Facundo Chapur arrived in Rosario holding a slim advantage of 1.5 points at the top of the Copa de Oro Rio Uruguay Seguros 2026 standings in Turismo Carretera over Julián Santero. That breathing room vanished quickly. A 20th-place qualifying effort on Saturday meant a fight was already on his hands, and while the driver from Córdoba made impressive passes during his heat, contact with José Hernán Palazzo derailed his progress. He crossed the line P13, missed out on points entirely, and received a heavy penalty that forced him to start Sunday's final all the way back in 37th.
“After an error of mine in the heat, starting at the back in Rosario was not easy at all, we managed to survive the start,” Chapur admitted. The machine beneath him was far from perfect, but survival mode was the only option left on the table. “Afterwards the car wasn't quite right, I held on as much as I could and we scored points and that was the important thing,” he added, having dragged his Torino home to 17th place. Starting deep in the pack is a gamble every single time, and the reality of fighting through the traffic is brutal. “Starting from the back is risking it, the reality is that it's not easy to be there. It was what we had and we were able to do it well.”
Despite the scramble, Facundo technically remains the leader of the Cup. However, the intricacies of the last-minute system mean Santero is effectively holding down the top spot right now. Facing that reality, the driver was remarkably candid about where the championship stands. “Santero is the leader, today he is the leader and if the championship ended he is the champion. We have to keep working,” he stated.
The challenge shifts immediately to the next round of Turismo Carretera, scheduled for November 14 and 15 at the Autódromo de Río Cuarto, a venue that hasn't hosted the premier category since 2012. It's a completely new puzzle for the field to solve, and consistency across different tracks remains the defining factor of the season. “It is clearly seen that certain packages predominate in every circuit we go to. There are packages that are predominating and that is what must be highlighted, let's hope it's us,” Chapur concluded.
