Current champion Leonel Pernía started the 2026 TCR South America season with a victory in Race 1 held at the Circuito dos Cristais, in Curvelo (MG). The race officially opened the championship on March 8 and was marked by intense heat, with temperatures above 30 °C throughout the weekend.
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The Argentine built the result with a consistent performance, controlling the pace throughout the 17 laps and dealing with the high tire wear caused by the high temperatures. Behind him, fellow Argentine Néstor Girolami finished in second position. The podium was completed by Juan Ángel Rosso.
After the race, Pernía highlighted the importance of the start for achieving the triumph: “The most important moment of the weekend was the start of the first race because we didn’t know how ‘Bebu’ would start with the Hyundai. We managed to start well, position ourselves in front and resist until the end to take the victory,” he stated.
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In Race 2 of the weekend, Pernía crossed the finish line in seventh place, but received a 20-second penalty that demoted him to 15th place in the final result.
The victory in the first race was also valid for TCR Brazil. Currently, Pernía occupies fourth place in the South American championship and third place in the Brazilian one.
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