That said, what a turnaround. Luciano Cotignola returned to TC Pista after missing a round and promptly drove his Sprint Racing Toyota Camry to a brilliant third-place finish in Rosario. After starting sixth in the final, he grabbed his best result of the year and proved that taking a step back can completely change your weekend.
Here is the thing: it has been a genuinely tough sportswise year for him, to the point where he doubted himself repeatedly and even thought mid-season that he would stop racing entirely. Thankfully, his brother Nico Cotignola stepped in and urged him to jump into karting. He finished second, won another, and the spark came right back. They even tackled the Panamericano de Karting, narrowly missing out on a win by just a single spot.
A veces hay que hacer una pausa, pensar el porqué, y capaz que por no andar bien me quería acelerar, frenar más adentro y todo. Así que contento por el trabajo hecho este fin de semana.
"Esperaba mucho este podio. Pensé que ya a mitad de año no seguiamos corriendo," Cotignola explained, noting how his brother rekindled his desire to compete. "Me dio las ganas de seguir viniendo Nico. Me dijo para ir a correr en karting, salí segundo, gané otra y ahí me empezó a agarrar el gustito."
Back home in Argentina, a crucial change of chassis turned everything around. Instead of forcing the car and over-driving when things went sideways, he learned to pause and analyze. "Cuando volvimos a la Argentina, cambiamos de chasista y se empezaron a dar las cosas," he said, reflecting on the weekend. "A veces hay que hacer una pausa, pensar el porqué, y capaz que por no andar bien me quería acelerar, frenar más adentro y todo. Así que contento por el trabajo hecho este fin de semana."
With 65 points now in the Copa de Plata, he is pushing himself into contention as a last-minute entry despite missing San Nicolás and skipping a total of four rounds this season. More than anything, he is thrilled for his Sprint Racing crew, who endured years of poor results before finally tasting success on this Rosario weekend. "Para las dos fechas que quedan nos motiva bastante, seguramente vamos a estar presentes en lo que queda," he stated, looking ahead to the final two rounds. "Contendo con este trabajo del equipo, que la verdad venían de años teniendo malos resultados y hoy que se les da, yo estoy más contentos por ellos que por mi la verdad."
