TCR World and life

32 SOUTH AMERICA TCR South America's second consecutive visit to Uruguay ended with Rodrigo Baptista scoring a double victory at El Pinar (above) that propelled him to the top of the standings. After setting pole position, the Cobra Racing driver led Race 1 from the start, while Pepe Oriola squeezed between Rodrigo Pfuckler’s Hyundai and the pit wall, moving into second. The Spaniard followed Baptista throughout the whole race but couldn't get close enough to threaten him. In the final laps, Pflucker dropped to seventh and so José Manuel Sapag took the final spot on the podium ahead of Oriola's teammate Raphael Reis. In the second race, Pablo Otero led from pole on the reversed grid, but soon Oriola passed Otero's teammate Cyro Fontes for second and then took the lead on lap 3 (centre right). Baptista recovered after starting from P10 and moved up to second on lap 5 when he overtook Otero. Soon afterwards, Oriola retired with a broken front suspension, which elevated Baptista into the lead. The Brazilian then cruised for the rest of the race, with Otero following in second. Just as in Race 1, Sapag was able to complete the podium ahead of Pflucker (bottom right). As a result of his two wins and Oriola’s retirement, Baptista has moved into the lead of the standings and has an 8-point advantage over Oriola. Reis is third, 47 points behind. Round 6 – Saturday 2 October, Autódromo Víctor Borrat Fabini, El Pinar 1. R. Baptista (Cobra Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS); 2. P. Oriola (W2 Racing, Honda Civic Type R FK7); 3. JM. Sapag (Squadra Martino, Honda Civic Type R FK7) Round 7 – Sunday 3 October, Autódromo Víctor Borrat Fabini, El Pinar 1. R. Baptista (Cobra Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS); 2. P. Otero (PMO Motorsport, Lynk & Co 03); 3. JM. Sapag (Squadra Martino, Honda Civic Type R FK7) THE BRAZILIANWINS TWICE AT EL PINAR AND TAKES ADVANTAGE OF PEPE ORIOLA’S RETIREMENT IN RACE 2 Rodrigo Baptistamoves intothe series lead