Successes for the three models of Speed Car in the fourth round of the Spanish Autocross Championship held in the town of Carballo on 9 and 10 July. The first of the two Galician events of the series was run under high temperatures throughout the weekend and ended with victory for Josep Aranda with the Speed Car Wonder in the category of Car Cross Promotion, a 1-2 for the Xtrem of Pol Durán and Quim González, who occupied the first two positions in Junior, and a new podium for the TTR of Eduard Bañeres, second in Division III.
Division III registered in Carballo its largest participation so far this season and had Eduard Bañeres among its main contenders. The Speed Car TTR driver was in the mix since the qualifying, where he recorded the second fastest time.
A second place, a third and a fifth in the heats, the latter due to a 'drive trough' penalty after having crossed the finish line in the second position, put Bañeres in the first row of the starting grid for the final. In the initial laps of the race, Eduard run third before moving on to finish second while cutting distances with the winner, from whom he was separated just by a second under the checkered flag.
The were near forty participants in Car Cross, again the most crowded category in a round of the Spanish Autocross championship. Among them were six drivers behind the wheel of Speed Car models, five with the always effective Xtrem and one with the new and very competitive Wonder.
It was precisely once again the driver of the Wonder, Joan Salichs, the best classified of the Speed Cars. Salichs had been fifth in the qualifying session and had earned a spot on the first row of the starting grid of the final after winning two of the three heats and being second in the remaining. Unfortunately, in the final the Wonder driver was one of the dampered by a first corner , which prevented him from being in the fight for victory, having to settle for the seventh position that, anyway, allowed him to score some important points in order to stay in the fight for the title.
In addition to Salichs with the Wonder, two of the Xtrem drivers got a spot in the final for the top fifteen. Arnau Biosca crossed the finish line in tenth position after starting from that same position thanks to having been fourth in qualifying and tenth in the total tally of the heats, with a third, a fourth and a fifth place. Josep Vila, on his side, finished twelfth, the same place he had occupied in qualifying and one behind his starting position in the final, which he accessed in eleventh place after being fourth in his three heats.
The drivers of the Speed Car Xtrem kept their dominance in Carballo in the always competitive Junior category. In the four races run so far this season the final victory has been for one of them. On this occasion, the Speed Car got the first two places of the final, with Pol Durán, winner for the third time in the season and increasing his leadership of the series, followed in second position by Quim González, who consolidates his top three positions in the championship.
The third driver to compete in Carballo with a Speed Car Xtrem was Josep Aranda who, after having been twelfth in qualifying, was unlucky in the heats and was out of the top fifteen who entered the final.
-> CarCross Junior results (pdf file)
Josep Aranda had already been close to the podium in Cerro Negro and in Carballo confirmed his progression with a weekend in which he was always among the best to achieve the first victory of the Speed Car Wonder in the category of Car Cross Promotion.
The Escudería Mollerusa driver scored the third best time in the qualifying session and won in two of the three heats, which together with a third place in the remaining, placed him in the first row of the starting grid of the final. In the decisive race, Aranda made a great start to take the lead, position that he maintained with solvency during the eight laps to end up winning with about a second and a half advantage over his closest pursuer.
Pictures: CEAX RFEdA press service
