- Carrus Callas Raceteam Fastest in TCX
- Ricca Autosport Tops the Charts in TC
- MINI Quickest in TCA
- Practice 1 Unofficial Results
It was a picture perfect morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School competitors made their way around the circuit with bright blue skies shining overhead. With 30 minutes on the clock, they utilized every minute to experiment with the limitations of the road course layout. Although a brief red flag was brought out early on, they were able to make the most of their time on track.
The respective class champions, Chris Walsh, Jeff Ricca, and PJ Groenke, asserted themselves as the ones to catch as they laid down the best times in the TCX, TC, and TCA categories.
TCX Class
Chris Walsh was the driver to beat at the Brickyard. The Carrus Callas Raceteam competitor set the fastest lap early on and remained at the top of the charts for the entire session. Aaron Kaplan, in his No. 18 Kaplan Racing System BMW M2 Cup, was second in class for the first part of the session, but got edged out by the No. 22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S of Celso Neto.
It was a tight battle between Kaplan and the No. 23 Fast Track Racing BMW M2 of newcomer Cameron Steller for third place. Ultimately, Steller proved to be 0.212 seconds quicker than his opponent, further relegating Kaplan to fourth as Practice 1 progressed. Cooper Broll set an early flying lap commanding his No. 19 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S, which saw him break into the top 3, however, he finished the session in fifth place.
TC Class
Newly crowned champion Jeff Ricca rose to first in the opening minutes of the session and never looked back, keeping a firm hold over the top of the TC class leaderboard with his No. 78 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC. One of his many teammates present this weekend, Ron Zaras, remained in close proximity in the No. 77 machine in wrap up Practice 1 in second position.
Cristian Perocarpi was able to split the Ricca Autosport fleet by putting in the third-quickest time on board his No. 37 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW TC Pro, followed by Sally McNulty and Vin Anatra in the No. 780 and No. 76 entries.
TCA Class
PJ Groenke rose to the top of the TCA charts early on and remained there for the entire session. The Canadian driver, commanding the No. 62 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW, will be looking to add a win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to his repertoire, as he has yet to rise up onto the highest step of this venue’s iconic podium.
Alex Garcia set the second fastest lap of the session aboard his No. 14 Skip Barber Racing Honda Civic Si FE1, with Bruce Myreh taking the third-quickest time in his No. 63 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW. Team MINI further dominated Practice 1, as Alain Lauziere and Andy Sellers completed the top 5 in the No. 64 and No. 65 cars.
Let’s Get Racing
The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School field will return to the track for Practice 2 on Thursday afternoon, October 3rd at 3:10 PM ET.
If you can’t make it to IMS, 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 #Indy8H.