Welcome, everybody, to Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, as we get set for the first race of a massive weekend of sports car racing and exhibitions courtesy of SRO America. We have a jam-packed schedule of racing today and tomorrow, both. So, let's get to it. This is the opening 40-minute race of the weekend for the TC America touring cars. We have 21 cars and drivers in three classes for this weekend's races with Kyle Hier, Calvin Fish, and Amanda Busick calling the action. There's lots of prestige here at COTA, the venue of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix. We are racing in the heat of the morning before lunchtime. 40 minutes of time on the clock and a great variety of front and rear wheel drive cars. This is a homecoming for the championship.
The TCX Acura drivers feel they can compete on Balance of Performance with the BMW's. Chris Walsh is on the pole and we will be watching the Acura Integra Type S of Celso Neto, the Brazilian. Jeff Ricca and his Hyndai are on pole in the TC class. P.J. Groenke in the Mini on the TCA class pole. We have smoke out of the Celso Neto's Acura. Not good. That car is billowing smoke before the start. The TCX cars are lined up and we are green. The TC field gets the green as Jeff Ricca is leading and now Cristian Perocarpi is way out of bounds trying to make his move.
In TCA there is side by side action, too. It looks like Neto's car is OK with the smoke. Hopefully he is not running out of oil. Chris Walsh in good shape up front as we see Sally McNulty and Ruben Iglesias Jr. settling into a battle down the backstretch. A one kilometer dyno run is what this is. Mario Biundo in another Acura Integra is in a battle of his own. Great flowing rhythm into the third sector of this circuit and Nick Roberts is back in the field for his home race here at COTA. Lucas Catania holds the spot over Celso Neto with Chris Walsh leading the motor race, digging deep late in qualifying and Walsh is scampering away looking for win number five of 2024.
Do not shortcut the esses. Slow down through turn nine and leap back on the power. Four places on the road have been resurfaced including turns nine and 11. Drivers get braver on the new asphalt. Aaron Kaplan and Cooper Broll are in a battle of their own as Walsh goes purple in sector one, fastest of all. Lucas Catania has been the bridesmaid and he won at COTA last year. He won race one but had trouble in race two the next day. OK. Back in the TC field everything is peachy, currently, through the stadium section. So many turns here have been modeled after famous F1 Grand Prix circuits worldwide. Joey Jordan and the Mazda team have sorted their shock absorber and gearbox issues they suffered at Sebring last time out, two weeks ago.
Ruben Iglesias is hounding Sally McNulty for fourth spot as we have been racing now for six minutes. P.J. Groenke leading the TCA division, 3.8 seconds to the good over Alex Garcia. Maddy Lemke and Alan Grossberg the other two TCA contenders. COTA is so different and has a bit of everything, corners for speed and handling and straightaways to get the speeds up. The Mini's short wheelbase helps through the switchbacks, the S curves. Celso Neto, we saw the smoke on the car and the Skip Barber team said the car has new brake pads in and he was bedding them in on the recon laps and the rotors were smoking.
Lucas Catania spins all by his lonesome in turn 19, out of second spot! The rear end came around and he needs to be very, very careful rejoining the road. He is back on track now but has plummeted to sixth place. Turn 19 is so fast and the touring cars do not have the same downforce as the GT3 and GT4 cars we will see later today and tomorrow, too. TCX cars has front wheel and rear wheel drive cars. Front Wheel Drive, you can catch the car, but Rear Wheel Drive, not too much. You'll spin the car. Joey Jordan being harried by Cristian Perocarpi. Mini Cooper JCW vs. Mazda 3. Joey Jordan is chasing Jeff Ricca.
Be aware of track limits. I am not kidding. Some of these turns are so sweeping and incredibly wide. In this replay, a massive twitch for Mike LaMarra in one of the Acura Integra TCX cars. That is the #73 L.A. Hond World entry. The track limits are the outer white lines, not the curbs. Trouble too for Cooper Broll in one of the other Acura's. Mike LaMarra will also be in the three-hour Pirelli GT4 America race later this evening. Cooper Broll has alignment or power steering trouble on his Acura. He did not qualify well earlier this morning either. Such a shame for Cooper Broll. There are parallels that can be drawn between COTA and our next track at Virginia International Raceway in mid-July. In June, there will be a break for the SRO America teams and drivers to do a reset before the second half of the year.
Kris Valdez and Scott Thomson, Honda Civic Type R vs. Mini Cooper. Thomson runs wide and bounces out over the curbing. It is such a peak at a 100-foot, 11-degree incline in turn one for the braking zone. Slow down your hands, turning the wheel. It is like a long, uphill putt on a golf course. For Cooper Broll, his retirement for the race is attributed to a gearbox oil leak. There are still teething issues with the new Acura as Chris Valdez is sneaking up on Scott Thomson and the two of them are side by side, look. The left, right, left right combination of turns 13-15, Thomson goes by. At certain places this is a one line racecourse but in other spots, there are multiple grooves.
Jeff Ricca is chasing TCX traffic. Ricca is all over Mario Biundo's six currently in the #7 Acura Integra for L.A. Honda World Racing. It is bumpy at the crest of the hill. There is tons of elevation on the backstretch. In turn 12 right at the end of the back straightaway, there is more repaving. 2:24.247, the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap for Chris Walsh with 3/4 of a second in hand over Celso Neto. He is looking for five wins on the bounce. Down the backstretch and into turn 12 again, Walsh is cutting qualifying laps. Jeff Ricca is in the thick of the TCX battle leading in the TC class over Joey Jordan, Sally McNulty, and the rest.
Mario Biundo is working with Ryan Eversley, a veteran driver. The esses are a lot like Maggots/Becketts at Silverstone and parts also are reminiscent of the Istanbul track in turkey, the Hockenheimring stadium section in Germany, and turn 19 is modeled after Indianapolis corner at Le Mans. Celso Neto's smoke situation as we told you was due to the brakes not being bedded in but now, he is off the pace and the Skip Barber Racing School team will go to work to see what is wrong. We have passed the halfway mark in race one of the weekend. Hopefully Celso Neto and the team will be set up for race two tomorrow.
Gearbox woes, again, for Celso Neto, putting two of the Skip Barber Racing School Honda's out of the motor race. Cristian Perocarpi has not had the best race today either. These cars are production-based and the failsafe systems are kicking in to cool the car down in the Texas heat. Lucas Catania is reeling in Mike LaMarra as he now has Aaron Kaplan right ahead of him. #37 with the bonnet up, something is indeed amiss for Cristian Perocarpi, unfortunately. They will be sorting the car out for race two tomorrow and there is a lot of on throttle time here at COTA. Lots of downshifting with the H pattern gearbox cars, the drivetrains going through the ringer.
Lucas Catania is doing all he can to stay with Chris Walsh in the TCX battle. 15 minutes to go in race one. Catania's trouble is that the championship leader is the race leader. Yes, you've guessed it. Chris Walsh is on a roll. Keep digging. Never give up. We have also seen drivers like Jacob Ruud and Colin Garrett dominating TC America in 2022 and 2023. LaMarra and Catania now in a battle. Acura Integra Type S vs. BMW M2 CS Racing. Front Wheel Drive vs. Rear Wheel Drive. 13 minutes to go before the race ends.
Cristian Perocarpi was worried about the engine power. There is an electrical issue that they have been chasing since last year. The car is being obstinate today. The machine doth protest too much. Alex Garcia is second in TCA but has a final track limits warning from the stewards, the TCA class winner in one of the Sebring races two weeks ago. Commit to a painted line but be careful. The Honda Civic SI is one of the most affordable cars, factory built, turnkey, and it works extremely well. SRO has a great ladder system here. Some teams are involved in all three categories in the touring cars and then move up to GT4 and GT3. In all three categories, the leaders have their gaps covered.
Jeff Ricca leads Joey Jordan by 6.6 seconds in the TC class. Joey Jordan is lingering, solidly in second place. By the time they get to VIR they will be in even better shape as Maddy Lemke is third in TCA in the Ascent Racing Honda Civic SI, car #9. Ruben Iglesias Jr. has passed by Sally McNulty. She is having a good race in the TC class, and she is a likeable driver. You can have all the skill and speed but you as a driver, must be likeable, too. Chris Walsh resets the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap at 2:24.247. He continues pushing hard. Luca Catania is 20 seconds back but is running similar pace. Catania might have more in the locker for tomorrow.
Catania was quicker in sector three than Walsh was. Joey Jordan though has Ruben Iglesias Jr. right on his six for second place in the TC class. Twitching over the curbs, and Ruben Iglesias Jr. has found speed and is giving Joey Jordan all he can handle. Time is running out, though. So we will have at least two laps remaining. Iglesias side by side into the braking zone and comes across Joey Jorsan. Be proactive, not reactive. The width of this circuit makes defending hard. Sally McNulty sees the carrot trying to run down this battle, but Iglesias defends from Jordan, although the Mazda is handling well. The front tires on Iglesias' car might be going away with the front wheel drive doing everything, the front end of the car steering and braking, both.
Rotation off throttle, playing with differential setups, is a key element of setting the balance on one of these touring cars. Iglesias Jr. is picking up time on Jorey Jordan and has made the pass, but Jeff Ricca is nine and a half seconds ahead in the lead. Chris Walsh, our overall leader, is on his last lap. Walsh is on the march once again, taking the bull by the horns with great pace and no mistakes. Lucas Catania has chipped away but is 17 seconds behind in second place. He cannot have any distractions and needs a good, clean race tomorrow in race two. He is extremely consistent with all of his runner-up finishes but wants to win.
P.J. Groenke leading the TC class not far up the road from Alex Garcia. The final few turns for Chris Walsh and Carrus Callas Raceteam and Walsh is your winner! P.J. Groenke, victorious in the TC class over Alex Garcia, while Jeff Ricca has dominated the TC class once again. All systems go for that Hyundai, as driver and team boss at Ricca Autosport. Another win for Jeff Ricca in TC with Ruben Iglesias Jr. and Joey Jordan completing the podium. Four out of five for Jeff Ricca.
Overall/TCX: #104 Chris Walsh Carrus Callas Racteam BMW M2 CS (Cup)
TC: #78 Jeff Ricca GenRacer/Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N Cup
TCA: #62 P.J. Groenke MINI JCW Team MINI JCW
Cue the dance music for the results, the top twenty. Good race today. We'll have more action in TC America tomorrow. A shame to see so many good contenders dropping by the wayside in race one. But this race is in the bag, and we look ahead to race two tomorrow and plenty more action through the rest of the day today. Stay with us, everyone. You will be glad you did. Bye for now.
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