What a drive by Otto Fritzler. The driver from San Miguel wrestled his Mercedes Benz—run by the Prestige Auto Racing Team and prepared by the Maquin Parts—to a brilliant fourth-place finish this weekend in San Nicolás. More importantly, he sits a mere 4,5 points away from the championship leader Facundo Chapur with just three rounds left in the season.
The weekend started with genuine speed. Fritzler qualified third, ending up just two tenths behind Facundo Chapur. That put him starting first in the third heat alongside Matías Rossi, who made a brave outside move to pass the Mercedes.
El auto lo fuimos mejorando para la final, pero siempre hay para mejorar. Rescato eso porque no éramos el auto más rápido y contundente, pero bueno, habrá trabajo que hacer,
When the main grid locked in, Fritzler found himself sharing the third row with Facundo Chapur. “Quedamos en un puesto de largada difícil para avanzar por el ritmo que había de los autos, y quizá iba apenas más lento por derecho. Si bien nos reponemos después frenando, a la hora de correr se hace difícil, así que hicimos una buena carrera,” he reflected.
Things got properly hectic at the start, as both Facundo Chapur and Mariano Werner managed to push past him, dropping the Mercedes down to sixth position. “Mariano me atacó con todo, se tiró por afuera, intentó hacerme tijeras con Rossi adelante que venía a su ritmo,” Fritzler explained regarding the early chaos. But instead of folding, he dug deep and found a relentless pace to claw his way forward.
The race turned when Mariano Werner retired on lap 11. That let Fritzler launch into a fierce battle with Matías Rossi. “Cuando se queda Werner aprovechó, me empiezo a tirar con vehemencia, quizás tomando el riesgo de perder un poco de tiempo si salía mal la maniobra, que antes no lo podía hacer. Después Matías (Rossi) se pasó un poco en la última curva y lo pude capitalizar,” he said.
That opportunistic move opened the floodgates. With a genuinely strong machine beneath him, he made his way past his teammate Diego Azar and chased down Julián Santero—who was struggling with a failing car—coming within a hair of catching him before the checkered flag. “Después tenía un ritmo bastante contundente, que pude avanzar sobre mi compañero Diego Azar y por poco no llegué a Julián Santero, que venía fallando, pero bueno, puse todo y corrí a fondo toda la carrera,” Otto noted after securing vital points for the Copa de Oro, a phase where he already holds a crucial race victory.
Remarkably, the machine itself wasn't the absolute class of the field this weekend. Fritzler was frank about the car's speed, noting that the squad improved it for the final but acknowledging the deficit. “El auto lo fuimos mejorando para la final, pero siempre hay para mejorar. Rescato eso porque no éramos el auto más rápido y contundente, pero bueno, habrá trabajo que hacer,” he admitted. Now, the battle moves to Rosario, where Otto intends to keep the pressure right on the top of the standings.
