The 2023 season of the Spanish Autocross Championship kicked off on the 6th and 7th of May in Esplús, Huesca, with around one hundred participants in the different categories of the event and Speed Car presence in four of them. The best results for the drivers who took part at the wheel of models made by Industrias Lahoz came in the Car Cross Series with a spectacular double for the Wonder of Josep Aranda and Pol Durán. In Car Cross there was also a Speed Car driver on the podium with Arnau Biosca taking second place with his Xtrem, while in Buggy Eduard Bañeres was always among the fastest in his Speed Car TTR, although a penalty relegated him to fifth place, behind the TTX of his brand mate Sabino García, and in Junior the best classified Speed Car was the Wonder of Quim Gomzález in sixth place.
Division III made its debut in Esplús under its new name of Buggy Division with six participants, two of them at the wheel of two Speed Car models, Eduard Bañaeres with the TTR and Sabino García with the TTX. Bañeres dominated the day on Saturday, when he set the best time in the timed practice sessions and won his two qualifying heats. However, on Sunday, an overtaking manoeuvre when he was fighting for second position cost him a penalty that relegated him to fifth place in the final.
Just ahead of Eduard, Sabino García finished fourth in his debut in the national championship with the powerful TTX manufactured by Industrias Lahoz.
As usual in every national event, the Car Cross category was the most crowded in Esplús and among its fifteen finalists Speed Car was the most represented brand with five vehicles, four of the new Wonder model and one of the more veteran but still fully competitive Xtrem.
Proof of the latter was the result achieved by Arnau Biosca, who finished second after a thrilling final in which he resisted all the attacks to keep his place on the podium. Close behind the top three were Josep Arqué, fourth after having been the fastest in the timed practice sessions with his Wonder, and the very young Cantabrian Marco Matador, a sixteen year old driver who finished fifth in his debut in the national championship with another Speed Car Wonder.
The Speed Car representation in the Car Cross final was completed by Josep Vila, who finished the race in eighth position, and Borja González Granda, who took the lead after a magnificent start but was forced to retire shortly after due to a broken suspension link on his Wonder
The debut as Car Cross Series of the previously known as the Promotion category brought the best possible result for Speed Car Wonder, with a double for the Wonder driven by Josep Aranda and Pol Durán. Josep had won one of the qualifying rounds on Saturday with his Wonder and on Sunday he made a magnificent start in the final that put him in the lead, a position he maintained until he passed the chequered flag in first position with a lead of almost four seconds over his brand mate, Pol, who clearly distanced the rest of the competitors to complete a great debut in the category after having been proclaimed Junior champion last year.
The other driver who competed in the Car Cross Series with a Speed Car Wonder, Juan Manuel García Pandiella from Asturias, was the fastest in the qualifying session on Saturday, although he was not very lucky in the qualifying heats and in the final he had to settle for an eighth position, which does not do justice to his good pace.
The category reserved for the youngest of the national Autocross had among its thirteen competitors two Speed Car representatives at the wheel of their Xtrem cars, Quim González and Joan Aranda, both of whom already have experience in the event, where they were regulars last season.
The best classified at the end of the final was Quim, sixth despite the odd setback that prevented him from finishing higher in the standings. Joan, for his part, finished eleventh in the eight laps of the decisive race of the weekend.
Pictures: CEAX RFEdA press service
