- Celso Neto takes the new Integra Type S to its first win in the debut season for the HRC-developed TCX Acura
- Alex Garcia wins back-to-back TCA class races in HRC Honda Civic Si
- Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3 EVO22 scores a podium finish
Virginia International Raceway (VIR) played host this weekend to the SRO TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School series for rounds 7 & 8 of the 2024 season. The challenging and historic 17-turn road course started the second half of the SRO season after a summer break. Honda and Acura drivers in TC America and Fanatec GT World Challenge America had a hugely successful weekend with both the Integra Type S and Civic Si finding themselves in the winner's circle.
TC AMERICA POWERED BY SKIP BARBER
TCX Acura Integra Type S DE5
This was a weekend for the history books as the HRC-built Acura Integra Type S DE5 won for the first time in its debut season. Celso Neto qualified 2nd and had opened up a 3-second lead after just the first lap. At the halfway point he began to feel pressure from the 2nd placed car but was able to show how dialed in the Acura was by putting down eight consecutive laps within 3 tenths of a seconds of each other to secure the historic win.
A second Integra Type S driver Cooper Broll joined him on the podium with a solid 3rd place run for his first TC America podium. Unfortunately, the other Integra Type S, driven by Christopher Defreitas, suffered a hard collision into the barriers with 4 minutes remaining. Defreitas was taken to the hospital for a precautionary examination, and has since been released. However Defreitas was unable to compete in race 2.
The 2nd race saw Celso Neto again starting on the outside of row one, finishing just 1 second behind in 2nd place after another consistent performance. Once again Cooper Broll made it a dual Acura podium with another 3rd place finish.
TCA Honda Civic Si FE1
Alex Garcia was able to carry his momentum from winning the most recent race at COTA to again finding victory lane at VIR. In race 1 he qualified 2nd and after 10 minutes of pressuring the leader, he was able to make a clean pass and never looked back.
The Honda Civic Si handled the highly technical layout of VIR very well, as Garcia was able to cruise from pole position for a 3-second victory in the second race. After missing the first few races of the season, Garcia has now won 4 of the last 5 races in his Civic Si.
FANATEC GT WORLD CHALLENGE AMERICA POWERED BY AWS
The Racers Edge Motorsports #93 NSX qualified 4th in race 1 and was hooked up this weekend. Luca Mars found himself in a 3-car battle for 4th during the first 45 minutes of the race. Zach Veach took over behind a safety car at the halfway point before getting his chance to battle for the podium. Unfortunately, a total of 5 safety car periods didn't leave much time for Veach to make a move. In the last few minutes of the race he was able to get side-by-side with the 3rd place car on multiple restarts, but couldn't make it stick eventually grabbing a respectable 4th place overall.
Race 2 found Zach Veach starting in the car but a spin in turn 17 on lap 2 put him in last place. He did a great job laying down fast laps to work his way back to the field and passing one competitor before swapping seats with Luca Mars. A well-timed yellow flag bunched up the field, allowing Mars to work his magic. He had the Acura NSX flying past 5 cars in the next five laps having worked his way all the way up to 6th. Keeping his nose clean and avoiding a couple incidents with competitors, Mars was able to bring the car all the way up to 4th overall, 3rd in class and just 0.5 seconds behind 2nd place.
Quotes
Celso Neto (#22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S DE5) "Victory!! First win of the year! Special day to get the first win for the brand-new Acura Integra Type S in TCX history! We knew we had a great chassis for the start of the race, so the plan was to save as much tire as possible for the end and to not overdrive it and it worked."
Luca Mars (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3) "Nice weekend bringing home a 3rd today after a hard found race from the very back and a 4th yesterday. We are getting more comfortable with this car, better finishes still to come this year. Big shout out to Zach Veach for his driving this weekend and all the help from Racers Edge and HRC US for the car."
Zach Veach (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3): "An eventful race day and great recovery got us back on the podium for race 2 at VIR. Mega job by [co-driver] Luca Mars. Big thank you to everyone who came out this weekend."
Next
With the new Integra Type S and Civic Si earning victories this weekend, the teams are really looking forward to getting back to competition next month. The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School and the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS fields will return on track August 16-18 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI.
TCX VIR Saturday Race Results
1st TCX - #22 Celso Neto, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S (Hard Charger Award)
3rd TCX - #19 Cooper Broll, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S
TCA VIR Saturday Race Results
1st TCA - #14 Alex Garcia, Skip Barber Racing, Honda Civic Si FE1 (Hard Charger Award)
GT World Challenge America VIR Saturday Race Results
4th - #93 Luca Mars and Zach Veach, Racers Edge Motorsports, NSX GT3
TCX VIR Sunday Race Results
2nd TCX - #22 Celso Neto, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S (Hard Charger)
3rd TCX - #19 Cooper Broll, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S
TCA VIR Sunday Race Results
1st TCA - #14 Alex Garcia, Skip Barber Racing, Honda Civic Si FE1
GT World Challenge America VIR Sunday Race Results
4th (3rd in class) - #93 Luca Mars and Zach Veach, Racers Edge Motorsports, NSX GT3
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