WTCR Race of Spain Esteban Guerrieri remains in contention for the 2020 WTCR – World Touring Car Cup after making it through three punishing races at Motorland Aragon to score a hat-trick of important points finishes.
The ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport driver finished 13th in race one, 10th in race two and ninth in race three as he and his fellow Honda Civic Type R TCR racers battled through the pack on a tough Sunday at the Spanish circuit.
That haul marked a strong recovery for 2019 WTCR runner-up Esteban, who had qualified 19th on Saturday – in part as a consequence of the 60kg compensation weight assigned to the car for the weekend.
Importantly, his run to ninth in race three also included an overtake on the standings leader, which allowed him to claw back two points in the title fight.
It means he lost only four points across the weekend – a fine example of damage limitation – and will therefore start the season finale second in the standings, 26 points from the summit.
Esteban’s team-mate Nestor Girolami also secured a top-10 finish in the opening race as he battled to keep his Honda Civic Type R TCR in touch with the frontrunners.
‘Bebu’ then made excellent starts in each of the day’s final two races; he gained a place off the line in race two to run eighth, ultimately dropping back to 11th to boost Esteban’s Championship prospects, while in race three he made up four positions at the start.
He was running seventh and among the leading contenders when the car behind lost control under braking and speared into the side of the Civic Type R TCR. That damaged the car’s front-left suspension and brought a promising race for Nestor to a premature finish.
ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport pair Tiago Monteiro and Attila Tassi also encountered early ends to their weekends in race three.
Tiago claimed 14th then 13th respectively in races one and two, showing a strong turn of pace to run with the top 10 at the beginning of both before ceding position to Esteban.
His final race was over almost as quickly as it began, however, as he struggled to get off the line and stopped soon after with a mechanical issue.
Attila meanwhile battled from lowly starting positions to bag points in the first two races, finishing 15th in race one and 14th in race two.
He was on for a third score in the finale before an engine issue midway through the race meant he retired on the spot.
There is now a two-week gap before the final round of the season, which will also be staged at Aragon following a late change to the calendar.
Eurosport Events, the WTCR promoter, announced on Saturday that the track would host another round of the 2020 season following confirmation that work to extend Adria International Raceway, where the finale was due to be staged, would not be completed in time for the 14-15 November weekend.
