Neto, Ricca and Garcia win TC America Race 1 on VIR in difficult weather

Changing conditions presented a challenge for TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School’s first race at Virginia International Raceway. Celso Neto claimed his first win of the season with a composed drive in the TCX class in the No. 22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S. In TC and TCA, Jeff Ricca and Alex Garcia added to their growing win streaks in their respective No. 78 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC and No. 14 Skip Barber Racing Honda Civic Si FE1.

TCX

It was a tricky start to the race for polesitter Chris Walsh, who suffered an issue with his No. 104 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M2 CS (Cup) that dropped him to the back of the field. Neto moved up to first overall in the No. 22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S, but Walsh had begun his comeback and was charging hard through the field.

Walsh made steady progress and closed the gap to the leader, but a safety car in the final five minutes of the race eventually brought his group to a halt.

Neto went on to take the checkered flag and claim his first win of the season after completing a strong and confident drive. Walsh made a valiant effort to come back through traffic to secure second place, with the podium completed by Cooper Broll in third in the No. 19 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S.

“When I saw Chris was having a problem, the plan was to save as much of my tires as possible because I knew I needed them in case I had to defend myself,” Neto explained. “I didn’t drive the car too fast and other traffic played into our hands as well. I want to thank the entire Skip Barber Racing team, all the sponsors and everyone who supports me. I really appreciate it. I also want to dedicate this win to my dad for his birthday today, this is for him and everything he does for me. Thanks everyone for all the support. It’s been awesome!”

Ricca moved to first place in class in his No. 78 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC, ahead of TC pole-sitter Cristian Perocarpi in the No. 37 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW TC Pro. Still, the pair remained neck-and-neck throughout the race, with no room for error.

The two were separated by less than half a second lap after lap, with Perocarpi eagerly waiting for an opportunity to overtake. However, the battle ended when a full track caution was issued.

Ricca took his fifth win of the season, with Perocarpi close behind in second. The top three was rounded out by Ruben Iglesias Jr. in third in the No. 77 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC.

“I was looking in my mirrors the whole time,” Ricca said. “I was on the edge and my adrenaline was going, but I also tried to stay as calm as possible. I want to thank the crew that stayed up late last night working on all of our cars, and also Hyundai USA and Hyundai Korea.”

TCA

Garcia saw an early opportunity to strike in his No. 14 Skip Barber Racing Honda Civic Si FE1 and engaged in a thrilling battle with PJ Groenke in the No. 62 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW for several laps before taking the lead and building a gap.

With just under ten minutes left in the race, Groenke was unexpectedly forced to pit and eventually had to abandon the race due to a mechanical failure.

Garcia took his third win of the season and said: “I had a few mechanical issues in earlier sessions this week so I wasn’t expecting too much. I knew PJ Groenke had good pace here so I kept my head down to find the pace that we know we have. I have a great team, great teammates and I have good experience here from last year so I kept my head down and focused on what was ahead of me.”

The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School returns on Sunday, July 21 for race two at 9:50 a.m. ET.

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