2012 LATAM Challenge Series explained

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 cm³ L4 Volkswagen FSI Motors. Tatuus chassis are used. Kumho Tires supplies the tires Kumho Ecsta.^[1]

Team	Tires	No.	Driver(s)	Sponsor(s)	Rounds	Notes
A3 Energy Drink		3	André Solano	A3 Energy Drink	1–5
20	James Adams	1–2
99	Daniel Forcadell	A3 Energy Drink / Avante	2–3	Forcadell changed his team in the second round.
Team CSM		7	Martín Fuentes	Casino Palace	1–5
9	Oscar Arroyo	1–5
30	Santiago Creel, Jr.	Roca Acero	2–3, 5
Homero Richards	4
60	Rudy Camarillo		1–4
Homero Richards	5
RE Racing		2	Charlie Guerrero	Totis	2–4
4	Antonio Apicella	Mindeporte	1–5
16	Francisco Cerullo	Jackers	1–5
37	Alan Chanoski	Herdez	1–5
39	Jose Carlos Sandoval		2–5
42	Gabriel Iemma	PDVSA	1–5
52	Sebastián Arriola	Guatemala	1–5
63	José E. López	Constructora VIPA	1–5
Megaracing		99	Daniel Forcadell	Avante	1
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.^[2]

Driver changes

Leaving LATAM

• The three times champion, Giancarlo Serenelli, left the series to run in Auto GP World Series and GP2 Series.^[3]
• Alex Popow left the series to run in Rolex Sports Car Series.^[4]
• Diego Ferreira moved to Star Mazda Championship.^[5]
• Diego Menchaca left the series to run in Formula Renault BARC with Fortec Motorsport.^[6]

Mid-season changes

• Charlie Guerrero, son of the international driver Carlos Guerrero, debuted with RE Racing in the Round 2.^[7]

Schedule

The 2012 schedule has two main changes; the Guadalajara and Aguascalientes races will be run, while Monterrey was dropped from the calendar.

Round	Race Title	Track	Date	Time
Local				UTC
1	R1	Guadalajara	Autódromo Guadalajara, Guadalajara	April 22	16:28	21:28
	R2			April 23	14:16	19:16
2	R3	San Luis Potosí	Autódromo San Luis 400, San Luis Potosí	May 20	14:40	19:40
	R5			May 21	13:44	18:44
3	R5	Toluca	Circuito Centro Dinámico Pegaso, Toluca	June 10	14:45	19:45
	R6			June 11	14:00	19:00
4	R7	Zacatecas	Autódromo Internacional de Zacatecas, Guadalupe	June 23	TBA	TBA
	R8			June 24	TBA	TBA
5	R9	Aguascalientes	Autódromo Internacional de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes	July 22	TBA	TBA
	R10			July 23	TBA	TBA
6	R11	Distrito Federal	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	September 2	TBA	TBA
	R12			September 3	TBA	TBA
7	R13	Houston		October 14	TBA	TBA
	R14			October 15	TBA	TBA
8	R15	Dallas	Eagles Canyon Raceway, Decatur	October 21	TBA	TBA
	R16			October 22	TBA	TBA
9	R17	Puebla	Autódromo Miguel E. Abed, Amozoc	November 25	TBA	TBA
	R18			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			Francisco Cerullo	Francisco Cerullo	RE Racing
3	San Luis Potosí	Rudy Camarillo	Francisco Cerullo	André Solano	A3 Energy Drink
4			Martín Fuentes	Martín Fuentes	Team CSM
5	Toluca	Rudy Camarillo	Rudy Camarillo	Rudy Camarillo	Team CSM
6				Juan Carlos Sandoval	RE Racing
7	Zacatecas	Francisco Cerullo	André Solano	Francisco Cerullo	RE Racing
8				Alan Chanoski	RE Racing
9	Aguascalientes	André Solano	Francisco Cerullo	André Solano	A3 Energy Drink
10				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).^[8] 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).^[9] 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

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

Round 2: San Luis Potosí Grand Challenge

The second race took place in the Autódromo San Luis 400 in Tangamanga Park.^[10] 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.^[11] 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).^[12] 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

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

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.^[13] 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

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

Round 4: Zacatecas Grand Challenge

The fourth round of the season will be in Zacatecas. The 2.04 km of length will be used.^[14]

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

Race 2 Pos Grid No. Driver Team Laps Time 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

Championship standings

Rank	Driver	GDL		SLP		TOL		ZAC		OAM		AHR		MSR		ECR		PUE		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		^[15]	^[16]	^[17]	^[18]	^[19]	^[20]	^[21]	^[22]	^[23]	^[24]	^[25]

Points are awarded to drivers on the following basis (regardless of whether the car is running at the end of the race):

- align="center"

Position

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

- align="center"

Saturday race Points

30

24

20

16

12

10

8

6

4

2

- align="center"

Sunday race Points

24

20

16

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Bonus points:

• 2 for Fastest Lap
• 2 for Pole Position

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ficha Técnica. www.latamchallengeseries.com. October 30, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111009055949/http://www.latamchallengeseries.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=13&Itemid=19. October 9, 2011. dead. mdy-all.
2. Web site: Costa Rica se une al LATAM Challenge Series 2012. Sportcar.com. January 13, 2012. May 17, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065318/http://www.sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Noticia.asp?Clave=120113160755&idSerial=FLATAM&idSeccion=MEX. March 4, 2016. dead. mdy-all.
3. Web site: El Tricampeón del LATAM Challenge Series Powered by Volkswagen, a la Auto GP. Sportcar.com. January 17, 2012. May 17, 2012. https://archive.today/20120912112355/http://www.sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Noticia.asp?Clave=120117164224&idSerial=FLATAM&idSeccion=MEX. September 12, 2012. dead. mdy-all.
4. Web site: El ex piloto del LATAM Challenge Series Powered by Volkswagen, Alex Popow, saldrá primero en Daytona. Sportcar.com. January 27, 2012. May 17, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304211018/http://www.sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Noticia.asp?Clave=120127194729&idSerial=FLATAM&idSeccion=MEX. March 4, 2016. dead. mdy-all.
5. Web site: Diego Ferreira da el salto del LATAM Challenge Series Powered by Volkswagen a la Star Mazda. Sportcar.com. February 16, 2012. May 17, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084417/http://www.sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Noticia.asp?Clave=120216222502&idSerial=FLATAM&idSeccion=MEX. March 4, 2016. dead. mdy-all.
6. Web site: Diego Menchaca está listo para correr pistas europeas. Informador.com.mx. April 5, 2012.
7. Web site: Debuta Carlos Guerrero JR., en el "San Luis Potosí Grand Challenge". Sportcar.com. May 18, 2012. May 21, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054358/http://www.sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Noticia.asp?Clave=120518010511&idSerial=FLATAM&idSeccion=MEX. March 4, 2016. dead. mdy-all.
8. Web site: La primera fecha del LATAM F2000 Powered by Volkswagen es para Rudy Camarillo. Sportcar.com. April 21, 2012. May 18, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063925/http://sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Noticia.asp?Clave=120421184501&idSerial=FLATAM&idSeccion=MEX. March 4, 2016. dead. mdy-all.
9. Web site: Francisco Cerullo triunfó en México en inicio del Latam de F.2000. Radio Caracas Televisión. April 22, 2012. May 18, 2012. https://archive.today/20120914001649/http://www.rctv.net/index.php/2012/04/23/francisco-cerullo-triunfo-en-mexico-en-inicio-del-latam-de-f-2000/. September 14, 2012. dead. mdy-all.
10. Web site: Oficializan el "San Luis Potosí Grand Challenge" de LATAM F2000 Powered by Volkswagen. Sportcar.com. May 15, 2012. May 21, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304101358/http://www.sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Noticia.asp?Clave=120515220734&idSerial=FLATAM&idSeccion=MEX. March 4, 2016. dead. mdy-all.
11. Web site: André Solano se lleva la de cuadros en San Luis Potosí. Visión Automotriz. May 19, 2012.
12. Web site: Martín Fuentes gana la segunda del "San Luis Potosí Grand Challenge" y mantiene su paso perfecto. Carreras en Vivo. May 20, 2012. May 20, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120523190619/http://www.carrerasenvivo.com/site/mexico/latam/noticiaslatam/2075-martin-fuentes-gana-la-segunda-del-san-luis-potosi-grand-challenge-y-mantiene-su-paso-perfecto. May 23, 2012. dead.
13. Web site: Rudy Camarillo arrasa en la primera carrera del "Toluca Grand Challenge". Sportcar.com. June 9, 2012.
14. Web site: Pilotos Latinoamericanos buscarán ganar el "Zacatecas Grand Challenge" del LATAM. Gopits.com. June 20, 2012.
15. Web site: Results of "1° fecha Super Copa Telcel 2012 – LATAM Carrera 1". Mylaps.com. April 21, 2012. May 17, 2012. https://archive.today/20120903144157/http://www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=2231779. September 3, 2012. dead. mdy-all.
16. Web site: Results of "1° fecha Super Copa Telcel 2012 – LATAM Carrera 2". Mylaps.com. April 22, 2012. May 17, 2012. https://archive.today/20120908040237/http://www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=2231781. September 8, 2012. dead. mdy-all.
17. Web site: Carrera del 19/05/12, en San Luis Potosí (Carrera1). Sportcar.com. May 19, 2012. May 24, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305010238/http://www.sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Tabla.asp?Num=76&Sesion=8&tit=Resultado%20de%20Carrera&idSeccion=MEX&idSerial=FLATAM. March 5, 2016. dead.
18. Web site: Carrera del 20/05/12, en San Luis Potosí (Carrera2). Sportcar.com. May 20, 2012.
19. Web site: Carrera del 09/06/12, en Toluca, Edo. de Méx. (Car. 1). Sportcar.com. June 9, 2012. June 12, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130305/http://www.sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Tabla.asp?Num=78&Sesion=8&tit=Resultado%20de%20Carrera&idSeccion=MEX&idSerial=FLATAM. March 4, 2016. dead.
20. Web site: Carrera del 10/06/12, en Toluca, Edo. de Méx. (Car. 2). Sportcar.com. June 10, 2012. June 12, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110831/http://www.sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_sesiones.asp?Num=79&idSeccion=MEX&idSerial=FLATAM. March 4, 2016. dead. mdy-all.
21. Web site: Carrera del 23/06/12, en Zacatecas (Carrera 1). Sportcar.com. June 23, 2012. July 24, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191555/http://sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Tabla.asp?Num=80&Sesion=8&tit=Resultado%20de%20Carrera&idSeccion=MEX&idSerial=FLATAM. March 4, 2016. dead.
22. Web site: Carrera del 24/06/12, en Zacatecas (Carrera 2). Sportcar.com. June 24, 2012. July 24, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195027/http://sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Tabla.asp?Num=81&Sesion=8&tit=Resultado%20de%20Carrera&idSeccion=MEX&idSerial=FLATAM. March 4, 2016. dead.
23. Web site: Carrera del 21/07/12, en Aguascalientes (Carrera 1). Sportcar.com. July 21, 2012.
24. Web site: Carrera del 22/07/12, en Aguascalientes (Carrera 1). Sportcar.com. July 22, 2012. July 24, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304132525/http://sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Tabla.asp?Num=83&Sesion=8&tit=Resultado%20de%20Carrera&idSeccion=MEX&idSerial=FLATAM. March 4, 2016. dead.
25. Web site: Carrera del 01/09/12, en Ciudad de Méx. D.F. (Carrera 1). Sportcar.com. Sep 9, 2012. January 26, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304212734/http://sportcar.com/12s/MEX/_Tabla.asp?Num=84&Sesion=8&tit=Resultado%20de%20Carrera&idSeccion=MEX&idSerial=FLATAM. March 4, 2016. dead.