Tag: TC America

The TC America Powered by Skip Barber field returned for more action on Sunday morning for Race 2. The entirety of the 40-minute event ran under green flag racing conditions, and drivers across all three classes truly put the pedal to the metal and kept everyone on the edge of their seats.

Colin Garrett claimed his second victory of the weekend in the TCX class, with Jeff Ricca showing off his unmatchable pace in the TC class to take another win. Devin Anderson rose to the occasion and capitalized on every opportunity in the TCA class, taking first place after a thrilling battle that came down to the final lap.

TCX class
Colin Garrett had a clean getaway from pole position, flying down the track in his No. 44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M2 CS (Cup) as the green flag waved to kick off the action in Race 2. He kept the lead from start to finish, completing a picture perfect weekend to secure his fourth consecutive win, clinching the championship title in the process.

Lucas Catania was on the charge from second on the grid in the No. 26 Rigid Speed Company BMW M2 CS (Cup), but it was Joseph Pizzuto who got the jump on Catania in the opening lap on board his No. 45 Extreme Velocity Motorsports BMW M2 CS (Cup).

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Catania remained on the hunt as he attempted to close the gap to Pizzuto, and the two exchanged fastest laps as the race progressed. It was an exhilarating chase, which came to a head in the final laps as Catania found the right opportunity to sweep past Pizzuto into second place, using traffic from other classes to his advantage to gain some extra momentum.

TC class
Jeff Ricca had an excellent start in his No. 78 Genracer/Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TC, and never looked back. He picked up his second win of the weekend and put his experience and speed on full display with another masterful drive around Sebring.

Cristian Perocarpi was applying pressure behind in second place for the majority of the race in his No. 37 MINI JCW Team Mini JCW Pro TC, and completed a strong drive and got some redemption following his untimely retirement in Race 1. However, Ricca’s pace was simply unbeatable, and he accumulated a nearly 10-second gap between himself and Perocarpi as the time on the clock continued to dwindle away.

It was a difficult day for championship contender Clayton Williams, who dropped down the field after an issue on track for his No. 60 MINI JCW Team Mini JCW Pro TC halted his progression and temporarily removed him from podium positions. However, he fought hard to make up ground, and was eventually able to recover back up to second place in order to keep the championship battle alive, with Perocarpi swapping to third place.

TCA class
Championship front-runners Spencer Bucknum and Devin Anderson were running very closely together in the No. 5 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si FE1 and the No. 22 TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ throughout the entirety of the race, but it was ultimately Devin Anderson who walked away with top honors after some last-lap drama.

Class traffic made their battle even more precarious, with Anderson temporarily moving into the lead with just over 5 minutes to go, but Bucknum took it right back later on the same lap. However, this fight was far from over, as the two went wheel to wheel lap after lap. It all came down to the final corners, with a small error from Bucknum sending him running wide off track, allowing Anderson to move into the lead once and for all, relegating Bucknum to second place.

William Lambros had some additional hurdles to overcome as he served a penalty for improper race start procedure, dropping his No. 77 Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si FE1 down the last in the class order. From there, he focused on recovering and making his way back into the podium battle, wrapping up his weekend with a third-place finish.

The 2023 race season comes to a close next month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

RESULTS

The TC America powered by Skip Barber series took to Virginia International Raceway for an action-packed Race 1. Tight battles ensued throughout the race but a few first broke through by the checkered flag. Former cheerleader Maddie Aust, 18, took home her first win in the TCX Class. While Clayton Williams stole the show with a flawless drive, second-place finisher Sally McNulty stole hearts earning a podium finish she had waited for since 2019 when she joined the TC series. In TCA Class Devin Anderson gave locals something to cheer about as he cruised to a win.

TCX
Aust in the No. 09 Fast Track Racing BMW M2 CS took home her first TCX class win in after a dramatic ending for Colin Garrett and Lucas Catania. Catania in his No. 26 Rigid Speed Company BMW M2 CS (Cup) latched on to the bumper of Garrett in the No. 44 Rooster Hall Racing BMW M2 CS (Cup) early on in the race. The two would swap positions several times and with seconds remaining in the race, Catania made contact with Garrett. Both cars continued but not after Garrett half spun and lost several positions and Catania would earn a post-race drive-through penalty for incedent responsibility.

Aust’s teammate Adam Gleason in the No. 21 Fast Track Racing BMW M2 CS took over second place after the checkered flag. Gleason’s second-place finish was his first podium finish in the TCX Class. The third step on the podium went to Joseph Catania in the No. 24 Rigid Speed Racing BMW.

“I’m very excited,” Aust said. “When I had a couple of situations on track, I just kept my head down and stayed consistent. I sort of can’t believe this because I just found out I won 30 seconds before I pulled in. It’s a lot of emotions but I’m super excited.”

TC
Clayton Williams in the No. 60 MINI JCW Team Mini JCW Pro TC earned the win after Jeff Ricca and his No. 78 Genracer/ Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TC made an unscheduled stop in the pitlane after dominating the race. This is three wins in a row for Williams. Meanwhile, Sally McNulty took home her first-ever podium.

McNulty took second with her No. 780 Genracer/ Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N DCT TC for her first career podium finish. She had her hands full throughout the race with Celso Neto keeping her honest as he fought to make his way past her. Neto in his No. 7 Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R ultimately finished third.

“We’re extending our lead,” Williams said. “We knew we had to come here and beat Ricca. He’s our main competitor. He had a big lead there so I knew it was going to be really hard to hunt him down but unfortunately, he had an issue which was fortunate for us. I’m just really happy to win and I can’t thank Catalyzer and my family enough.”

TCA 
Local Devin Anderson in the No. 22 TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ took the lead from Spencer Bucknum early in the race and cruised to the checkered flag uncontested. Bucknum in the No. 5 LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si went off and into the tires. The contact brought an early end to what looked like a dominant run.

Anderson’s teammate Shaoyi Che in the No. 23 TechSport Racing Subaru BRZ followed him across the finish line 12 seconds back. Third-place finisher William Lambros in the No. 77 Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Si was five seconds back from Che making the TCA Class race perhaps the most clean cut of Race One.

“I don’t think anyone wanted to win this race,” Anderson said. “Spencer had trouble going off in the beginning. PJ Groenke looked like he was catching me in the middle of the race, but he fell off. My teammate Shaoyi Che and I just cruised to a one, two-finish. I want to thank TechSport for an incredible car.”

Race 2 takes place Sunday, June 18 at 8:30am ET. Fans can follow the action on the TC America series website with livetiming, race results, and livestreaming. Or tune in to the livestream on the SRO YouTube page, GT World.

RESULTS