The second round of the 2023 Spanish Autocross Championship was held on the weekend of 17 and 18 June in the town of Talavera de la Reina, Toledo. High temperatures and a very large entry, with around a hundred participants divided between the different categories of CEAX Goldspeed characterised the competition on the Cerro Negro track. It was a very positive weekend for Speed Car, with a victory for Pol Durán in the 'Car Cross Series' with the Wonder, accompanied by podiums in all the categories in which the models manufactured by Industrias Lahoz took part, as in 'Buggy' Eduard Bañeres finished third with the TTX, Arqué and Quim González were second with their Wonder in 'Car Cross' and 'Junior' and in 'Car Cross Series' Josep Aranda finished in third position with another Wonder.
Uneven luck for the two Speed Car representatives in the Buggy Division, Eduard Bañeres with the TTR model and Sabino García with the TTX. As in Esplús, Bañeres set the best time in the qualifying session but was less fortunate in the heats, with a third and a second place as best results that placed him third on the starting grid for the final, a position in which he crossed the finish line after the eight laps of the competition, thus achieving his first podium of the season.
Sabino García, on the other hand, was only able to complete three laps of the final, which relegated him to sixth place in the final classification after having been fifth both in qualifying and the heats.
The Car Cross category gathered thirty-two participants at the Cerro Negro circuit, with Speed Car being once again the most represented brand as a total of seven models manufactured by Industrias Lahoz competed, six Wonder and one Xtrem. In addition, four of the Wonder drivers reached the final for the top fifteen after the always demanding qualifying rounds.
The best Speed Car driver in the final was Pepe Arqué, who run in the leading positions all weekend. The driver of the Wonder number 12 set the second fastest time in qualifying, won his three heats, which put him on the front row of the starting grid for the final, and finished Sunday's decisive race in second position.
The next Wonder at the finish line was Josep Vila, who repeated the eighth position achieved in Esplús, while Borja González Granda had better luck this time and was able to finish the final in tenth place, three ahead of the very young Cantabrian Marco Matador, who once again demonstrated his speed by being fourth in the timed practice sessions although he then lost positions in the heats and the final, which he finished in thirteenth place.
The Speed Car Wonder drivers were once again the main protagonists in the Car Cross Series. In Esplús Josep Aranda had won ahead of Pol Durán, and in Talavera both were on the podium again, this time with victory for Pol and third place for Josep, results that confirm them at the top of the championship after the first two races of the season.
Juan Manuel García Pandiella from Asturias also had a good result, finishing fifth in the final, improving by three places on his performance in the previous round of the championship.
Quim González made up at Cerro Negro for the bad luck he had had in Esplús and achieved his first podium of the season. The Speed Car Wonder driver finished second in the final after winning his three heats and having registered the fourth fastest time in the qualifying session, showing a great pace throughout the weekend that makes him one of the favourites for the following rounds of the category reserved for the youngest drivers of the national autocross.
Pictures: CEAX RFEdA press service
