Argentine Leonel Pernía won his first TCR Brasil title this Sunday (26). The Honda Racing driver secured the championship by finishing the decisive race of the fifth round, held at the Autódromo Velocitta, in Mogi Guaçu (SP), and highlighted the team’s work throughout the weekend, in addition to recognizing the balanced dispute with Raphael Reis.
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Pernía arrived at Velocitta three points behind Raphael Reis in the standings and needed to overcome his rival in the two races of the round to win the title. The mission was accomplished, crowning a consistent campaign and making the Argentine the first driver from his country to win the Brazilian TCR championship.
“I want to congratulate all of Honda Racing and also Raphael Reis, who had a great championship. We arrived at Velocitta three points behind him and knew it would be a very difficult dispute. The team did an excellent job throughout the weekend and our goal was to finish both races ahead of Raphael. We managed to fulfill this mission and win my first TCR Brasil title. I am very happy with this result,” celebrated the driver.
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The race that defined the championship was won by Pedro Cardoso, from G Racing Motorsport, while Fabricio Pezzini completed the podium. Pernía managed the necessary advantage to secure the title, also benefiting from Raphael Reis’s retirement in the first laps of the race.
With the result, Leonel Pernía ended the 2026 season with 286 points, ahead of Raphael Reis, runner-up with 262, and Pedro Cardoso, third with 216. The Argentine also made history as the first foreigner to win the TCR Brasil title, which until then had only been won by Brazilians: Galid Osman (2023), Pedro Cardoso (2024) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (2025).
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