The SRO America TC America championship is set to go for the first race of two this weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Louisiana, in fact, just a ways outside of the city limits in New Orleans, in Avondale, Louisiana. The series is back in action for round three of the championship on this fast, flowing 2.75 mile, 16 turn course with 24 cars among three classes and a multitude of brands such as Honda, Hyundai, BMW, Subaru, and Mini. This race will be a dash, a 40 minute sprint. Gray clouds loom overhead and could sprout rain. The weather in this part of the country, in the deep south can be and is often unpredictable. In normal wet conditions this track is fine but with the flood plane, if there is a massive deluge, then you will need a pirogue, not a race car and the track will be completely awash. Maybe we will escape the thundercloud. We'll see.
We have the TCX class, the TC class, and the TCA class with a mix of front and rear wheel drive cars. The front wheel drive Honda's have the pace from qualifying earlier. Can they keep the tires under them for a full 40 minutes? We look at the TC class field as well. Daijiro Yoshihara is back for the races in New Orleans after a fast and yet disappointing weekend at Sonoma Raceway in April. He of course is at the wheel of the #99 VGRT Honda Civic Type R TCX. The Honda's with front wheel drive look unbeatable with their qualifying pace. Will the race come to the rear wheel drive BMW's? We have Celso Neto starting from the pole in the TC class. Neto, the Brazilian, at the wheel of the first of two Skip Barber Racing School Honda Civic Type R TC cars along with teammate Ken Fukuda in cars #7 and #42 respectively.
Spencer Bucknum is the class polesitter in the TCA division aboard the second of the LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si FE1's. There are two types. Bucknum in the FE1 and teammate Mario Biundo aboard the FC1 model, car #07. Bucknum is being coached by HPD factory driver Ryan Eversley. He and Subaru's Devin Anderson are in a battle for the points lead early doors and of course we saw Anderson and Subaru break out the broom and sweep last time out, winning both races at Sonoma Raceway in northern California. 16 corners and 2 and 3/4s of a mile and flat as a pancake compared to Sonoma. Tire wear is key. Wear the tire out and make sure it does not overheat on the flat surface with a lot of turning rate.
We don't typically see Full Course Yellows in the oturing car races. Kyle Loh at the top of the shop and he won his second career race at Snoma in TCX starting alongside Shihara. Shihara's car had a foolproof part go bang at Sonoma. It is a Honda front row lockout with the BMW of Colin Garrett next up. A grand total of 24 cars starting this race. No windscreen wipers on yet so we have dodged a bit of a bullet with the rain. Rain has been skirting the circuit all day thus far. We'll see. If it does rain, it did rain Thursday morning during testing here at NOLA.
Last year we had the deluge and puddling through the middle of the racetrack. BMW have dominated the TCX class and now Honda gives the Bavarian's a run for their money. This car is a detuned TCR spec Honda. The stewards trying to balance the front wheel drive Honda's and rear wheel drive BMW's. OK. We've got a green flag for TCX and we're off and racing! Loh and Shihara going for it and Colin Garrett wants to go for second and now, Luca Catania is pushing Garrett as well. Meanwhile, we can see the TCA class starting the race and it is indeed P.J. Groenke gong with William Lambros and Lambrose is second behind Bucknum.
Bucknum did not test here at NOLA. Colin Garrett is losing places and he is now embroiled in a battle with Kenny Schmied driving the #14 AOA Racing BMW M2 CS Racing. So, two BMW's scrapping. Garrett of course drives the #44 M2 CS Racing for Rooster Hall Racing. Adam Gleason too has made a great start for Fast Track Racing sponsored by Bitcoin. Gleason aboard the #21 BMW. Garrett scrapping with Schmeid for fifth overall and in TCX. For the TC lead, Christian Perocarpi has moved to the lead past Celso Neto and Clay Williams in the sister Mini is pressurizing Jeff Ricca in the Hyundai.
Neto's car looks to be smoking. I wonder what that is about. Smoke out of the back of the #8 Honda in the hands of Michael Hurczyn so trouble early doors for a couple of the Honda's and that smoke out the back of Hurczyn's automobile looks serious indeed. Hurczyn ran fastest in qualifying but was demoted to caboose on the grid before the race started and his race is going pear shaped as we speak. Hurczyn, the 2019 SRO TC America TCR champion in a spot of bother. Kyle Loh should be able to manage this race and control his pace. He does not have to run and hide. The best of the TCX BMW's is Adam Gleason who moved from sixth on the grid to third. The "touring car heartthrob". Gleason and his wife Mandy met in medical school and went to racing school together.
There is moisture in the area. Luca Catania had 11 runner-up finishes last year and has had something like two already this year so he has to be sick and tired of hearing racing commentators talk about it, saying "I'm not listening. I don't believe a word you folks are saying about me!" 11 podiums and three fastest laps in TCX, still looking for the breakthrough victory. Catania battling for the final step on the TCX class podium with Adam Gleason. He has immediately found his feet and in 2020 during the virus lockdowns he watched as many races on TV as he could that were taped and then he went ahead and signed up with Toby Grahovec's team.
In turn, Grahovec signed Adam Gleason up for his racing license and Adam didn't even know about it. Cristian Perocarpi in the Mini is feeling the pressure from Jeff Ricca in the Hyundai. Ricca trying the inside. Jeff Ricca had a great weekend at Sonoma. This is a new car for Ricca who's GenRacer team does the development on this TC America Hyundai Elantra. Ricca got to race in Korea last year at a Hyundai festival and the cars over there are not badged as Elantra's but are built the same way as this Elantra TC model. Spencer Bucknum leading TCS with Devin Anderson and William Lambros pushing.
Subaru vs. Honda. Only two brands I guess. The TCX battle continues to boil as Lucas Catania tries Adam Gleason and they make contact. Colin Garrett is beginning to push after a sluggish start. Jeff Ricca has also made his way past Cristian Perocarpi. The battle is still on for third place in TCX between Catania, Garrett, and Schmied. 31 minutes left on the board. The tire wear should be more significant on the Honda's than the BMW's in TCX but we will have to wait and find out. Ricca did pass Perocarpi in the TC class.
Jeff Ricca had a class victory at the Nurburgring in the qualifying race for the Nurburgring 24 Hours in a few weeks. He will have to miss the next race at Circuit of the Americas. Now, that also leads me to a blog note. Because of the Nurburgring and covering that one, you will see news updates and an abbreviated race report for it, and also, when I have the time to get to the races from Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, for SRO America, and the touring car classes, I will get to them. However, they may be a tad bit later in coming the following week after the Nurburgring coverage has fully concluded.
So, stay tuned at any rate. There is a piece of bodywork loose under the splitter or something that will be robbing Ricca of downforce. In the BMW camp, they will likely start pushing the Honda's. Colin Garrett and Kyle Loh are tied on points. Garrett and Rooster Hall Racing are looking for every point they can get. He is likely the fastest BMW on the road right now and giving the stick to both Gleason and Catania but cannot pass. Ricca's gap is up to half a second over Perocarpi. Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey, as they say.
Hopefully the flapping noise can be identified on Ricca's car so he is not worried about a tire going down. Jeff Ricca will race the Nurburgring 24 Hours winning once in class and then finishing second in the other qualifying event. Ricca is teaming up with a Korean pair of drivers and a German driver as part of Hyundai's Dare to Dream program. The threat of rain is hovering but it has held off currently. In TCA, the scrap is still on between Spencer Bucknum and Devin Anderson. Anderson is the leader in the championship in TCA and is lookin for the hat trick. He was third in points in 2022 and won the finale at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway last fall.
Don't sleep on Will Lambros either. He is pushing to try and make his mark in the race today as well. Skip Barber Racing School are fielding touring cars and a Toyota Supra in Pirelli GT4 America and they have their single seater open wheel racing. We have some major names including Jackson Bell, son of racer Townsend Bell, and Sebastian Wheldon, son of the late, great Dan Wheldon, the Indianapolis 500 champion. Susie, Sebastian's mother, is very supportive of her son and of course Dan Wheldon and Townsend Bell scrapped on track in Indy Lights for many years.
Kyle Loh, meanwhile, is running a very disciplined race up against Dai Yoshihara. He is a drift car racer but also has done circuit racing including the Japanese Super Taikyu endurance series. Yoshihara is driving a front wheel drive car for the first time. The Honda's lead the BMW's by 19 seconds and I will say that BMW's scrapping amongst themselves is not helping their cause at all. Gleason vs. Catania vs. Garrett. In TCA, the battle for third there is also intense between three manufacturers. Honda with William Lambros, Mini with P.J. Groenke, and Subaru with Shaoyi Che.
BMW have strength in numbers and the Honda's are out of place with their performance factor. In the TCA class, Spencer Bucknum is in a comfort zone while Will Lambros is chasing Devin Anderson. Will Lambros ran the Skip Barber Formula Series last year within the SRO. Lambros has raced Legends cars and Spec Miata's. Lambros is coming in a hurry, monstering Anderson and the car is twitching with little grip. Into the backstretch Lambros sent it over the curbs and now, Spencer Bucknum says "while you two are fighting, I will just whistle off into the distance, thank you."
Usually touring cars are a no holds barred sprint race but tire management here at NOLA is crucial just like it is at Sonoma. Gleason has been demoted and now Garrett is going for it. Schmeid is also in the picture. A battle for third into turn one. Garrett into the turn, with NASCAR late models and truck series experience. He ran the truck race at Circuit of the Americas weeks ago. Gleason holds the spot and now, Catania has the front end wash out and here comes Schmied and he too, makes the pass. Schmeid runs wide and Catania is right back at him.
NOLA Motorsports Park is a great track for these touring cars. Gleason looking racy as well. Gleason flashing the lights at Garrett. Get out of my way, Bucky. Catania slides sideways and now Schmied sees an opening. This BMW M2 CS Racing has been such a great car, debuting in 2021. 3 liter inline six cylinder motor with a few different power levels. The BMW M2's have been selling like hotcakes. Teams want to race them but cannot get them because of the demand. They are top notch race cars with all the bells and whistles.
In the meantime, look, Anderson still holds off Lambros. No pressure on Spencer Bucknum, but he did have to absorb pressure from Devin Anderson who might be running on knackered Pirelli tires. Ryan Eversley has to be telling Spencer Bucknum to manage his pace and his tires. Kyle Loh is the overall leader while Jeff Ricca continues in the TC class lead as well. The TCA battle for second is the best on track. Front wheel drive Honda chasing rear wheel drive Subaru and Anderson sends it into the braking zone at turn 13. He is managing the gap but Lambrose is feisty, trying to find the solution to the riddle.
We are well past halfway in this race with just 16 minutes left on the board. Kyle Loh, the overall leader, makes the pass as Devin Anderson runs wide and loses traction. Fifth place in the TC class for the second Gen Racer Hyundai, the Veloster N TC #780 with Sally McNulty at the wheel of it. She took over that car from Jeff Ricca and she is trying to work on her left foot braking. She acquired this car from Jeff Ricca. In her daily driver, she is using left foot braking around town. She has also been driving in the simulator. Top drivers like Helio Castroneves can even have trouble with that transition of braking with the left foot vs. the right foot.
It took him a year or so to master it. That is why a lot of drivers use the left foot braking. Gleason and Catania continue fighting each other into turn one. Catania moves around Adam Gleason for fourth spot in the TCX class. Left foot braking is very usable on ovals. In road racing, it depends. In TCA, Lambros passes Anderson for second in class. Does Lambros have anything in the locker left to go after Spencer Bucknum? We'll have to find out. Time is of the essence. Garrett is the lead BMW in P3 behind the two Honda's. Victor Gonzalez, team owner of VGRT, and he told everyone that the team was going to dominate the race.
The Honda's are dominating but now it is Kyle Loh in the #73 L.A. Honda World Honda four and a half seconds to the good over Daijiro Yoshihara in the #99 VGRT entry. Just 11 minutes now remain in race one at NOLA. SRO have done the Balance of Performance here at NOLA for the Honda and the BMW. The Honda sounds great and looks great. Kyle Loh had a special victory at Sonoma Raceway as he is from San Jose, California. Daiyo Shihara has been in southern California for two decades now. Dai won the 2011 Formula Drift championship. He has won the Pikes Peak Hill Climb and was the fastest electric vehicle up Pikes Peak in 2022.
He has also done stunt driving in movies. Shihara, the "international man of mystery". Dai has been watching races at NOLA on YouTube. Dai Yoshihara has almost 400,000 Instagram followers. He has a huge amount of support and a great personality. He still could win this race with nine minutes to go. He has to dig himself out of a big hole in the championship as well. The season is a long one. Jeff Ricca continues to lead in the TC class. Celso Neto hopping over the curbs and getting feisty late and we have a car stranded in the grass and well off the racing line.
That is in turn one and it is the #14 car of Ken Schmied, the AOA Racing BMW M2 CS Racing. He was contending for the top five. In replay, oh boy. Anderson was off the road as well and so is Adam Gleason. Could there be fluid on the track? Anderson is off. Gleason is off. Oh my! This is a fine mess and two promising races that have come undone. We shall have to see what the stewards decide to do with this lot. Ricca is still the TC leader with Cristian Perocarpi next up in the queue. The new Mini still is ahving teething trouble, braking an axle and having shifting issues.
Full Course Yellow. Safety Car deployed. Cristian Perocarpi is running the team here at NOLA because his dad just finished racing the Sonora Rally in Mexico where the Mini's ran 1-2. P.J. Groenke could get on the podium. The Mini is a great performing car. Clay Williams is running in fourth just off the podium. Clay Williams is carrying LOPA on his car this weekend, the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency. They help with every step of organ donation. Organ donation is an important cause to the Williams family.
Three minutes to go. Kyle Loh leads overall by four seconds is gone. There is traffic and safety car lights out. it is going to be a shootout! Buckle up. Everyone is scrambling to catch up with the crocodile and no class split. Kris Valdez is in between. Valdez has The Good Table on his car, all to doo with mobile farming units. Kyle Loh gets a great jump and will the drifting master Dai Yoshihara be able to apply the pressure as this race is coming to an end? This is a two lap dash. You can go racing as soon as the green flag flies. A late pass by Joseph Catania. On her debut we are also seeing a great race from Maddie Aust with Fast Track Racing, formerly Classic BMW.
Aust is 18 and getting her start in touring cars, starting into her second year of Formula 4 open wheel racing and was invited to the W Series test a couple of years ago. She is coming in a hurry in the orange and purple BMW learning all the time as we are coming to the finish. Joseph Catania is chasing down Maddie Aust. Team boss Toby Grahovec is bullish about Maddie Aust's chances. Cristian Perocarpi battling with P.J. Groenke but not for class placing. One lap to go to settle this one. Jeff Ricca carving through traffic. White flag. One lap to go.
Perocarpi not giving up giving up a place though to Celso Neto. Oh boy. Time is up but when the overall leader takes the flag that is it. Oh my! Neto tags Bucknum, the TCA leader who almost gets wiped out! Fast hands there from Spencer Bucknum! Lambros is coming and so is Groenke! Holy smokes! The Mini is quick on the straightaways. Holy cow! This is good stuff here! Kyle Loh is going to get his second career win in his third start in TC America. Kyle Loh and L.A. Honda World take race one at NOLA Motorsports Park with Dai Yoshihara in second.
Battles all over the track and oh! Big crash! Catania slams the wall head on! A mad scramble to the line! Ricca muscles his way through the melee to take the win in TC. Bucknum holds on for the victory in TCA over Lambros and Groenke. In replay, we can see what happened to Catania. I don't think Joseph Catania knew Cristian Perocarpi was there. Perocarpi was moving to the outside of Jeff Ricca for the class lead. That is a huge smash for Joseph Catania. He is OK. Thank God! He was fighting with Maddie Aust and Catania drifted across and got turned into the concrete guardrail. Wow. Great driving by all behind to take evasive action.
Kyle Loh wins the race while Jeff Ricca scores victory in class and finally, Spencer Bucknum gets a breakthrough win. Congratulations to him and his dad, Jeff Bucknum.
Overall/TCX: #73 Kyle Loh LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Type R TCX
TC: #78 Jeff Ricca GenRacer/Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N TC
TCA: #5 Spencer Bucknum LA Honda World Racing Honda Civic Si (FE1)
It was 16 thousandths of a second separating the best laps between Loh and Yoshihara. The CrowdStrike Fastest Lap of the race goes to Kyle Loh at 1:48.430. In TCA, Bucknum's best lap was 1:55.7 with Lambrose and Groenke for race two tomorrow. That late yellow put the cat among the pigeons and everyone had their elbows out. Joseph Catania is fine but the car may not be fixable for race two tomorrow. We have more races for Fanatec GT World Challenge America and for Pirelli GT4 America as well.
Kyle Loh wins his second race in a row. Devin Anderson has t be wondering what happened to him in a bad race one at NOLA today. Kyle Loh, veteran of west coast Formula 4 and is now racing with L.A Honda World and has won for the second time in his young touring car career. He is now the TCX points leader. Jeff Ricca too had a dramatic win and has now done the hat trick. He and his team were here at the track until 2:00 A.M. putting a new motor in the car. Spencer Bucknum was greatly helped by Ryan Eversley on the radio today and he gets congratulations from Mario Biundo, driver and team owner.
That's it for our first race of the weekend for the touring cars at NOLA. See you tomorrow for race two, everybody. So long for now. But stay tuned. There's more racing to come.
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