# 2023 El Pinar TCR World Tour round

The 2023 El Pinar TCR World Tour round was the fifth round of 2023 TCR World Tour. It was held on 18–20 August 2023 at the Autódromo Víctor Borrat Fabini in El Pinar, Uruguay. The event was also the sixth round of 2023 TCR South America Touring Car Championship. Santiago Urrutia scored pole position for Cyan Racing Lynk&Co. Urrutia managed to keep his lead, winning the first race. Urrutia's teammate Ma Qing Hua won the second race after leading from the start, scoring his first win of the season.

## Entry list

A total of 30 cars have been entered, including entries from TCR World Tour and TCR South America.
| Team | Car | No. | Drivers |
| Paladini Racing | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2017) | 1 | Fabricio Pezzini |
| Paladini Racing | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 2 | Juan Ángel Rosso |
| Paladini Racing | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 5 | Fabián Yannantuoni |
| PMO Motorsport | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 8 | Rafael Suzuki |
| Cobra Racing Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 10 | Adalberto Baptista |
| Alfa Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR | 13 | Carlos Silva |
| Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 15 | Enrique Maglione |
| Toyota Team Argentina | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 17 | Bernardo Llaver |
| Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 23 | Ignacio Montenegro |
| PMO Motorsport | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 24 | Frederick Balbi |
| W2 ProGP | CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR | 28 | Galid Osman |
| Toyota Team Argentina | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 33 | José Manuel Sapag |
| Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 34 | Fabio Casagrande |
| PMO Racing | Peugeot 308 TCR | 35 | Gonzalo Reilly |
| PMO Racing | Peugeot 308 TCR | 36 | Damián Fineschi |
| Scuderia Chiarelli | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 43 | Pedro Cardoso |
| Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 60 | Juan Manuel Casella |
| Cobra Racing Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 70 | Diego Nunes |
| W2 ProGP | CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR | 77 | Raphael Reis |
| Bratton Tito Bessone Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 86 | Esteban Guerrieri |
| Alfa Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR | 90 | Michell Bonnin |
| BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 105 | Norbert Michelisz |
| Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 111 | Thed Björk |
| Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 112 | Santiago Urrutia |
| Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | 122 | Frédéric Vervisch |
| Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FL5) | 129 | Néstor Girolami |
| Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 155 | Ma Qing Hua |
| Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 168 | Yann Ehrlacher |
| Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | 179 | Robert Huff |
| BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 196 | Mikel Azcona |
| Source: ||||

## Results
### Qualifying

Due to the circuit being short and 30 cars entered, the Q1 qualifying session was separated into 2 groups. Top 6 drivers from each group were eligible to compete in Q2 session.
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Car | Group | Q1 Time | Q2 Time | Points |
| 1 | 112 | Santiago Urrutia | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | B | 1:20.300 | 1:19.800 | 15 |
| 2 | 111 | Thed Björk | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | B | 1:19.917 | 1:19.885 | 10 |
| 3 | 129 | Néstor Girolami | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FL5) | A | 1:20.810 | 1:20.118 | 8 |
| 4 | 105 | Norbert Michelisz | BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | B | 1:20.361 | 1:20.200 | 6 |
| 5 | 122 | Frédéric Vervisch | Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | A | 1:20.875 | 1:20.457 | 4 |
| 6 | 179 | Robert Huff | Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | B | 1:20.852 | 1:20.457 | 2 |
| 7 | 60 | Juan Manuel Casella | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | A | 1:20.810 | 1:20.733 | |
| 8 | 196 | Mikel Azcona | BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | A | 1:20.545 | 1:20.846 | |
| 9 | 168 | Yann Ehrlacher | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | A | 1:20.443 | 1:20.922 | |
| 10 | 155 | Ma Qing Hua | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | A | 1:20.871 | 1:21.162 | |
| 11 | 23 | Ignacio Montenegro | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | B | 1:21.389 | 1:21.209 | |
| 12 | 86 | Esteban Guerrieri | Bratton Tito Bessone Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | B | 1:21.054 | 1:21.356 | |
| 13 | 2 | Juan Ángel Rosso | Paladini Racing | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | A | 1:21.365 | - | |
| 14 | 28 | Galid Osman | W2 ProGP | CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR | B | 1:21.405 | - | |
| 15 | 8 | Rafael Suzuki | PMO Motorsport | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | A | 1:21.563 | - | |
| 16 | 77 | Raphael Reis | W2 ProGP | CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR | A | 1:21.716 | - | |
| 17 | 24 | Frederick Balbi | PMO Motorsport | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | B | 1:21.834 | - | |
| 18 | 17 | Bernardo Llaver | Toyota Team Argentina | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | B | 1:21.854 | - | |
| 19 | 43 | Pedro Cardoso | Scuderia Chiarelli | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | B | 1:22.004 | - | |
| 20 | 15 | Enrique Maglione | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | B | 1:22.170 | - | |
| 21 | 5 | Fabián Yannantuoni | Paladini Racing | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | A | 1:22.186 | - | |
| 22 | 1 | Fabricio Pezzini | Paladini Racing | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2017) | B | 1:22.456 | - | |
| 23 | 70 | Diego Nunes | Cobra Racing Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | A | 1:22.574 | - | |
| 24 | 33 | José Manuel Sapag | Toyota Team Argentina | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | B | 1:22.819 | - | |
| 25 | 34 | Fabio Casagrande | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | B | 1:23.278 | - | |
| 26 | 35 | Gonzalo Reilly | PMO Racing | Peugeot 308 TCR | B | 1:23.403 | - | |
| 27 | 13 | Carlos Silva | Alfa Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR | A | 1:24.112 | - | |
| 28 | 10 | Adalberto Baptista | Cobra Racing Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | A | 1:25.177 | - | |
| 29 | 36 | Damián Fineschi | PMO Racing | Peugeot 308 TCR | A | No time set | - | |
| 30 | 90 | Michell Bonnin | Alfa Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR | A | No time set | - | |
| Source: |||||||||

### Race 1

Santiago Urrutia managed to keep his lead after the start, with teammate Thed Björk right behind him. Fabricio Pezzini and Carlos Silva made contact at the back of the field, resulting in the latter retiring. Girolami overtook Björk in the early part of the race, but later made dropped behind both Björk and Frédéric Vervisch, where he would remain for the rest of the race. Raphael Reis pulled into the pit lane on lap 4 with smoke coming under the hood of his Cupra, leading to his retirement. Enrique Maglione retired on the same lap due to damage done to the front of his Honda. Yann Ehrlacher eventually caught the group and attempted to attack Michelisz for 5th place, but unsuccessfully and both of them lost time doing so. This allowed Girolami a chance to attack Vervisch for 3rd place with no threat from behind, but the Honda driver made a mistake and compromised his chances for a podium finish. Fabián Yannantuoni came into the pit lane to retire with possible suspension damage following an accident. Björk started to close in on Urrutia, but remained 2nd, allowing his teammate to take a victory on home soil. Further down the order, Esteban Guerrieri passed Juan Ángel Rosso for 12th place on the final straight, with just 0.019 seconds separating them at the finish line. Ignacio Montenegro claimed the win in TCR South America, finishing 10th overall.
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 112 | Santiago Urrutia | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 20 | 27:29.487 | 1 | 30 |
| 2 | 111 | Thed Björk | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 20 | +0.479 | 2 | 25 |
| 3 | 122 | Frédéric Vervisch | Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | 20 | +3.131 | 5 | 22 |
| 4 | 129 | Néstor Girolami | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FL5) | 20 | +3.544 | 3 | 20 |
| 5 | 105 | Norbert Michelisz | BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 20 | +4.184 | 4 | 18 |
| 6 | 168 | Yann Ehrlacher | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 20 | +5.633 | 9 | 16 |
| 7 | 179 | Robert Huff | Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | 20 | +14.938 | 6 | 14 |
| 8 | 196 | Mikel Azcona | BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 20 | +16.420 | 8 | 12 |
| 9 | 155 | Ma Qing Hua | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 20 | +20.037 | 10 | 10 |
| 10 | 23 | Ignacio Montenegro | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 20 | +21.409 | 11 | 8 |
| 11 | 60 | Juan Manuel Casella | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 20 | +22.408 | 7 | 6 |
| 12 | 86 | Esteban Guerrieri | Bratton Tito Bessone Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 20 | +23.985 | 12 | 4 |
| 13 | 2 | Juan Ángel Rosso | Paladini Racing | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 20 | +24.004 | 13 | 3 |
| 14 | 17 | Bernardo Llaver | Toyota Team Argentina | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 20 | +25.995 | 18 | 2 |
| 15 | 8 | Rafael Suzuki | PMO Motorsport | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 20 | +29.452 | 15 | 1 |
| 16 | 28 | Galid Osman | W2 ProGP | CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR | 20 | +34.223 | 14 | |
| 17 | 24 | Frederick Balbi | PMO Motorsport | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 20 | +35.108 | 16 | |
| 18 | 43 | Pedro Cardoso | Scuderia Chiarelli | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 20 | +41.317 | 20 | |
| 19 | 33 | José Manuel Sapag | Toyota Team Argentina | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 20 | +48.163 | 26 | |
| 20 | 70 | Diego Nunes | Cobra Racing Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 20 | +48.534 | 21 | |
| 21 | 1 | Fabricio Pezzini | Paladini Racing | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2017) | 20 | +1:01.778 | 24 | |
| 22 | 35 | Gonzalo Reilly | PMO Racing | Peugeot 308 TCR | 20 | +1:02.672 | 28 | |
| 23 | 10 | Adalberto Baptista | Cobra Racing Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 19 | +1 lap | 25 | |
| 24 | 34 | Fabio Casagrande | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 18 | +2 laps | 27 | |
| 25 | 5 | Fabián Yannantuoni | Paladini Racing | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 13 | Accident damage | 19 | |
| 26 | 15 | Enrique Maglione | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 4 | Accident damage | 22 | |
| 27 | 77 | Raphael Reis | W2 ProGP | CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR | 4 | Mechanical | 17 | |
| 28 | 13 | Carlos Silva | Alfa Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR | 1 | Accident | 23 | |
| Fastest lap: Santiago Urrutia, lap time 1:20.774 / Source: |||||||||

### Race 2

The top 10 from qualifying is reversed for the race 2 grid.
Ma Qing Hua kept his lead after the start. Azcona collided with Ehrlacher right after the start, claiming 2nd place. Enrique Maglione received a drive-through penalty for driving a damaged car, as seemingly it wasn't fixed after his Race 1 accident. Safety car was brought out on lap 7, due to one of the drivers knocking over a tyre barrier. Race was resumed on lap 10, with Ma Qing Hua remaining in the lead, followed by Azcona, Ehrlacher and both Comtoyou drivers. Ignacio Montenegro retired due a wheel coming loose on his Honda on lap 13. Michelisz, Girolami and Björk were fighting for 6th place, but made several contacts on lap 15, with Girolami and Michelisz both overtaken by Urrutia. The Safety Car came out right after, because Gonzalo Reilly stopped his Peugeot on track. Ma Qing Hua made a perfect restart yet again, staying ahead of Azcona for the final two laps and claiming a victory. During an interview, he claimed the race was a highlight of his career, because he a became a first Chinese driver to win a world championship event driving a Chinese car.
| Pos. | No. | Name | Team | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 155 | Ma Qing Hua | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 21 | 32:14.778 | 1 | 30 |
| 2 | 196 | Mikel Azcona | BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 21 | +0.685 | 3 | 25 |
| 3 | 168 | Yann Ehrlacher | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 21 | +2.344 | 2 | 22 |
| 4 | 179 | Robert Huff | Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | 21 | +3.160 | 5 | 20 |
| 5 | 122 | Frédéric Vervisch | Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2021) | 21 | +3.587 | 6 | 18 |
| 6 | 112 | Santiago Urrutia | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 21 | +4.925 | 10 | 16 |
| 7 | 105 | Norbert Michelisz | BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 21 | +5.469 | 7 | 14 |
| 8 | 129 | Néstor Girolami | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FL5) | 21 | +6.082 | 8 | 12 |
| 9 | 111 | Thed Björk | Cyan Racing Lynk&Co | Lynk & Co 03 FL TCR | 21 | +9.304 | 9 | 10 |
| 10 | 86 | Esteban Guerrieri | Bratton Tito Bessone Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 21 | +10.594 | 12 | 8 |
| 11 | 2 | Juan Ángel Rosso | Paladini Racing | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 21 | +12.351 | 13 | 6 |
| 12 | 8 | Rafael Suzuki | PMO Motorsport | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 21 | +12.933 | 15 | 4 |
| 13 | 60 | Juan Manuel Casella | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 21 | +13.432 | 4 | 3 |
| 14 | 24 | Frederick Balbi | PMO Motorsport | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 21 | +13.721 | 16 | 2 |
| 15 | 77 | Raphael Reis | W2 ProGP | CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR | 21 | +14.466 | 17 | 1 |
| 16 | 17 | Bernardo Llaver | Toyota Team Argentina | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 21 | +14.694 | 18 | |
| 17 | 28 | Galid Osman | W2 ProGP | CUPRA Leon Competicion TCR | 21 | +14.924 | 14 | |
| 18 | 70 | Diego Nunes | Cobra Racing Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 21 | +15.676 | 20 | |
| 19 | 1 | Fabricio Pezzini | Paladini Racing | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (2017) | 21 | +17.043 | 21 | |
| 20 | 5 | Fabián Yannantuoni | Paladini Racing | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 21 | +19.039 | 19 | |
| 21 | 33 | José Manuel Sapag | Toyota Team Argentina | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 21 | +20.303 | 23 | |
| 22 | 43 | Pedro Cardoso | Scuderia Chiarelli | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 21 | +21.404 | 26 | |
| 23 | 34 | Fabio Casagrande | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 21 | +23.794 | 24 | |
| 24 | 10 | Adalberto Baptista | Cobra Racing Team | Toyota GR Corolla Sport TCR | 21 | +26.131 | 22 | |
| 25 | 13 | Carlos Silva | Alfa Racing | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR | 21 | +27.204 | 27 | |
| 26 | 15 | Enrique Maglione | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 18 | +3 laps | 28 | |
| 27 | 35 | Gonzalo Reilly | PMO Racing | Peugeot 308 TCR | 16 | Retired | 25 | |
| 28 | 23 | Ignacio Montenegro | Squadra Martino | Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) | 13 | Lost wheel | 11 | |
| Fastest lap: Mikel Azcona, lap time 1:20.797 / Source: |||||||||
* ^1 – Thed Björk received a 5-second time penalty for causing a collision with Norbert Michelisz. As a result, he dropped from 6th place to 9th.

## Standings after the round
### Drivers' championship standings

| Pos | Driver | Points | Change |
| 1 | Yann Ehrlacher | 235 | |
| 2 | Norbert Michelisz | 215 | |
| 3 | Mikel Azcona | 205 | |
| 4 | Robert Huff | 197 | |
| 5 | Thed Björk | 190 | 1 |

### Teams' championship standings

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Cyan Racing Lynk & Co | 546 |
| 2 | BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse | 430 |
| 3 | Audi Sport Team Comtoyou | 401 |
| 4 | ALM Motorsport | 182 |
| 5 | Comtoyou Racing | 148 |