The 2023 Road Tourism starts: the absence of Canapino, changes of brands and a record of drivers for the maximum title

In Viedma, more than 9,000 kilometers from Agustín Canapino's new residence,

.

Despite the absence of the best exponent of national motorsport, who will debut in IndyCar on March 5, the most important category in the country will have a guaranteed show with a figure that has not been recorded since October 2011.

In this break since that December 11 in which

himself and gave Torino the title after 51 years,

-despite the possibility of getting into a Toyota- but there were many other negotiations that resulted in

.

The defending champion.

Urcera won the TC title in San Juan.

In this last item,

joined the select group of pilots who ran

, leaving Torino de Las Toscas to get on the

that will no longer have

(now in the Catalan Magni Motorsport) in the Gurí Martínez Competition.

The others who went through

and will compete in the 82nd TC championship are

and

, who changed their structure in 2023. The first will continue with a Ford but now attended by his team, Buenos Aires Aires Racing, while the man from Reef left the Chevrolet to run with a Torino from the RUS Med Team.

Mauro Medina's team was also joined by

and

.

In an electoral year and in the midst of an economic crisis -the drought had a strong influence on the agricultural sector, which supports several pilots-, the modifications were many, although not all the protagonists changed brands.

For example,

although now it will be to take

.

While

(Ford) made a castling with

(Ford): the Uruguayan went to Alifraco Sport while the man from Mendoza ended up at LCA Racing.

Just as Chevrolet lost its flagship -and the category to

, Ford's most important loss has the name of

, present in the TC since 2002, but after 314 races he decided not to start for work and personal reasons.

Added to his absence are the outstanding ones of

-who will dedicate himself to directing his team although he may participate in some test-,

,

,

,

and the already consummated in April of

.

Others, for now, are pauses like that of

, who used his social networks to say that he will not be in Viedma, although he does "intend to return."

And also, of course, there were refusals from the ACTC, such as the one raised against

from Cordoba .

In this new role as head of the Emanuel Moriatis Competition, the president of National Tourism placed

, the champion of the TC Pista, in the TC.

Also coming from the opening category were runner-up Santiago Álvarez, Marcos Quijada -TC Mouras 2021 champion-, Gustavo Micheloud, Cristian Di Scala, Juan Garbelino, Martín Vázquez, Humberto Krujoski and Elio Craparo.

On the other hand,

players :

, who made his debut in 2006 but left the category when he had three races left in the 2021 season and last year he focused on the TN.

It is one of the outgoing comebacks, like that of

.

The missionary will get on the Torino that Ardusso drove at Maquin Sports but now plotted with the brand of yerba mate that has accompanied him for nine years.

“

.

This generates great expectations both for the show and for the public and for those of us on the track, because

.

It is a great challenge because if you look at the names, the vast majority are in a position to fight and win a race.

It is going to be a great show and an honor to be able to compete among those 55 pilots”, the native of Oberá told

.

This panorama with a record number of participants can change as the dates go by, because -as Okulovich pointed out- "the economic part is very demanding and

, such as lack of maintenance or broken parts".

“That is noticeable with the wear and tear of the races.

When the championship is just beginning, we are all prepared to face it.

Afterwards,

.

Hopefully that happens as little as possible and we all carry the year in the best way, ”he said.

The challenge will begin in Viedma, where

, and will continue in the south of the country, with the tests in Neuquén ( March 5), Toay (March 26) and the new El Calafate racetrack (April 16).

Of the remaining ten tests, only the last two have a confirmed racetrack (Toay and San Juan), although the return to Juan and Óscar Gálvez in the City of Buenos Aires is assured.

Waiting for these news, the TC puts first in the same scenario as last year and where in the last two presentations a Ford won.

Schedule of date 1 of the TC

The ACTC enabled two training sessions to be carried out this Friday (from 11 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. and from 1:40 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. without TV) to test the new system of masses and tires with the mandatory central nut this year.

Then the official activity will start, divided between Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday

9.30 1st training 

12.08 2nd training

14.03 3rd training

16.10

TV

Sunday

9.40 1st Series

10.05 2nd Series

10.30 3rd Series

13.30 Final

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