# 2012 LATAM Challenge Series

2012 LATAM Challenge Series season is the fifth season of LATAM Challenge Series. The season started on April 22 in Guadalajara, and will finish on November 25 in Puebla. There will be nine double events, seven in Mexico and two in United States (both in Texas). The defending champion Giancarlo Serenelli migrated to Auto GP and GP2.

## Drivers

The car will not have changes in this season. The cars were powered by 2019 cm$^3$ L4 Volkswagen FSI Motors. Tatuus chassis are used. Kumho Tires supplies the tires Kumho Ecsta.
| Team | Tires | No. | Driver(s) | Sponsor(s) | Rounds | Notes |
| A3 Energy Drink | K | 3 | André Solano | A3 Energy Drink | 1–5 | |
| A3 Energy Drink | K | 20 | James Adams | A3 Energy Drink | 1–2 | |
| A3 Energy Drink | K | 99 | Daniel Forcadell | A3 Energy Drink / Avante | 2–3 | Forcadell changed his team in the second round. |
| Team CSM | K | 7 | Martín Fuentes | Casino Palace | 1–5 | |
| Team CSM | K | 9 | Oscar Arroyo | Casino Palace | 1–5 | |
| Team CSM | K | 30 | Santiago Creel, Jr. | Roca Acero | 2–3, 5 | |
| Team CSM | K | 30 | Homero Richards | Roca Acero | 4 | |
| Team CSM | K | 60 | Rudy Camarillo | Roca Acero | 1–4 | |
| Team CSM | K | 60 | Homero Richards | Roca Acero | 5 | |
| RE Racing | K | 2 | Charlie Guerrero | Totis | 2–4 | |
| RE Racing | K | 4 | Antonio Apicella | Mindeporte | 1–5 | |
| RE Racing | K | 16 | Francisco Cerullo | Jackers | 1–5 | |
| RE Racing | K | 37 | Alan Chanoski | Herdez | 1–5 | |
| RE Racing | K | 39 | Jose Carlos Sandoval | Herdez | 2–5 | |
| RE Racing | K | 42 | Gabriel Iemma | PDVSA | 1–5 | |
| RE Racing | K | 52 | Sebastián Arriola | Guatemala | 1–5 | |
| RE Racing | K | 63 | José E. López | Constructora VIPA | 1–5 | |
| Megaracing | K | 99 | Daniel Forcadell | Avante | 1 | |
| Megaracing | K | 15 | Juan Camilo Acosta | TBA | 5 | |

### Team changes

* A3 Energy Drink entered to series with two Costa Rican drivers, the 2009 champion André Solano and James Adams.

### Driver changes
#### Leaving LATAM

* The three times champion, Giancarlo Serenelli, left the series to run in Auto GP World Series and GP2 Series.
* Alex Popow left the series to run in Rolex Sports Car Series.
* Diego Ferreira moved to Star Mazda Championship.
* Diego Menchaca left the series to run in Formula Renault BARC with Fortec Motorsport.

#### Mid-season changes

* Charlie Guerrero, son of the international driver Carlos Guerrero, debuted with RE Racing in the Round 2.

## Schedule

The 2012 schedule has two main changes; the Guadalajara and Aguascalientes races will be run, while Monterrey was dropped from the calendar.
| Round | Round | Race Title | Track | Date | Time | Time |
| Round | Round | Race Title | Track | Date | Local | UTC |
| 1 | R1 | Guadalajara | Autódromo Guadalajara, Guadalajara | April 22 | 16:28 | 21:28 |
| 1 | R2 | Guadalajara | Autódromo Guadalajara, Guadalajara | April 23 | 14:16 | 19:16 |
| 2 | R3 | San Luis Potosí | Autódromo San Luis 400, San Luis Potosí | May 20 | 14:40 | 19:40 |
| 2 | R5 | San Luis Potosí | Autódromo San Luis 400, San Luis Potosí | May 21 | 13:44 | 18:44 |
| 3 | R5 | Toluca | Circuito Centro Dinámico Pegaso, Toluca | June 10 | 14:45 | 19:45 |
| 3 | R6 | Toluca | Circuito Centro Dinámico Pegaso, Toluca | June 11 | 14:00 | 19:00 |
| 4 | R7 | Zacatecas | Autódromo Internacional de Zacatecas, Guadalupe | June 23 | TBA | TBA |
| 4 | R8 | Zacatecas | Autódromo Internacional de Zacatecas, Guadalupe | June 24 | TBA | TBA |
| 5 | R9 | Aguascalientes | Autódromo Internacional de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes | July 22 | TBA | TBA |
| 5 | R10 | Aguascalientes | Autódromo Internacional de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes | July 23 | TBA | TBA |
| 6 | R11 | Distrito Federal | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City | September 2 | TBA | TBA |
| 6 | R12 | Distrito Federal | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City | September 3 | TBA | TBA |
| 7 | R13 | Houston | MSR Houston, Angleton | October 14 | TBA | TBA |
| 7 | R14 | Houston | MSR Houston, Angleton | October 15 | TBA | TBA |
| 8 | R15 | Dallas | Eagles Canyon Raceway, Decatur | October 21 | TBA | TBA |
| 8 | R16 | Dallas | Eagles Canyon Raceway, Decatur | October 22 | TBA | TBA |
| 9 | R17 | Puebla | Autódromo Miguel E. Abed, Amozoc | November 25 | TBA | TBA |
| 9 | R18 | Puebla | Autódromo Miguel E. Abed, Amozoc | November 26 | TBA | TBA |

## Race results

| Race | Race | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winner | Team |
| 1 | Guadalajara | Francisco Cerullo | Rudy Camarillo | Rudy Camarillo | Team CSM |
| 2 | Guadalajara | | Francisco Cerullo | Francisco Cerullo | RE Racing |
| 3 | San Luis Potosí | Rudy Camarillo | Francisco Cerullo | André Solano | A3 Energy Drink |
| 4 | San Luis Potosí | | Martín Fuentes | Martín Fuentes | Team CSM |
| 5 | Toluca | Rudy Camarillo | Rudy Camarillo | Rudy Camarillo | Team CSM |
| 6 | Toluca | | | Juan Carlos Sandoval | RE Racing |
| 7 | Zacatecas | Francisco Cerullo | André Solano | Francisco Cerullo | RE Racing |
| 8 | Zacatecas | | | Alan Chanoski | RE Racing |
| 9 | Aguascalientes | André Solano | Francisco Cerullo | André Solano | A3 Energy Drink |
| 10 | Aguascalientes | | | Juan Carlos Sandoval | RE Racing |

## Race summaries
### Round 1: Guadalajara Grand Challenge

The season started in Autódromo Guadalajara. Rudy Camarillo won the first event (37:05.531, 121.05 km/h). In the second lap, Gabriel Iemma and Sebastián Arriola have a crash, both failed to continue the race. Francisco Cerullo finished in second place 2.964 seconds behind. Martín Fuentes in third place, 8.230 seconds behind Camarillo. The second race, the Venezuelan driver Francisco Cerullo took his maiden victory in the series (37:01.820, 121.25 km/h). Cerullo suffered a puncture in the last lap, but he drove to finished ahead by 5 seconds. The podium again was conformed by Camarillo and Fuentes. Camarillo and Cerullo shared the lead of the championship with 52 points.
Race 1 :
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 2 | 60 | Rudy Camarillo | Team CSM | 31 | 37:05.532 |
| 2 | 1 | 16 | Francisco Cerullo | RE Racing | 31 | +2.964 |
| 3 | 3 | 7 | Martín Fuentes | Team CSM | 31 | +8.230 |
| Race average speed: 121.05 km/h |||||||
| Lap Chart |||||||
Race 2 :
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 7 | 16 | Francisco Cerullo | RE Racing | 31 | 37:01.820 |
| 2 | 8 | 60 | Rudy Camarillo | Team CSM | 31 | + 5.220 |
| 3 | 6 | 7 | Martín Fuentes | Team CSM | 31 | +21.790 |
| Race average speed: 121.25 km/h |||||||
| Lap Chart |||||||

### Round 2: San Luis Potosí Grand Challenge

The second race took place in the Autódromo San Luis 400 in Tangamanga Park. Rudy Camarillo started in pole position. He took the lead for more than half of the race, but in the final laps was reversed by André Solano (38:39.519, 117.02 km/h), who finished in first place. Martín Fuentes came in third place, for third time in a row. James Adams had a crash with Francisco Cerullo leaving the Adams' car rear suspension broken. Camarillo accumulated 78 points, 8 ahead of Francisco Cerullo, who set the fastest lap. The second race Martín Fuentes took the lead after yellow flag (39:49.352, 109.68 km/h). Camarillo saw reduced his advantage over Cerullo to only 2 points.
Race 1 :
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | André Solano | A3 Energy Drink | 29 | 38:39.519 |
| 2 | 1 | 60 | Rudy Camarillo | Team CSM | 29 | + 0.878 |
| 3 | 4 | 7 | Martín Fuentes | Team CSM | 29 | +1.431 |
| Race average speed: 117.02 km/h |||||||
| Lap Chart |||||||
Race 2 :
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 6 | 7 | Martín Fuentes | Team CSM | 28 | 39:49.352 |
| 2 | 5 | 16 | Francisco Cerullo | RE Racing | 28 | + 0.832 |
| 3 | 7 | 60 | Rudy Camarillo | Team CSM | 28 | +1.963 |
| Race average speed: 109.68 km/h |||||||
| Lap Chart |||||||

### Round 3: Toluca Grand Challenge

The third round will be raced in the Circuito Centro Dinámico Pegaso, in Toluca. The Team CSM's driver Rudy Camarillo took the pole with lap record (0:58.965 119.05 km/h). José Carlos Sandoval will start in the front row. Rudy Camarillo won the first race leading all of the race. Juan Carlos Sandoval finished in second place followed by André Solano. Cerullo, the second in the championship, had an accident and lost positions finished in tenth place. In the race two, Martín Fuentes get the reversed pole, led the race until the lap 13. When Fuentes made a mistake, and fell to 7th place. Juan Carlos Sandoval reached the first place and won his first race in the season. Francisco Cerullo finished in second place and André Solano in third. After the third weekend, Rudy Camarillo stays in the top 22 points ahead of Francisco Cerullo.
Race 1 :
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 1 | 60 | Rudy Camarillo | Team CSM | 34 | 38:29.271 |
| 2 | 2 | 39 | Juan Carlos Sandoval | RE Racing | 34 | +2.561 |
| 3 | 6 | 3 | André Solano | A3 Energy Drink | 34 | +4.714 |
| Race average speed: 103.35 km/h |||||||
| Lap Chart |||||||
Race 2 :
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 7 | 39 | Juan Carlos Sandoval | RE Racing | 35 | 35:09.521 |
| 2 | 10 | 16 | Francisco Cerullo | RE Racing | 35 | +3.486 |
| 3 | 6 | 3 | André Solano | A3 Energy Drink | 35 | +26.001 |
| Race average speed: 116.47 km/h |||||||
| Lap Chart |||||||

### Round 4: Zacatecas Grand Challenge

The fourth round of the season will be in Zacatecas. The 2.04 km of length will be used.
Race 1 :
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 1 | 16 | Francisco Cerullo | RE Racing | 41 | 39:51.114 |
| 2 | 2 | 3 | André Solano | A3 Energy Drink | 41 | +0.271 |
| 3 | 8 | 60 | Rudy Camarillo | Team CSM | 41 | +8.203 |
| Race average speed: 125.92 km/h |||||||
| Lap Chart |||||||
Race 2 :
| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Laps |
| 1 | 9 | 37 | Alan Chanoski | RE Racing | 40 |
| 2 | 11 | 52 | Sebastián Arriola | RE Racing | 40 |
| 3 | 10 | 4 | Antonio Apicella | RE Racing | 40 |
| Race average speed |||||||
| Lap Chart |||||||

## Championship standings

| Rank | Driver | GDL | GDL | SLP | SLP | TOL | TOL | ZAC | ZAC | OAM | OAM | AHR | AHR | Pts |
| 1 | Francisco Cerullo | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 2 | | | 188 |
| 2 | André Solano | 4 | Ret | 1 | Ret | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 3 | | | 162 |
| 3 | Rudy Camarillo | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 12 | | | | | 156 |
| 4 | Jose Carlos Sandoval | | | 5 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 1 | | | 120 |
| 5 | Martín Fuentes | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 10 | | | 116 |
| 6 | Alan Chanoski | 10 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 5 | | | 86 |
| 7 | Sebastián Arriola | 9 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 6 | | | 72 |
| 8 | Antonio Apicella | 8 | 7 | Ret | 11 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 7 | | | 62 |
| 9 | Gabriel Iemma | Ret | 5 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 8 | | | 58 |
| 10 | Homero Richards | | | | | | | 12 | 9 | 2 | 4 | | | 38 |
| 11 | Oscar Arroyo | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 | | | 38 |
| 12 | James Adams | 5 | 4 | Ret | 7 | | | | | | | | | 30 |
| 13 | Charlie Guerrero | | | Ret | Ret | 7 | 12 | 8 | 4 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 7 | 26 |
| 14 | Daniel Forcadell | 7 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 11 | | | | | | | 16 |
| 15 | José E. López | Ret | 8 | DNS | Ret | 12 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 12 | | | 12 |
| 16 | Santiago Creel, Jr. | | | 9 | 12 | 14 | 13 | | | 8 | 11 | | | 10 |
| | Juan Camilo Acosta | | | | | | | | | 12 | 13 | | | 0 |
| References | References | | | | | | | | | | | |
Points are awarded to drivers on the following basis (regardless of whether the car is running at the end of the race):
| Position | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Saturday race Points | 30 | 24 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Sunday race Points | 24 | 20 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
Bonus points:
* 2 for Fastest Lap
* 2 for Pole Position