- Neto Sets the Pace in TCX
- Ricca 3rd overall and Fastest in TC
- PJ Groenke Tops the TCA Charts
- Practice 1 Unofficial Results
There were nothing but bright blue skies as the TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School competitors made their way around the National Park of Speed for Practice 1. A red flag punctuated the running at the halfway mark of the thirty minute session, but the field were able to return to the track for the final six minutes.
Celso Neto, Jeff Ricca, and PJ Groenke distinguished themselves as the frontrunners in the TCX, TC, and TCA classes, going quickest in the morning practice.
TCX Class
Chris Walsh set an early fast lap aboard his No. 104 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M2 CS (Cup). However, the Florida resident was not able to hold on to the top spot, as Aaron Kaplan went quickest later on in his No.18 Kaplan Racing Systems BMW M2 CS (Cup).
Right before a lengthy red flag emerged, Celso Neto was able to clock in the fastest lap of the session with a 2:26.787 in his No. 22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S. Neto remained unchallenged for the remainder of the session.
Walsh reclaimed second ahead of Kaplan. Cooper Broll claimed fourth place in the TCX class in his No. 19 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S, with Christoper DeFreitas rounding off the top 5 in his No. 39 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura Integra Type S.
TC Class
Jeff Ricca got off to a strong start in his No. 78 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC, setting an early fastest lap and continuing to improve throughout the session. He went on to complete a flying lap time of 2:28.568, solidifying himself at the top of the TC class leaderboard, in addition to setting the third quickest time overall in the session.
Cristian Perocarpi followed just behind in his No. 37 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW TC Pro, with Ruben Iglesias Jr. joining him in the top three on board his No. 77 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC. It was another good session for the Ricca Autosport team, as teammates Vin Anatra and Sally McNulty came in fourth and fifth place in their respective No. 76 and No. 780 Hyundai Elantra N1 TC machines.
TCA Class
Championship points leader PJ Groenke took over the top spot in the TCA class, going fastest with his No. 62 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW with a time of 2:36.330. Following in second was his new teammate Bruce Myrehn in the sister No. 63 car. Meanwhile, Alex Garcia rounded off the top 3 in his No. 14 Skip Barber Racing Honda Civic Si FE1.
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, August 16th at 2:30 PM CT.
If you can’t make it to Road America, 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 #GTRoadAmerica.