Two rounds of the five Copa de Oro finales are officially in the books, and Turismo Carretera just delivered a wild weekend in San Nicolás. Ignacio Faín grabbed his first-ever win in the series, while the championship lead shifted dramatically to Facundo Chapur following a disastrous transmission failure for Mariano Werner on lap 11. With seven of the top ten finishers coming straight from the Copa contenders, it was a massive day for some and a total nightmare for others as the series looks ahead to Rosario.
Everything aligned for Faín this weekend. The Torino driver was sublime, securing his maiden pole by two decimals over second and winning his heat. Forced to start on the outside alongside Julián Santero, Faín conceded the initial launch, but the two leaders quickly checked out from the pack. Just as victory seemed locked down for Santero, his BMW dropped onto five cylinders, handing the win directly to Faín on a silver platter. Behind the madness, Chapur drove a textbook race. Starting sixth after taking second in his heat, the Córdoba native methodically carved through the field and pounced on Santero's wounded machine with just three laps remaining to take second place. That stellar result rockets Chapur to the top of the standings with 82,5 points, bolstered by his previous victory in his native Córdoba. Meanwhile, Otto Fritzler played the long game once again, converting a fifth-place grid spot into a solid fourth-place finish without a front-running machine. That intelligent drive puts Fritzler third in the Copa with 78 points, backed by his earlier win in Posadas.
Further down the order, several drivers found themselves in a frustrating middle ground of decent points but lost ground to the leaders. Matías Rossi won his second heat and started third, but his car lacked pace in the final and he slipped to sixth, though the 34 points salvage a 12th place in the standings with 36 points after his San Luis disaster. Christian Ledesma kept a low profile in his Chevrolet Camaro, quietly climbing from eighth on the grid to seventh at the flag to sit tenth overall with 48 units. Jonatan Castellano bounced back from a miserable 17th-place qualifying effort—over a second off the pace—by advancing in his heat and driving his Dodge forward to eighth, though he remains eighth in the Copa with 58,5 points. Agustín Canapino struggled for competitive pace all day, slipping backward from ninth on the grid to cross tenth, leaving the Arrecifes driver fifth in the championship. Juan Pablo Gianini fought through a disastrous seventh-place heat that forced him to start 19th, but great pace in his Ford Mustang saw him charge all the way to 11th, putting him 13th in the Copa with 31 points.
Then came the disaster zone for those needing to salvage their championship bids. José Manuel Urcera lacked solid speed from his tenth-place grid spot and leaked positions all race to finish 13th, leaving him 14th in the standings with 30,5 points and virtually out of the title picture. Mauricio Lambiris endured a rough debut with Jerónimo Teti's team, qualifying 18th and crawling home 20th in the Mustang to sit dead last among the 13 classified drivers with just 20,5 points. José Hernán Palazzo salvaged 23rd after starting 28th following a dreadful 34th-place qualifying day, leaving him 11th in the Copa with 37 points. Marcos Landa saw his weekend ruined by a penalty in his heat for a dangerous maneuver against Di Palma and Lambiris, dropping him to a 28th-place finish from 29th on the grid, which leaves the Uruguayan 15th with 30 units.
The biggest heartbreak of the day belonged to Werner. The Paraná driver arrived at San Nicolás leading the points and carrying 35 kilos of ballast. Starting seventh, he was comfortably collecting vital points before a sudden transmission failure on lap 11 forced him into retirement. He now sits sixth in the Copa with 59 points, suddenly facing a 23,5-point deficit to Chapur. With 141 points still on the table across the remaining three rounds of the Copa de Oro Río Uruguay Seguros, mathematical comebacks are still on, but time is running out fast for the backmarkers.
