Potrero de los Funes Circuit

The Potrero de los Funes Circuit (Circuito de Potrero de los Funes) circuit is an Argentine motorsports race track originally constructed in 1987, and rebuilt in 2008. It is located 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) from San Luis, capital city of the San Luis Province, Argentina. The circuit is semi-permanent, with a length of 6.270 km (3.896 mi). It was created by modifying the ring road that encircles Lake Potrero de los Funes, at the course's center.

Potrero de los Funes Circuit
LocationPotrero de los Funes-San Luis, Argentina
Time zoneUTC-03:00
Coordinates33°13′30″S 66°14′20″W
Opened1987
Major eventsFormer:
FIA GT1 World Championship (2010–2011)
FIA GT Championship (2008)
Súper TC2000 (2008–2014, 2017–2018)
Turismo Nacional (2018)
Top Race V6 (2013–2014)
Turismo Carretera (1987, 2009)
Full Circuit (2008–present)
Length6.270 km (3.896 miles)
Turns22
Race lap record2:14.173 (Netherlands Yelmer Buurman, Corvette C6.R, 2011, GT1)
Original Circuit (1987)
Length6.186 km (3.844 miles)
Turns18

The circuit has received very high praise from the drivers for its substantial undulations and numerous high speed corners and bends, which provide a great driving challenge.

The track's layout has changed slightly from its original layout. It appears that the curve prior to where the pits are now was tightened to create a more pronounced corner ahead of the pits, and perhaps to reduce speeds on the racing line going past the new pit exit. On the opposite side of the lake, where start/finish used to be located, a chicane has been added at the first high speed bend along that stretch. Also, on the initial descending run along the lake, there has been another chicane added to reduce speeds into the following corner that has limited run-off. Therefore, the original course had slightly shorter length of 6.186 km (3.844 mi).

Races hosted

According to Damian Vega's account, a meet was held at this circuit on August 15, 1987. The main event was a Turismo Carretera race. During one of the heat races, a crash occurred that resulted in the deaths of two spectators. In the feature race, there was another crash, but the driver survived, though he may have been injured. This was the circuit's only meeting until the FIA GT weekend was held in November 2008.

On the track's reopening, two major events were hosted in November 2008. A race weekend was shared by the Argentinian TC 2000 as well as the international FIA GT Championship. José María López won the TC 2000 event, while Bert Longin and Anthony Kumpen won the San Luis 2 Hours in their Saleen S7R.

Year Race Category Winner Results
2008 TC 2000 at Potrero de los Funes TC2000 Argentina José María López Results
2008 San Luis 2 Hours FIA GT Championship Belgium Bert Longin
Belgium Anthony Kumpen
Results
2009 Gran Premio Provincia de San Luis Turismo Carretera Argentina Juan Bautista de Benedictis Results
2009 Gran Premio Coronación TC2000 Argentina Gabriel Ponce de León
Brazil Daniel Serra
Results
2010 Gran Premio Coronación TC2000 Argentina Matias Rossi Results
2010 San Luis 1 Hour FIA GT1 World Championship France Frédéric Makowiecki
France Yann Clairay
Results
2011 San Luis 1 Hour FIA GT1 World Championship Netherlands Francesco Pastorelli
Netherlands Yelmer Buurman
Results
2011 Gran Premio Province of San Luis TC2000 Argentina Fabián Yannantuoni Results

Lap records

As of February 2018, the fastest official race lap records at the Potrero de los Funes Circuit are listed as:

CategoryTimeDriverVehicleEvent
Full Circuit: 6.270 km (2008–present)
GT12:14.173[1]Yelmer BuurmanChevrolet Corvette C6.R2011 San Luis FIA GT1 round
GT22:20.319[2]Matías RussoFerrari F430 GT22008 FIA GT San Luis 2 Hours
FIA GT Group 22:23.578[2]Renaud KuppensGillet Vertigo2008 FIA GT San Luis 2 Hours
Súper TC20002:28.198[3]Facundo ArdussoFiat Linea2014 Potrero de los Funes Súper TC2000 round
Turismo Carretera2:28.900[4]José María LópezTorino Cherokee2009 Potrero de los Funes Turismo Carretera round
Formula Renault 2.02:30.649[5]Julián SanteroTito F4-A2012 Potrero de los Funes Formula Renault Argentina round
Turismo Nacional Clase 32:41.419[6]Mariano WernerFiat Linea2018 Potrero de los Funes Turismo Nacional round
Turismo Nacional Clase 22:47.273[6]Luciano BucciFord Fiesta Kinetic2018 Potrero de los Funes Turismo Nacional round

References

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