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Acura Integra Type S Achieves Historic Win In Touring Car America At VIR
Virginia International Raceway (VIR) hosted rounds 7 and 8 of the 2024 SRO TC America series, powered by Skip Barber Racing School. The event marked the start of the second half of the season after a summer break. Honda and Acura drivers had a successful weekend, with both the Integra Type S and Civic Si achieving victories.
The HRC-built Acura Integra Type S DE5 secured its first win in its debut season. Celso Neto, who qualified second, led by three seconds after the first lap. Despite pressure from the second-placed car midway through, Neto maintained his lead with eight consecutive laps within three-tenths of a second of each other. "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," said Neto.
Cooper Broll joined Neto on the podium with a third-place finish, marking his first TC America podium. Unfortunately, Christopher Defreitas crashed into barriers with four minutes left in race one and was taken to hospital for precautionary checks before being released. He couldn't compete in race two.
Alex Garcia continued his winning streak at VIR after his recent victory at COTA. In race one, he qualified second and overtook the leader after ten minutes, maintaining his lead until the end. In race two, Garcia started from pole position and won by three seconds. Garcia has now won four out of his last five races despite missing early-season events.
Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS
The Racers Edge Motorsports #93 NSX GT3 EVO22 had a strong performance at VIR. Luca Mars qualified fourth in race one and engaged in a three-car battle for fourth place during the first 45 minutes. Zach Veach took over during a safety car period but couldn't secure a podium finish due to multiple safety car periods, ending up fourth overall.
In race two, Veach spun on lap two but recovered well, passing one competitor before handing over to Mars. A timely yellow flag allowed Mars to move up from last place to sixth within five laps. He eventually finished fourth overall and third in class.
"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," said Mars.
"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," added Veach.
Upcoming Events
The teams are eager to return to competition next month following their recent successes with the new Integra Type S and Civic Si models. The TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School and Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS will be back on track from August 16-18 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI.
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