Going into the 2024 season, Chris Walsh and Carrus Callas Raceteam only had one goal in mind; winning the TCX class championship. Not only did they deliver on this objective, but they did it in dominant fashion. With eight wins and six podiums across fourteen rounds, never finishing lower than second place, Walsh was a true force to be reckoned with. His speed and consistency enabled him to accumulate a solid points advantage early on, which eventually led to him being crowned champion before even reaching the final rounds.
The stats speak for themselves, and Walsh’s desire for success never wavered, even after he was told the title officially belonged to him.
“It was kind of weird because we were in such a good place points wise that I was able to actually clinch the championship mid-race at Barber Motorsports Park,” he said. “Once I reached the halfway mark, I had secured the title. I was sitting in second during that specific race, and had just been hanging back a little bit on purpose and didn’t want to be too aggressive. I was just holding my position until we checked that box and I was given the go-ahead by the team to let me know I was free to race.”
“I was so focused on trying to win the race that I didn’t really think about the fact that I won the championship until I got out of the car,” he explained. “My emotions were pretty subdued initially, but it eventually started to sink in once I saw how excited everyone was. My whole family was there, and it was their first time this year coming out to a race, so it was pretty special.”
The winning mindset was present from the very beginning and never subsided, which led to Walsh kicking off his TCX campaign with six consecutive wins spanning from the season opener at Sonoma Raceway all the way to Circuit of The Americas.
“We came into the season with the goal of winning the championship, and I knew that, generally, if we just finished on the podium at each round we could get there,” he detailed. “We ended up having such a strong start that we realized we could really push hard and try to clinch it sooner. But honestly, I went into every race knowing that it could change in a moment's notice. One mechanical issue or DNF could flip everything upside down. I took the approach of always giving the same level of effort and coming in with a lot of preparation, and I figured if I kept doing that, the championship would work itself out in the long run.”
Although it was smooth sailing for the opening six rounds, fierce battles began shaping up in the second half of the season with challenger Celso Neto. However, Walsh took it all in stride, welcoming the wheel-to-wheel action.
“We were a lot closer together from VIR onwards, it made the racing enjoyable,” he stated. “I think the Acura started to come alive a bit more in comparison, especially towards the end of the races, and it made it pretty challenging to be competitive. Celso (Neto) is a good driver, and was performing well with the car, and I think he started to have the edge. We had to work a bit harder to be up front, but it made for some good battles. Ultimately, I think those are the moments that I really relish, because having experiences where you have to really fight for it is going to be instrumental as we continue going forward and moving up. It provided a lot of learning opportunities, and it was a good formative experience to help me with my racing career as I head into the following chapter.”
In preparation for that next step, Walsh also ran a dual campaign with a partial-season in Pirelli GT4 America, an opportunity he remains grateful for. In addition to being able to compete in multiple series, Walsh appreciated the extra time spent behind the wheel and how it put his adaptability to the test.
“It’s a very competitive series with really good drivers,” he stated. “It made me have to step up my game, but the platform is so different in comparison to what I was driving in TC America. The cars have different capabilities and require different techniques and approaches. I had to learn how to transition between the two, because I was getting in and out of the cars for back-to-back sessions across both series. There were differences in speed too, and how aggressive I could be in regards to the brakes and the handling. It required a lot of recalibrating.”
“By the end of the year, I started to get it dialed in. Ultimately, I want to be racing in GT4 and then GT3, so it was a great experience to get that double combat in the same season and build on for next season.”
When reflecting on the season as a whole, he looks back fondly on the start and the end the most, largely due to the different variables he had to contend with as the year progressed.
“Sonoma was so exciting because it was the first race weekend of the year, and it was my first opportunity to do a full-season campaign. To go out there and claim both wins was an amazing feeling, it was confirmation that all the hard work and everything that we've done was paying off, we were truly in the mix. It was very encouraging, and it showed that we could accomplish what we wanted to as long as we stayed focused.”
“Once we got to the last races at Barber and Indy, we were really having to fight for opportunities to win races. We had to change our approach and adapt to our environment as other cars started getting faster. From the beginning to the end, it kind of felt like we went through two totally different types of seasons. I had to learn how to dig deep and try to get results even when you know that you're kind of on the back foot.”
As the championship winner looks to the future, he is looking forward to the next adventure as he moves up to Pirelli GT4 America for a full-season endeavor in 2025. Although it is still familiar territory, he is eager for the opportunities that await.
“The goal is to go to GT4 America and win a championship there, that's what we want to do. We’re going to continue to grow the program and hopefully it will slowly orchestrate into a GT3 opportunity down the road!”