top-performing Camaro in San Luis, while at San Nicolas he was only beaten among his stablemates by Christian Ledesma, who finished 7° and crucially runs without weight penalties. Not a bad haul for the Chevrolet talisman, especially remembering the Camaro's earlier triumph in Neuquen.
The closing stages brought some late-race drama too. Agustin slipped positions behind Juan Pablo Gianini and Luis Jose Di Palma near the checkered flag, but swift intervention by the Sport Stewards set the order right. Following a review, Canapino recovered his position when Gianini was reclassified directly behind him. “There is a maneuver with Gianini, when he tried to pass me he brushes me and right there Josito takes advantage well,” he noted of the chaotic scrap.
Now, the attention turns sharply toward the final stretch of the season with rounds at Rosario, Rio Cuarto, and La Playa still on the horizon. “There are three finals left, there is still a long way to go and the races have to be run,” Agustin stated, radiating confidence as he sits fifth in the standings with 64 units, sitting 18,5 points behind Chapur.
There is a long road ahead, but Canapino and his team are banking on consistency and smart damage limitation to hunt down the crown.
