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Ricca, Walsh seal up TC America championships early at Barber

Celso Neto crossed the finish line first in the final TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School event of the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, but the champagne tasted a little sweeter for Chris Walsh as he clinched the TCX class championship. Jeff Ricca swept the weekend in the TC class, taking home the title in the process. In TCA, it was a great homecoming affair for Karl Hertel, who won race two.

TC

As soon as the green flag waved to commence race two, Cristian Perocarpi did not lose any time applying pressure on Ricca’s No. 76 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC for the class lead. However, Perocarpi began to lose ground as his No. 37 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW TC Pro experienced an apparent mechanical failure and was brought into pit lane for repairs.

Perocarpi’s machine then had to go behind the wall for further assessment, which brought major implications into play as Ricca’s points lead was suddenly dramatically extended.

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As Perocarpi was unable to return to the track and earn partial points, Ricca was therefore far enough ahead in the standings to clinch the championship early, cruising to victory for the second time this weekend and spraying some extra special champagne.

Sally McNulty joined her teammate on the podium, scoring a second-place finish in her No. 780 Ricca Autosport Hyundai Elantra N1 TC, while Scott Thomson earned his first top three result of the season with the No. 66 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW TC Pro.

“Ron (Zaras) had to fly home early, but if he were here, I’d be cheering him on,” Ricca said. “None of this would have been possible without his help. I can’t thank the team enough—everyone, from the guys in Korea to the ones in the U.S., and Hyundai. This weekend has been something special. It started off on a real low, but to come out with a high like this—I honestly didn’t expect it. This is amazing, and I’m so grateful to everyone who has helped us. Until next time!”

TCX

Neto started from pole position in the No. 22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S ahead of Walsh in the No. 104 Carrus Callas Raceteam BMW M2 CS (Cup), who immediately began applying pressure on the race leader.

The gap between the two frontrunners remained essentially nonexistent lap after lap, but Neto was positioning himself perfectly throughout each corner in order to keep his advantage on track.

Walsh made a late overtake attempt for the lead with 13m remaining in the race, which gave way to an intense battle between him and Neto, as the Brazilian fought back to reclaim the position, running Walsh wide and briefly off-track in the process.

Despite finishing second, the Carrus Callas Raceteam driver was able to clinch the TCX championship title as the checkered flag dropped. Drama unfolded for Cooper Broll and Aaron Kaplan on the last lap as the two made contact, resulting in a puncture for the No. 19 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S a few corners away from the checkered flag. Although Kaplan was originally sent spinning, he was able to recover to third place, rounding off the podium in his No. 18 Kaplan Racing Systems BMW M2 CS.

“The track conditions were really tough today—super dirty out there,” Neto said. “The whole race was about staying calm and reminding myself not to burn through the grip. At one point, I got a little wide in the marbles and had a big slide, but it was a hard-fought race with a great battle. Yesterday was another intense race with solid competition, but unfortunately, we made contact—something no driver ever wants. Still, I have to thank my entire team, Skip Barber Racing, all my sponsors, and Honda Racing HRC. The car was fantastic today, and I couldn’t be happier to take the win!”

“All I can feel is gratitude,” Walsh said. “The team has been incredible, and the people who have supported me all year to make this happen. It takes more than just driving; it’s everyone working behind the scenes that makes this possible. I just want to say thank you to everyone who’s been there for me, and I’m proud to bring this home for them. I’m just humble and grateful—that’s all I can say.”

TCA

Saturday’s winner and recently crowned champion PJ Groenke once again led the TCA class from pole position in his No. 62 MINI JCW Team MINI JCW.

Local driver Hertel made an early pass in his No. 93 HART Alabama Honda Civic Si FE1 to move into second place ahead of Alex Garcia in the No. 14 Skip Barber Racing Honda Civic Si FE1.

However, Groenke faced a few challenges, with a couple of on-track spins followed by a loss of power. The issues played into Hertel’s hands, and he was able to move into first place in the final 10m, claiming the win at his home track.

“The team was giving me feedback, telling me we were starting to close the gap,” explained Karl Hertel. “We just kept pushing, hoping for an opportunity—and it came. We’ve been in and out of this series for about 10 years. Yesterday was our first time on the podium, and today we’re standing on the top step. It’s been an incredible weekend.”

The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School field will return on track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the season finale event, October 3-6.

RESULTS

Story originally appeared on Racer