Clear blue skies and bright sunshine set the scene as the TC America Powered by Skip Barber field eagerly made their way on track at Road America for Practice One. With a total of 27 cars on the grid, America’s National Park of Speed was a busy place to be as drivers utilized the 30 minute session to get reacquainted with the circuit’s notoriously challenging features.
A couple of red flags punctuated the session, which put a stoppage to the on-track action and ultimately cut the session short in the final minutes.
TCX
Joseph Catania rocketed to the top of the leaderboard early in the session in his No. 24 Rigid Speed Company BMW M2 CS (Cup), with Colin Garrett in hot pursuit in the No. 44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M2 CS (Cup) as the two continued to exchange purple sectors back and forth.
However, it wasn’t long before a few more familiar faces added themselves into the mix, with Dai Yoshihara taking the opportunity to clock in a time of 2:24.787 in his No. 99 VGRT Honda Civic Type-R, promoting him to the top spot in the standings in the opening practice session. Joseph Catania followed in second, with Kenny Schmied inserting himself into the mix in third in his No. 14 AOA Racing BMW M2 CS (Cup).
The Top 5 was rounded off by Colin Garrett in fourth place, followed by Lucas Catania in fifth in the No. 26 Rigid Speed Company BMW M2 CS (Cup).
TC
Clayton Williams rose to the top quickly in his No. 60 MINI JCW Team Mini JCW Pro TC quickly and had no intentions of giving up his spot, maintaining the lead throughout the entirety of the session, in addition to setting the fifth fastest time overall. Jeff Rica also showed off his speedy pace, following just 0.211 seconds behind to slot into second in his No. 78 Genracer / Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TC.
Kris Valdez followed in third in the No. 11 DRS Honda Civic Type-R, with Williams and Ricca’s teammates, Cristian Perocarpi and Sally McNulty, following suit in fourth and fifth in the No. 37 MINI JCW Team Mini JCW Pro TC and the No. 780 GenRacer Hyundai Veloster N DCT TC.
TCA
The TCA class saw many drivers swapping positions up and down the leaderboard throughout the session, but it was ultimately Spencer Bucknum who laid his claim over the top spot in his No. 5 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si FE1. Devin Anderson pursued in his No. 22 TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ, with Shaoyi Che taking the final spot in the Top 3 in his No. 23 TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ.
William Lambros secured a top spot in the Top 5 for Skip Barber Racing School in his No. 77 Honda Civic Si FE1. He was followed by Ruben Iglesias Jr. in the No. 88 VGRT Honda Civic Si FE1.
LET’S GO
The series takes to the track later today for Practice Two at 2:30 p.m. CT. Fans can follow progression with Griiip Live, live timing. The studio makes it easy to follow class battles, lap times, and pit strategy for the five SRO America series.