Virginia International Raceway (VIR) played host this weekend to the SRO TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School series for rounds 7 & 8 of the 2024 season. The challenging and historic 17-turn road course started the second half of the SRO season after a summer break. Honda and Acura drivers in TC America and Fanatec GT World Challenge America had a hugely successful weekend with both the Integra Type S and Civic Si finding themselves in the winner’s circle.
TC AMERICA POWERED BY SKIP BARBER
TCX Acura Integra Type S DE5
This was a weekend for the history books as the HRC-built Acura Integra Type S DE5 won for the first time in its debut season. Celso Neto qualified 2nd and had opened up a 3-second lead after just the first lap. At the halfway point he began to feel pressure from the 2nd placed car but was able to show how dialed in the Acura was by putting down eight consecutive laps within 3 tenths of a seconds of each other to secure the historic win.
A second Integra Type S driver Cooper Broll joined him on the podium with a solid 3rd place run for his first TC America podium. Unfortunately, the other Integra Type S, driven by Christopher Defreitas, suffered a hard collision into the barriers with 4 minutes remaining. Defreitas was taken to the hospital for a precautionary examination, and has since been released. However Defreitas was unable to compete in race 2.
The 2nd race saw Celso Neto again starting on the outside of row one, finishing just 1 second behind in 2nd place after another consistent performance. Once again Cooper Broll made it a dual Acura podium with another 3rd place finish.
TCA Honda Civic Si FE1
Alex Garcia was able to carry his momentum from winning the most recent race at COTA to again finding victory lane at VIR. In race 1 he qualified 2nd and after 10 minutes of pressuring the leader, he was able to make a clean pass and never looked back.
The Honda Civic Si handled the highly technical layout of VIR very well, as Garcia was able to cruise from pole position for a 3-second victory in the second race. After missing the first few races of the season, Garcia has now won 4 of the last 5 races in his Civic Si.
Quotes
Celso Neto (#22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S DE5) “Victory!! First win of the year! Special day to get the first win for the brand-new Acura Integra Type S in TCX history! We knew we had a great chassis for the start of the race, so the plan was to save as much tire as possible for the end and to not overdrive it and it worked.”
Next
With the new Integra Type S and Civic Si earning victories this weekend, the teams are really looking forward to getting back to competition next month. The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School field will return on track August 16-18 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI.
TCX VIR Saturday Race Results
1st TCX - #22 Celso Neto, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S (Hard Charger Award)
3rd TCX - #19 Cooper Broll, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S
TCA VIR Saturday Race Results
1st TCA - #14 Alex Garcia, Skip Barber Racing, Honda Civic Si FE1 (Hard Charger Award)
TCX VIR Sunday Race Results
2nd TCX - #22 Celso Neto, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S (Hard Charger)
3rd TCX - #19 Cooper Broll, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S
TCA VIR Sunday Race Results
1st TCA - #14 Alex Garcia, Skip Barber Racing, Honda Civic Si FE1