The third round of the 2024 Spanish Autocross Championship was held on 15 and 16 June at the Cerro Negro circuit. The competition in Talavera de la Reina brought new successes for the latest Car Cross model manufactured by Industrias Lahoz, the Speed Car Wonder, winner for the second time in a row in the Car Cross Series driven by Quim González and on the Car Cross podium with Pedro Matador, who finished in second position.
Speed Car was once again the most represented brand in the always crowded Car Cross category, with six of the twenty-eight drivers present taking part in the event with Wonder and Xtrem models from Industrias Lahoz. Two of the Wonder reached the final, those of Pedro Matador and Josep Aranda. The young Cantabrian driver was among the fastest drivers all weekend, setting the third fastest time in the timed practice sessions before winning his three qualifying heats to take pole position. In the final, Matador was overtaken by a rival in the first metres and although he chased the leader throughout the race, the difficulty to overtake that characterises the Cerro Negro circuit meant that he had to settle for the second position, a result that moved him up to eighth in the championship.
Three places ahead in the overall championship standings is Josep Aranda, who in Cerro Negro came from a difficult qualifying session, in which he was twenty-sixth, to reach the A final after being third in the B final. In the decisive race of the weekend, the Wonder driver continued to gain places and finished twelfth after starting from the last row of the grid.
As in the previous round of the championship, held in Esplús, Quim González completely dominated the 'Car Cross Series' category in Cerro Negro. The young Speed Car Wonder driver was once again the fastest in the timed session, won his three qualifying heats and took pole-position for the final, a race he led from start to finish. With this new full of points, Quim now leads the general standings of the championship after three of the seven competitions scheduled for this season's calendar have already been held.
In Talavera another driver with a Speed Car Wonder also reached the final of the 'Car Cross Series', the Asturian Juan García Pandiella, who was unlucky in the decisive race, as he was forced to retire on the first lap due to a contact after having qualified fifth on the grid with a second, a fourth and a fifth place in the heats.
Pictures: CEAX RFEdA press service
