Time is of the essence in the SRO TC America championship for 2024. Big changes are also being proposed and will possibly be made for the touring car section of SRO America, for next year, in 2025. We will discuss those at a later time. Right now, it is time to go racing. This weekend's TC America class field consists of several automobiles we have seen in previous events for full-season entries. Most teams are also the same. We continue to find an expansion at the Ricca Autosport Hyundai team with their effort now expanding to five Hyundai Elantra N1 TC entries. Jeff Ricca, Ruben Iglesias Jr., and Sally McNulty are joined here at Road America by two more drivers on the team, Canadian Connor Attrell and American Vin Anatra.
The MINI JCW Team continues with four cars on the grid and this weekend, Scott Thomson, Cristian Perocarpi, and P.J. Groenke are joined on the team by Bruce Myrehn. Bruce is the father of our mate, Ryan Myrehn, who calls the play-by-play for SRO America races who is of course joined this weekend in the booth by Calvin Fish and we have D.J. Clark reporting from the pit lane for this morning's race. There are big changes planned for the SRO America touring car classes in 2025, which you first read about yesterday in the Friday news update, and we might just highlight those during the course of today's race as well as during race two, tomorrow.
We have arrived at Road America, this 4-mile circuit with 14 corners, which has been around since 1955. Ryan Myrehn and Calvin Fish are in the broadcast booth with D.J. Clark in the pit lane. Testing and Free Practice were disrupted by rain. We could see raindrops towards the end of this race today. Who got their setups right? There are three classes of touring cars we will deal with. Plenty of stories. In TCX, Celso Neto, the Brazilian, he has pole in the Acura Integra, while Chris Walsh had a sensor problem on his #104 Carrus Callas Racing BMW M2 CS Cup. Cristian Perocarpi was the second fastest overall car and the top racer in the TC class.
This is such a fast circuit. Chris Walsh had a lockup of the brakes during qualifying. The TCX and TC overlap is a preview of what is to come for 2025 and beyond. TCA will be no more and TCX and TC will merge into a single class plus there will be shorter races next year as the engines have fired up. Soon, the field will have their single formation lap on this four-mile palace of speed. Road America is incredible. Lots of elevation change with 171 feet worth of it. The track was resurfaced a couple years ago so there's monster grip available.
The track should be sharp however, we don't know yet who will have the best package here in the dry. The GT3 teams have been able to test here but the TC class cars do not have the financial opportunities to be able to test regularly. Bruce Myrehn is racing his first event of TC America in 2024 making his return. Safety Car lights out as we are headed for Canada Corner and the start of the race. Keep the tires clean, work the brake against the throttle to get heat into the tires. Billy Mitchell Bend is the next to last corner on the road and there was a bridge with his name, taken out before the tunnel was put in. OK. It is time to go racing! TC America race on is green! Let's go!
Celso Neto gets the jump from the pole and now, here comes the TC field right on the heels of the TCX cars. P.J. Groenke leads TCA. Jeff Ricca passes Cristian Perocarpi. Sally McNulty is moving up and now, Cooper Broll wants by Aaron Kaplan and can't quite make it. The classes are very similar insofar as top speed as they fly into turn five and under braking, more passing. Cristian Perocarpi pulls alongside Cooper Broll, and he is tracking down the TC Class polesitter, Jeff Ricca. Perocarpi right on Ricca's six as Aaron Kaplan is being monstered. Acura vs. BMW. This is a longstanding fight in the SRO touring car classes through the years.
One lap in the bag. Single driver, 40 minutes, a sprint race, with no pit stops. Kaplan looking to the inside of Cooper Broll. Broll slams the door in Kaplan's face. Jeff Ricca is keeping Cristian Perocarpi behind. Perocarpi wants to win. Down through the Moraine Sweep they go. Perocarpi has an opportunity as Ricca runs wide uphill to turn six and Percoarpi sends it. Ricca to the inside, on the brakes, look. Put the Mini to the top of the shop in the TC division. These two are definitely racing rivals. Clean, but forceful. Walsh inside of Neto for the overall lead and they are side by side through and out of Canada Corner!
He felt his way through the turn and Perocarpi is really motoring! Here he comes right on the TCX leaders, it is Perocarpi who runs out of steam relative to the TCX boys at the front. The field will be combined into one category for next year and we can see why. LAP Motorsports running the TCA Mini's, detuned with the ECU, they can convert those TCA cars for the combined class for next year. We could see a bumper grid in the touring cars after Stephane Ratel and Greg Gill gave the State of the Sport address for SRO yesterday evening. There is a new BMW platform coming and more manufacturers kicking the tires, looking to come into the championship.
Meanwhile, Neto is still doing all he can to stay ahead of Walsh. Jeff Ricca needs more to be able to get into contention, chasing Perocarpi as Ruben Iglesias Jr. after a wreck earlier on in the weekend, he came into the picture and is right there. Perocarpi has had five podiums in the last six races and won race two at VIR. The Mini's have the speed rolling through the turns. He is showing muscle when he can roll speed through the turns. The Mini has a traditional H pattern, five speed gearbox. The Hyundai has seven or eight gears in it with no lift shifting. It keeps the torque curve and rev range in the sweet spot in the Korean built car. Marc Miller is coaching Aaron Kaplan, who is an attorney in his day job. His father worked on IndyCar crews and was crew chief for Bill Alsup, the 1981 IndyCar runner-up.
Kaplan passes Cooper Broll back and a whole flock of Hyundai's back behind these two. Sally McNulty, Ruben Iglesias, and Canadian Touring Car Championship veteran Connor Attrell. We have been racing for 11 minutes as Scott Thomson in the Mini is at the tail end of this group. Great to see GenRacer/Ricca Autosport expanding in 2024. P.J. Groenke leads TCA in the swansong season for the class. Groenke was champion in the old TCB class before that class ended. Groenke should be back next year with the newly reconfigured touring car championship in SRO America for 2025.
Groenke relishes the chance he has to scrap with other drivers, and now, Cooper Broll has a run side by side with Aaron Kaplan! Wow! This is fun to watch! Two platforms, Acura and BMW. Walsh has dropped behind Neto and is dropping into the clutches of Cristian Perocarpi. No worries for Walsh with the wheel speed sensor that was cattywampus a wee while ago. Walsh has Perocarpi right on his six and Kaplan makes another pass on Broll. Kaplan knows this circuit well. Attrell, Iglesias, and McNulty in the Hyundai's are next followed by the Mini of Scott Thomson. Broll looking to the inside, and Kaplan closes the door. Through turn eight and down through The Carousel, a long duration turn all downhill. Blimey! It really falls away and the left front tire is on maximum load.
Cooper Broll trying a lunge and Kaplan spins and one of the Hyundai's crunches right into him! Good grief! That was Ruben Iglesias Jr. clattering into Kaplan! Game over for Kaplan and Iglesias Jr. We might have to go safety car. Full Course Yellow called from the flag stand. Again, game over for Kaplan and for Iglesias Jr. Cooper Broll survives and stays in the fight. Broll was late to the inside and I don't even think he saw that Kaplan was there. Jeepers creepers! Celso Neto's lead over Chris Walsh has shrunk. Before the yellow it had ballooned to three seconds. The Acura Integra TCX is front wheel drive while the BMW M2 CS Cup is rear wheel drive.
Cool the tires. Iglesias will now be on the back foot in the championship and his team boss, Jeff Ricca, will be in the pound seats. Iglesias Jr. is understandably upset. 50% of the class leaders' lap distance is the minimum to score points in a TC America race. Right now, Kaplan leads Celso Neto by 70 points in the championship. Perocarpi and Ricca will be bunched together for the restart. Right now, it is a 20 -point gap between Ricca and Iglesias with Perocarpi in third in the TC class. We're halfway through the race here. Perocarpi at 2:25 dead while Ricca has run a best lap of 2:26.3. Perocarpi sharpening his elbows. His father Louis Perocarpi is sepaking to us, with D.J. Clark.
LAP Motorsports knew they had a good shot here at Road America where they've had much success before. Louis Perocarpi is confident his son can get to the front. Louis Perocarpi does not talk to Cristian during the weekend and instead, their lead engineer is working over strategy and dad gives his son his space, just a hug and an "I love you" before the races happen. That's a good approach to take. It is a family sport, motor racing. In this replay, we did see Ricca running wide through turn five which opened the door for Cristian Perocarpi.
LAP Motorsports has team engineer Rob Ridgley on the box. LAP Motorsports has done engineering for drivers in IndyCar like Bryan Clauson, Pippa Mann, and James Davison. P.J. Groenke now has a 61 -point gap over Alex Garcia in TCA. Garcia part of the Toyota GR Cup spec racing series that supports SRO America as well. Bruce Myrehn and Louis Perocarpi, last year, and this year, will race again at the Sonora Road Rally. 14 minutes to go as track cleanup continues. Cristian Perocarpi must manage all of this as Jeff Ricca will be looking to make his move with just 12 minutes left on the board.
Lights off atop the safety car, the restart is imminent. Celso Neto leads from pole. Chris Walsh continuing to stick to the Brazilian driver like glue. Watch out for the oil, just off the racing line coming down the backstretch, through The Kink, and up to Canada Corner. P.J. Groenke has had the measure of the TCA field, but he is under pressure as we get set to go back to green. Green flag! Away we go again! Ricca gets bogged down behind Perocarpi. Ricca wants the outside of Perocarpi and they touch coming down to turn three! Holy cow! Keep it clean, boys. Perocarpi cannot understand what Ricca was doing.
McNulty and Thomson pushing, and poor old Cooper Broll has a wounded race car. I think that Acura Integra TCX car might by off the pace a wee bit. Scott Thomson is getting better and better as a driver as these races continue. Thomson enjoys being a part of SRO TC America. The gaps are the same in TCX and in TC. Thomson now reeling in Sally McNulty and Cooper Broll is now chasing the sister Acura in the hands of Christopher DeFreitas. In this replay, the TC battle on the restart and there was argy bargy but I believe Perocarpi was holding station. Not enough racing room given and hopefully those Pirelli tires are not damaged.
The turn 12 incident that brought out the yellow was reviewed by the stewards. Racing incident. No further action. Thomson is clearing Attrell who has been passed by Sally McNulty as Thomson runs wide through turn seven! Egad! That was another close shave! Attrell maybe went off the road and he got dusted by Sally McNulty. These touring cars are run very professionally but done on a limited, shoestring budget, by a lot of the teams. Jeff Ricca, Connor Attrell, and Sally McNulty, right together. Just over three minutes to go as Bruce Myrehn passes Alex Garcia in TCA. Alex Garcia was four seconds ooff his personal best lap time, last time by. We are headed for a finish in race one of two of the weekend in touring cars as Bruce Myrehn has come up to second place.
P.J. Groenke leads by four and a half seconds over Bruce Myrehn as things stand now. P.J. Groenke has many little sponsors for his racing program with lots of sponsor stickers on the car. He needs a bigger car. LF Go, an energy packet as opposed to a drink, a packet that you dissolve in a glass of water. White flag. Celso Neto leads Chris Walsh. Cristian Perocarpi leads Jeff Ricca and now, Scott Thomson is reeling in Sally McNulty who is looking for her third podium of the year. Cooper Broll has dropped back, still running in podium contention in TCX.
Christopher DeFreitas runs deep into the turn at turn five I think with Connor Attrell behind him. Poor old Connor Attrell could be slowing down, the fourth-place points finisher in Canadian Touring Car Championship racing in 2020. Celso Neto will win race one in TC America for Skip Barber Racing Team! Cristian Perocarpi wins the TC class. McNulty edges Thomson for the podium, and in TCA, P.J. Groenke is back on the top step! Five wins for P.J. Groenke! Bruce Myrehn in second and Alex Garcia in third place. Scott Thomson tried sending it on Sally McNulty through Canada Corner, but it didn't work. Good to see Sally McNulty back on the podium after a long dry spell since Sonoma, California, back in the spring.
Cue the dance music for the results.
Overall/TCX" #22 Celso Neto Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S
TCA: #37 Cristian Perocarpi MINI JCW Team MINI JCW TC Pro
TC: #62 P.J. Groenke MINI JCW Team MINI JCW
The winners celebrate! Race one of TC America at Road America is in the books. We'll see you tomorrow morning, for race two! Lots more racing to come today. Please do stay with us throughout the day from right here at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. So long, for now. Take care.
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