- Andre Castro Emerges as New Championship Leader
- Big Points Haul for Ricca Autosport and Hyundai
- Race 1 Provisional Results
While the intense Florida sun bore down over Sebring International Raceway, the Touring Car America powered by Skip Barber Racing School field brought some heat of their own, delivering a battle-filled sprint for Race 1 of the weekend. Andre Castro delivered a commanding performance, leading a Ricca Autosport sweep of the podium and emerging as the new championship leader in the process.
Starting from pole position in the No. 77 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC EVO, Castro made a clean launch at the green flag and immediately settled into control of the race ahead of teammate Justin Gravett in the No. 8 Hyundai Elantra N1 TC EVO. From the outset, the Ricca Autosport pair established themselves at the front of the field, with Castro carefully managing a gap of a few seconds while consistently hitting his marks around the demanding and bumpy circuit.
Behind them, Eric Kunz completed a strong showing for the Hyundai squad in the No. 33 Ricca Autosport entry, running comfortably in third and helping secure what would eventually become a dominant 1-2-3 finish for the team.
The overall complexion of the championship changed very early on in the race when points leader Braydon Arthur encountered trouble just five minutes into the running. Arthur brought the No. 4 JMF Motorsports Toyota GR Corolla TC to pit lane with an apparent issue before the car was ultimately retired, ending his race prematurely and opening the door for Castro in the close title fight.
Further back, a highly entertaining battle developed for fourth position. Dean Lambros held the spot in the No. 7 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type-S DE5 while Shelby Mills attempted to close the gap in the No. 18 Fawn Group MS by Ricca Autosport Hyundai. As the race entered its closing stages, CJ Sepulveda joined the fight in the No. 78 Ricca Autosport Hyundai and mounted an aggressive challenge for a top-five finish.
Sepulveda and Lambros traded blows in the final minutes, running wheel-to-wheel and crossing over multiple times. The drama intensified near the checkered flag when smoke began pouring from Lambros’ machine, but he managed to hold onto fourth place ahead of Sepulveda as the checkered flag waved.
Out front, however, there was no denying Castro as he cruised to a dominant victory, leading home teammates Gravett and Kunz to complete a clean sweep of the podium for the team and a major points haul for Hyundai.
With Arthur failing to score, Castro’s victory vaults him into the championship lead by five points heading into the remainder of the Sebring weekend.
“I had a great day today,” said Castro. “I was trying to maintain the gap at the front, and it worked out. It’s hot outside, so my goal was to keep the left front tire under control, which was a challenge. By the end, our lap times were not bad at all, and it felt like the car held on pretty well. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I believe I’m starting first as well, so hopefully we can sweep the weekend.”
Let’s Get Racing
The TC America powered by Skip Barber field will return to the track for Race 2 on Saturday morning, May 9th at 10:05 AM ET.
If you can’t make it to Sebring International Raceway, 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 #GTSebring.