| Flag: | ARG |
| 2024 El Calafate Turismo Carretera round | |
| Round No: | 1 |
| Season No: | 15 |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Series: | Turismo Carretera |
| Date: | 23–25 February |
| Location: | El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina |
| Circuit: | Autódromo Enrique Freile |
| Race1 Laps: | 5 |
| Race1 Dist: | 19 |
| Winner1 Time: | 6:46.603 |
| Race2 Laps: | 5 |
| Race2 Dist: | 19 |
| Winner2 Time: | 6:43.817 |
| Race3 Laps: | 5 |
| Race3 Dist: | 19 |
| Winner3 Time: | 6:43.995 |
| Race4 Laps: | 25 |
| Race4 Dist: | 95 |
| Pole4 Time: | 1:20.458 |
| Winner4 Time: | 40:24.132 |
The 2024 El Calafate Turismo Carretera round (commercially titled Gran Premio Shell Helix) was a motor race for Turismo Carretera held on the weekend of 23–25 February 2024. The event was held at the Autódromo Enrique Freile in El Calafate, Argentina and consisted of four races – three 'heats' of 19 kilometres, and a 'final' of 95 kilometres. It was the opening round of fifteen in the 2024 Turismo Carretera championship.[1]
The event was notable as the debut of the series' five new models. Having almost exclusively run versions of the Chevrolet Coupé SS, Dodge GTX, Ford Falcon and Torino Cherokee for the last 50 years, as well as the Toyota Camry from 2022, versions of the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang were admitted to the grid, along with a facelifted Camry and a 'concept' Torino.[2]
43 competitors were entered in the event, however Martín Vázquez withdrew. Ten of the entries were new models – three Camaros and Mustangs apiece, two facelifted Camry models, one Challenger and one new Torino.[3] [4]
Juan Cruz Benvenuti crashed in practice and withdrew from the remainder of the weekend.[5]
| Driver | Team | Car | Time/Gap | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Mariano Werner | 1:20.458 | 2 | |||
| 2 | 83 | Facundo Ardusso | +0.010 | ||||
| 3 | 21 | Otto Fritzler | +0.077 | ||||
| 4 | 68 | Julián Santero | +0.111 | ||||
| 5 | 79 | Facundo Chapur | +0.126 | ||||
| 6 | 7 | Marcos Landa | +0.187 | ||||
| 7 | 19 | Diego Ciantini | +0.279 | ||||
| 8 | 22 | Juan José Ebarlín | +0.408 | ||||
| 9 | 127 | Marcelo Agrelo | +0.458 | ||||
| 10 | 3 | Germán Todino | +0.494 | ||||
| 11 | 197 | Marcos Quijada | +0.503 | ||||
| 12 | 13 | Juan Tomas Catalán Magni | +0.520 | ||||
| 13 | 161 | Kevin Candela | +0.594 | ||||
| 14 | 107 | Tobías Martínez | +0.623 | ||||
| 15 | 10 | Valentín Aguirre | +0.629 | ||||
| 16 | 4 | Jonatan Castellano | +0.659 | ||||
| 17 | 122 | Andrés Jakos | +0.683 | ||||
| 18 | 11 | Christian Ledesma | +0.684 | ||||
| 19 | 177 | Ayrton Londero | +0.712 | ||||
| 20 | 63 | Nicolás Bonelli | +0.728 | ||||
| 21 | 88 | Nicolás Trosset | +0.774 | ||||
| 22 | 121 | Elio Craparo | +0.803 | ||||
| 23 | 172 | Santiago Álvarez | +0.834 | ||||
| 24 | 34 | Emiliano Spataro | +0.890 | ||||
| 25 | 85 | Ricardo Risatti | +0.894 | ||||
| 26 | 157 | +0.938 | |||||
| 27 | 6 | Mauricio Lambiris | +0.948 | ||||
| 28 | 95 | Agustín Martínez | +0.970 | ||||
| 29 | 231 | José Manuel Urcera | +1.034 | ||||
| 30 | 53 | Federico Iribarne | +1.218 | ||||
| 31 | 77 | Augusto Carinelli | +1.329 | ||||
| 32 | 9 | Juan Martín Trucco | +1.389 | ||||
| 33 | 38 | Nicolás Cotignola | +1.579 | ||||
| 34 | 94 | Lautaro de la Iglesia | +1.688 | ||||
| 35 | 47 | Norberto Fontana | +1.723 | ||||
| 36 | 12 | Gastón Mazzacane | +1.772 | ||||
| 37 | 5 | Santiago Mangoni | +1.928 | ||||
| 38 | 75 | Sergio Alaux | +2.095 | ||||
| 39 | 96 | Juan Cruz Benvenuti | No time | ||||
| 40 | 71 | Sebastián Abella | No time | ||||
| EXC | 23 | Esteban Gini | Excluded | ||||
| EXC | 114 | Gastón Ferrante | Excluded | ||||
| Source:[6] [7] | |||||||
| Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Mariano Werner | 5 | 6:46.603 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 2 | 68 | Julián Santero | 5 | +0.144 | 2 | 4.5 | |||
| 3 | 19 | Diego Ciantini | 5 | +1.325 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 4 | 161 | Kevin Candela | 5 | +5.762 | 5 | 3.5 | |||
| 5 | 3 | Germán Todino | 5 | +5.763 | 4 | 3 | |||
| 6 | 4 | Jonatan Castellano | 5 | +6.180 | 6 | 2.5 | |||
| 7 | 121 | Elio Craparo | 5 | +6.511 | 8 | 2 | |||
| 8 | 85 | Ricardo Risatti | 5 | +8.671 | 9 | 1.5 | |||
| 9 | 177 | Ayrton Londero | 5 | +9.562 | 7 | 1 | |||
| 10 | 94 | 5 | +10.560 | 12 | 0.5 | ||||
| 11 | 77 | Augusto Carinelli | 5 | +11.323 | 11 | ||||
| 12 | 5 | Santiago Mangoni | 5 | +11.420 | 13 | ||||
| 13 | 95 | Agustín Martínez | 2 | +3 laps | 10 | ||||
| DNS | 71 | Sebastián Abella | |||||||
| Fastest Lap: Julián Santero (LCA Racing), 1:20.721 | |||||||||
| Source:[8] | |||||||||
| Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 83 | Facundo Ardusso | 5 | 6:43.817 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 2 | 22 | Juan José Ebarlín | 5 | +2.033 | 3 | 4.5 | |||
| 3 | 197 | Marcos Quijada | 5 | +3.097 | 4 | 4 | |||
| 4 | 122 | Andrés Jakos | 5 | +5.071 | 6 | 3.5 | |||
| 5 | 107 | Tobías Martínez | 5 | +6.196 | 5 | 3 | |||
| 6 | 63 | Nicolás Bonelli | 5 | +6.879 | 7 | 2.5 | |||
| 7 | 172 | Santiago Álvarez | 5 | +8.828 | 8 | 2 | |||
| 8 | 23 | Esteban Gini | 5 | +9.011 | 14 | 1.5 | |||
| 9 | 157 | 5 | +12.471 | 9 | 1 | ||||
| 10 | 231 | José Manuel Urcera | 5 | +13.543 | 10 | 0.5 | |||
| 11 | 75 | Sergio Alaux | 5 | +19.204 | 13 | ||||
| 12 | 9 | Juan Martín Trucco | 5 | +20.278 | 11 | ||||
| 13 | 47 | Norberto Fontana | 1 | 12 | |||||
| DSQ | 79 | Facundo Chapur | 5 | 2 | |||||
| Fastest Lap: Facundo Ardusso (RUS Med Team), 1:20.575 | |||||||||
| Source:[9] | |||||||||
| Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Otto Fritzler | 5 | 6:43.995 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 2 | 7 | Marcos Landa | 5 | +1.090 | 2 | 4.5 | |||
| 3 | 127 | Marcelo Agrelo | 5 | +2.303 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 4 | 10 | Valentín Aguirre | 5 | +4.283 | 5 | 3.5 | |||
| 5 | 11 | Christian Ledesma | 5 | +5.291 | 6 | 3 | |||
| 6 | 13 | 5 | +9.324 | 4 | 2.5 | ||||
| 7 | 88 | Nicolás Trosset | 5 | +11.962 | 7 | 2 | |||
| 8 | 34 | Emiliano Spataro | 5 | +11.963 | 8 | 1.5 | |||
| 9 | 114 | Gastón Ferrante | 5 | +16.321 | 14 | 1 | |||
| 10 | 53 | Federico Iribarne | 5 | +17.381 | 10 | 0.5 | |||
| 11 | 12 | Gastón Mazzacane | 5 | +18.036 | 12 | ||||
| 12 | 6 | Mauricio Lambiris | 5 | +35.990 | 9 | ||||
| 13 | 38 | Nicolás Cotignola | 5 | +35.991 | 11 | ||||
| DNS | 96 | Juan Cruz Benvenuti | |||||||
| Fastest Lap: Otto Fritzler (Pradecon Racing), 1:20.500 | |||||||||
| Source:[10] | |||||||||
The first race of Turismo Carretera's new era was filled with chaos and controversy. Facundo Ardusso led the pack from the start, whilst Nicolás Bonelli spun out in front of the pack at the first corner. At the end of the first lap, Juan José Ebarlín spun out Marcelo Agrelo, causing a chain-reaction crash that included Andrés Jakos, Christian Ledesma, Juan Tomás Catalán Magni, Kevin Candela and Valentín Aguirre, resulting in a safety car period and Ebarlín's post-race disqualification. On the restart, Ardusso and Otto Fritzler lightly clashed wheels at the opening corner – however Ardusso later backed off with a slow puncture, resulting in a five-second penalty for Fritzler. Mariano Werner then inherited the lead in his new Mustang, but "the Fox of Paraná" spun out four laps later and was stationary for just long enough to cause a safety car. Marcos Landa in the older model Torino claimed the lead, and maintained a comfortable gap to Diego Ciantini (who passed Ebarlín for second) before a safety car came out with three laps to go as Jakos pulled off the circuit with mechanical issues. A one-lap shootout would determine the winner between Landa and Ciantini, and with three corners remaining Ciantini unloaded Landa in front of the pack – dropping the Uruguayan outside the top ten. Ciantini crossed the line first followed by Ebarlín and Fritzler, but Ciantini would receive a post-race penalty for the contact with Landa, leaving fourth-placed rookie Facundo Chapur victorious after the additional sanctions for Ebarlín and Fritzler – until he too was disqualified an hour after the race for breaching the engine compression limit, leaving fellow rookie and reigning TC Pista champion Tobías Martínez in the brand new Torino TC 2024 – built in 50 days and untested – as the winner having been originally classified fifth.[11]
| Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time/Retired | Pts. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 107 | Tobías Martínez | 25 | 40:24.132 | 40 | |||
| 2 | 23 | Esteban Gini | 25 | +0.256 | 37 | |||
| 3 | 231 | José Manuel Urcera | 25 | +0.498 | 34 | |||
| 4 | 68 | Julián Santero | 25 | +0.987 | 31 | |||
| 5 | 6 | Mauricio Lambiris | 25 | +1.603 | 30 | |||
| 6 | 85 | Ricardo Risatti | 25 | +1.852 | 29 | |||
| 7 | 121 | Elio Craparo | 25 | +2.235 | 28 | |||
| 8 | 172 | Santiago Álvarez | 25 | +2.647 | 27 | |||
| 9 | 95 | Agustín Martínez | 25 | +2.832 | 26 | |||
| 10 | 94 | Lautaro de la Iglesia | 25 | +2.948 | 25 | |||
| 11 | 21 | Otto Fritzler | 25 | +4.098 | 24 | |||
| 12 | 63 | Nicolás Bonelli | 25 | +4.505 | 23 | |||
| 13 | 7 | Marcos Landa | 25 | +6.321 | 22 | |||
| 14 | 19 | Diego Ciantini | 25 | +6.322 | 21 | |||
| 15 | 157 | 25 | +6.626 | 20 | ||||
| 16 | 1 | Mariano Werner | 25 | +10.156 | 19 | |||
| 17 | 177 | Ayrton Londero | 25 | +12.127 | 18 | |||
| 18 | 38 | Nicolás Cotignola | 25 | +14.064 | 17 | |||
| 19 | 5 | Santiago Mangoni | 25 | +14.517 | 16 | |||
| 20 | 88 | Nicolás Trosset | 25 | +14.958 | 15 | |||
| 21 | 34 | Emiliano Spataro | 25 | +14.959 | 14 | |||
| 22 | 12 | Gastón Mazzacane | 25 | +17.995 | 13 | |||
| 23 | 77 | Augusto Carinelli | 25 | +18.334 | 12 | |||
| 24 | 83 | Facundo Ardusso | 25 | +18.978 | 11 | |||
| 25 | 4 | Jonatan Castellano | 25 | +19.372 | 10 | |||
| 26 | 3 | Germán Todino | 25 | +22.812 | 9 | |||
| 27 | 114 | Gastón Ferrante | 24 | +1 lap | 8 | |||
| 28 | 161 | Kevin Candela | 24 | +1 lap | 7 | |||
| 29 | 122 | Andrés Jakos | 21 | Mechanical | 6 | |||
| 30 | 53 | Federico Iribarne | 19 | 5 | ||||
| 31 | 197 | Marcos Quijada | 18 | 3 | ||||
| 32 | 75 | Sergio Alaux | 4 | 3 | ||||
| 33 | 13 | Juan Tomas Catalán Magni | 2 | Crash damage | 3 | |||
| 34 | 10 | Valentín Aguirre | 1 | Crash damage | 3 | |||
| 35 | 127 | Marcelo Agrelo | 1 | Crash damage | 3 | |||
| 36 | 11 | Christian Ledesma | 1 | Crash damage | 3 | |||
| DSQ | 22 | Juan José Ebarlín | 25 | |||||
| DSQ | 79 | Facundo Chapur | 25 | Technical | ||||
| DNS | 9 | Juan Martín Trucco | Mechanical[12] | |||||
| DNS | 47 | Norberto Fontana | ||||||
| WD | 96 | Juan Cruz Benvenuti | Practice crash | |||||
| WD | 71 | Sebastián Abella | ||||||
| Fastest Lap: Jonatan Castellano (Castellano Power Team), 1:20.770 | ||||||||
| Sources:[13] [14] | ||||||||
| Driver | Gap | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tobías Martínez | 42.5 | ||
| 2 | Esteban Gini | 38 | -4.5 | |
| 3 | Julián Santero | 35.5 | -7 | |
| 4 | 34 | -8.5 | ||
| 5 | Ricardo Risatti | 30.5 | -12.5 |
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