Roshfrans Super Cup in Chihuahua: Helio Meza and José Arellano Split the GTM Wins

At the sixth round of the Súper Copa Roshfrans, the Autódromo Francisco Villa in Chihuahua delivered two contrasting results in GTM. Helio Meza returned to the category after nearly two years away and won the first race, while José Arellano ended a five-race winless drought by taking the second race from flag to flag.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

Meza had debuted in GTM in 2024 at Aguascalientes, when at just 16 years old he finished fourth in the second race of that weekend. That was his only appearance in the category until this weekend in Chihuahua, where he returned to the No. 26 car.

Arellano arrived at that round with the fastest time in both qualifying sessions on Saturday, which allowed him to start on pole for both GTM races.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

In the first race, Arellano led for most of the distance, until contact in the final laps knocked him out of the lead and dropped him to fifth overall. That opening put Meza at the front in the closing laps, where he stayed to take the win in his return to the category. Pablo Pérez de Lara finished second, with Ivanna Richards in third, who said that a couple of hits during the race prevented her from fighting for a better result.

The second race was different. Arellano never surrendered the lead and secured his first victory in GTM, a result that adds to the two poles he achieved over the weekend and brings him closer to the group of drivers fighting for a place in the championship conversation as the season progresses. He said it is a result he will not forget because it is his first race win, and that he will look to stay among the top positions in the standings. Meza finished second, confirming the level with which he returned to the category, while Emiliano Richards took third, saying that his performance this season—the best he has had so far—makes him believe a win of his own is not far off.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

Arellano arrived at Chihuahua outside the top positions in the GTM standings, which were led by Paul Jourdain with just a one-point advantage over Emiliano Richards after the previous round in Mexico City. At Chihuahua, Jourdain did not appear among the top finishers in either race, while Richards added a third-place finish in the second race, tightening the battle for the championship lead for the remainder of the season.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

GTM Light had its own storylines in each race. César Jiménez won the first race, with Gerardo Hernández finishing third behind him. In the second race, José Stege repeated his victory for the second consecutive time, with Jiménez back in second and Javier Campos in third. Rafael Villazón, who arrived at Chihuahua leading the Light standings after the previous round in Mexico City, did not appear among the top finishers in either race, leaving that championship fight wide open as well.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

The Tractocamiones race was by far the most hotly contested of the day. Santiago Tovar qualified second, very close to pole, but from the start he noticed that his truck did not have the same pace it had shown in qualifying, forcing him to adjust his race plan on the fly.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

Despite that mechanical disadvantage, he remained locked in a close battle with Juan Cantú and Majo Rodríguez that stretched for virtually the entire race, with the three swapping positions and paint in the braking zones until the final lap. The overheating issue on Tovar's truck became more evident toward the end, when the pace of Cantú and Rodríguez forced him to defend every corner, but he held on to finish ahead, with Cantú in second and Rodríguez in third.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

Tovar said it was a good weekend overall, that they qualified close to the front, but that the truck lost pace compared to qualifying and the race turned into a duel that he resolved only at the end against Rodríguez and Cantú.

Photo By Carlos Castillo

The Súper Copa Roshfrans will hold its seventh round on September 20 at Querétaro.