- Chris Walsh Fastest in TCX
- Jeff Ricca Quickest in TC
- PJ Groenke On Top in TCA
- Practice 1 Unofficial Results
The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School championship kicked off its weekend at Virginia International Raceway with a thirty-minute opening practice session. Competitors across all three TCX, TC, and TCA classes took over the track and get back up to speed following the summer break.
Chris Walsh showcased his skill and determination by claiming the fastest time in the TCX class, piloting his No. 104 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M2 CS (Cup) to the top. The Ricca Autosport team dominated the TC class, with Jeff Ricca claiming the top time in his 78 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC. Meanwhile, PJ Groenke set the pace in TCA in his No. 62 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW
TCX Class
Chris Walsh was in top form as he rose to the top of the timesheets straight away in his No. 104 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M2 CS (Cup), but Celso Neto was also quick to assert himself in his No. 22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S, taking over first place shortly after.
The two continued to vie for first on the leaderboard, separated by thin margins lap after lap. However, with just under four minutes remaining in the session, Walsh clocked in a rapid lap time of 2:00.810 to go quickest overall.
Neto completed the opening practice session in second place, with Cooper Broll slotting into the Top 3 in his No. 19 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S, followed by Christopher DeFreitas in the No. 39 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura Integra Type S.
TC Class
The Ricca Autosport team put in strong performances across the board in the TC class, with all four of their drivers occupying the top spots in the TC class. Jeff Ricca took the lead in his No. 78 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC, and set the third fastest time of the session overall. Ron Zaras showed his speedy pace on debut in the No. 76 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC, locking in the second-quickest time in class.
Ruben Iglesias Jr. and Sally McNulty followed suit in the No. 77 and No. 780 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC, with Cristian Perocarpi rounding off the Top 5 in his No. 37 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW TC Pro.
TCA Class
In the TCA class, PJ Groenke set the best time on board his No. 62 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW, setting his quickest time on his ninth lap of the session with a time of 2:11.462. Alan Grossberg also had a productive time on track, completing thirteen laps total in his No. 63 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW.
Let’s Get Racing
The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School field will return to the track for Practice 2 on Friday afternoon, July 19th at 2:30 PM ET.
If you can’t make it to VIR, be sure to tune-in to SRO’s free live streams all weekend long on YouTube (GTWorld) and Twitch (SROMotorsports) and follow all the action through our social media channels and the event hashtag #GTVIR.