2023 Argentine Touring Car Series

[FIRE]

I watched the TN class 3 race.

Pretty easy win for Pernia. Jakos (didn't know he races in TN) was never a really threat.

I think for battle for victory it would be better if Castellano and Urcera had closed the gap earlier.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by TuteZaek

Confirmed that the "ex Chevrolet" team is fielded as YPF Elaion Pro Racing, and their Cruzes looks almost the same as last year: [/IMG]

So it's Lincoln racing as Pro Racing? Confusing...
Does YPF own the Pro Racing name?

[TuteZaek]

Originally Posted by FIRE

So it's Lincoln racing as Pro Racing? Confusing...
Does YPF own the Pro Racing name?

No, Pro Racing is/was a team who also owned/rented the Pro Racing complex in Cordoba where the cars were made, along others.
After Chevrolet got out of racing in Argentina, they needed a heavy reestructuring, and they ended in the Lincoln team workshop (itself a cooperative formed after the colapse of the LSG after Cuervo's, the owner, retirement) and with the Lincoln mechanics and technics as personnel. A fusion of sorts.
Kinda the same as how now FDL/Scarazzini is in charge of the Hondas, that are still under the RV team.

Given that in the livery anouncement AREA 75 said it was made together with TANGO agencia and the TC2000 i'll asume the series has much to do with the change and the fact that the team remains in the grid. Good for the Levys.

Also good for YPF for staying as sponsor, but they sponsor more than half of the grid (4 Toyotas, 4 Hondas, and the 2 Pro racing Cruzes, with the possibility that the teams add more cars) i don't know if actually matters for them.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by TuteZaek

Also good for YPF for staying as sponsor, but they sponsor more than half of the grid (4 Toyotas, 4 Hondas, and the 2 Pro racing Cruzes, with the possibility that the teams add more cars) i don't know if actually matters for them.

I was wondering about this. Why is YPF so heavily involved or do they have big business connections with the Levys?

[TuteZaek]

Originally Posted by FIRE

I was wondering about this. Why is YPF so heavily involved or do they have big business connections with the Levys?

YPF is always involved, in some form or another, in the racing scene in Argentina, and they tend to not put all their eggs on a single basket, they sponsored both Ford's and Chevrolet's works teams for years in TC2000.
Last year they went with Toyota for all the series, from Santero's TN C3, to Rossi's Stock Car entry, while mantaining Chevrolet for TC2000.


Honda seems like the Chevrolet replacement, this time against the eternal rivals Toyota... while they maintain the Pro Racing sponsorship just to not crash the series.

[NaBUru38]

Fun fact: the Lincoln workshop is located in Lincoln, a town near Junin and 9 de Julio.

[NaBUru38]

YPF is a majority state company, therefore they are willing to spend money to advertise themselves, especially in provinces where the governor is from the same party as the country's president...

[TuteZaek]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

YPF is a majority state company, therefore they are willing to spend money to advertise themselves, especially in provinces where the governor is from the same party as the country's president...

Nah, thats bullshit, if there was that, YPF would not touch the TC2000 with a 20km stick. TC2000 is still heavilly asociated with the Clarin group, one of the main promoters of the reprivatization of everything.

In fact, whats most surprising to me is that Shell is the "Fuel Sponsor" of the TC


YPF and the TC2000 teams go really far back, from the start in the 80s, and they produced some of the best liveries, and was there even durin the Repsol-YPF era producing a beautifull livery that isn't well loved in our country



Another pair of iconic YPF liveries that ran together:

And Traverso's Fuego that still looks like a Sci Fi Car:

[NaBUru38]

Originally Posted by TuteZaek

YPF was there even durin the Repsol-YPF era producing a beautifull livery that isn't well loved in our country

Wow, I had never seen it. I agree it's pretty good.

[mountainstar]

Haven't watched too much this year but it seems TC2000 and Top Race are floundering while all the Turismo Carretera series are doing well enough.

[TuteZaek]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Haven't watched too much this year but it seems TC2000 and Top Race are floundering while all the Turismo Carretera series are doing well enough.

The ACTC series and the TN are doing well, the TC2000 is in a bad position now, the start of the season was bad.

This week is the start of the Top Race season, in Buenos Aires, still not official info on number of cars, but most of the last year top drivers remain.
The V8s are on hold and nothing much is talked about them, but there is a "Series" car that will be using Mustang decals, Norberto Groso, the driver, always tend to use "weird" models for the decals, having driven a "Subaru"
As far as looks go... i think its a failure.

Edit: The side profile remains the same

[FIRE]

It doesn't look great...

[TuteZaek]

I was rewatching the TC series and final race and it just came to me the fact that the 2022 TC Pista Champion Fritzler basically retired 2009 Champion Emanuel Moriatis, the boy is so fast its ridiculous.
Moriatis did not have this kind of performance in years, now it shows why he decided to step down to a partial programme for 2023

[TuteZaek]

Ok... things are moving: The TC2000 SUV program got Gustavo Estrada, techical director of the aero deparment of AMG on board for the development... which is truly good news, but weird, because the SUVs were suposedly already in development by the teams and were to debut this year... whatever, is a big name with a big curriculum.

On the TC side, Mazzacane talked on Carburando about the 2024 incorporation of the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger, he said that the ACTC is working on that since last year and that they prefer to "do rather than talk"

And finally, the TRV8 prototype was exhibited in the Expo Agro agricultural exhibition (Along all other Tango "products": The TC2000 Corolla, a CARX Agile and a Formula Nacional 2.0 car.

[NaBUru38]

Turismo Nacional at Rio Gallegos:

1. Julian Santero (Toyota)
2. Manuel Mallo (Chevrolet)
3. Jerónimo Teti (Chevrolet)
4. Gastón Iansa (Ford)
5. Juan Manuel Urcera (Ford)
6. Leonel Pernia (Ford)
7. Andrés Jakos (Toyota)
8. Facundo Chapur (Ford)
9. Juan Bautista de Benedictis (Ford)
10. Joel Gassman (Chevrolet)

Top Race at Buenos Aires:

1. Josito di Palma (Fiat)
2. Diego Azar (Lexus)
3. Marcelo Ciarrocchi (Ford)
4. Gastón Rossi (Lexus)
5. Tomás Cingolani (Lexus)
6. Kevin Felippo (Mercedes-Benz)

[NaBUru38]

Meanwhile in New Orleans, Mariano Werner had mechanical issues on his Trans-Am Ford.

[Adamcas87]

Not caught up with the Turismo Nacional racing yet but the Top Race was a real Struggle to watch

[TuteZaek]

So... the ACTC ladder has become a little more complex: now the TC Pista Pick Up (what a mouthfull! get someone to work in your series names ACTC!!) Champion and second place will get a pass for the TC Pick Up (thats normal) and also the TC Pista, and, whats interesting, in the case of ending in the top 10 of the TC Pista championship that year, they would earn the proper TC pass.

That put the TC Mouras and TC Pista Mouras in a kinda iffy position (basically both the Pick ups and the Mouras are alternatives to start the ladder)

Whats more, this could mean that a lot of drivers could go TC Pista Pick Up (and the bigger Pick Up series in consequence) which... taking into account the calendars...would mean more troubles for TC2000

[NaBUru38]

If understand this correctly, the ACTC wants the top TC Pista drivers to join TC Pista Pick Up.

[FIRE]

As long there are enough drivers I don't think there's a problem. Same for different paths to the main TC series.

TC2000 is in trouble anyway.

[FIRE]

I know Mercedes and Lexus are involved in Top Race, do Audi and BMW have no interest in racing? Mix of TC2000 and TR rules so sort of TC2000 cars but RWD, powered by the TR 3L engine: TC3000. A series more aimed at premium brands.

[TuteZaek]

Originally Posted by FIRE

I know Mercedes and Lexus are involved in Top Race, do Audi and BMW have no interest in racing? Mix of TC2000 and TR rules so sort of TC2000 cars but RWD, powered by the TR 3L engine: TC3000. A series more aimed at premium brands.

The TRV6 had a BMW 5 series silhouette some time ago but was let out before the first evolution of the bodywork, idk if it was because the brand wasn't keen, but i remember rumours that it had bad aero compared to others
At first the V6 had a lot of brands and models: Ford Mondeo, Chevrolet Vectra (Gustavo Tadei had a bit of a fight with GM about using the "New Vectra" bodywork), Alfa Romeo 156, BMW 5 series, Mercedes C, Citroen C5, VW Passat and CC.

As for the future: The situation is dire, in my view, with the possible/eventual modernization of the TC, the future is turning bleak.

[TuteZaek]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

If understand this correctly, the ACTC wants the top TC Pista drivers to join TC Pista Pick Up.

I feel its more directed to the "outsiders" that don't want to go to the "regional" TC Mouras so they can point their guns to arriving fast to the TC, like Barrio, Iansa and/or eventually Montenegro
The top TC pista drivers should be racing on the TC Pick Up, and most do.

[TuteZaek]

Another TC special race, and another polemic.
It was a nice race, a lot of things happened, but the ending was kinda of a bust.
I get the Landa penalty... but it was too late.

Also: Toyota needs another motorist, thats two races fighting for the win and two broken engines.

[NaBUru38]

Knowing the long history of the ACTC, it's certainly suspicious that Marcos Landa was penalized ten laps after the incident an on the last lap of a short time track. At the very least it was incompetence by the stewards.

Speaking of the incident itself, the flagman was really far from the track. These Argentine tracks should have guardrails closer to the track outside of runoff areas in corners. And there should be two flagman posts on the braking spots, about 20 meters from the white line.