- Acura Integra Type S finishes debut season by sweeping the weekend in TCX
- Honda Civic Si wins and Civic Type R earns Hard Charger Award in TC and TCA
- Acura NSX GT3 EVO22 earns sixth consecutive podium finish in GT World Challenge competition
There is no place quite like the racing capital of the world, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The 2.4-mile road course within the most famous racing facility in the world played host this weekend to the final round for the SRO GT World Challenge America and Touring Car America series.
Winning at the "Brickyard" is a bucket list item for teams and the HRC Honda and Acura drivers claimed multiple victories at the season ending race, highlighted by the Integra Type S sweeping the weekend in the TCX division.
TC AMERICA POWERED BY SKIP BARBER
TCX Acura Integra Type S DE5
Fans of TC America competition were treated to an action-packed event as the racers took over the road course for race one on Friday. In a race that commentator Calvin Fish described as "magical", there were intense battles throughout the field.
Acura driver Celso Neto started on pole but was passed going into turn one on the first lap. Not wanting to stay in second long he threw the Integra into a full drift into turn seven to take the lead back later that lap. Fellow Acura driver Cooper Broll was tangled up in a 3-car battle for third place running nose to tail for the first 30 minutes of the race. Multiple passes amongst the 3 cars left Broll running in fourth with 10 minutes to go when a mechanical issue ended his race.
With the glory of winning at Indy and getting to kiss the yard of bricks hanging in the balance, the battle for victory really heated up in the last few laps. Neto slid slightly off track giving up the lead with four minutes remaining. Again throwing the Acura into turn seven he got the lead back, only to lose it the next turn. With two laps to go both cars overshot turn six leaving Neto in the grass for much of the next short straightaway and losing ground to the leader. It came down to the last lap when – just three turns from the finish – Neto was able to make a move for the lead and take the checkers. By the end, the front two drivers had swapped the lead six times in one of the best TCX races of the year.
Sunday's race two was a little more straightforward. The Integra Type S driven by Celso Neto again earned the pole, but this time never looked back. Maintaining a 2-second lead he went on to sweep, claiming both poles, fastest race laps, and wins for the weekend. Cooper Broll drove a very smart race avoiding contact early on and keeping the leaders in site the whole race to bring it home in fourth.
Celso Neto's Integra Type S DE5 really showed the strength of the Acura winning 6 of the last 8 races of the season.
TC Honda Civic Type R
After missing most of the season, Kris Valdez brought his Civic Type R back out for the opportunity to run at the most famous track in motorsports. Beginning in eighth, he did a nice job earning the Hard Charger Award with a consistent race working his way up to fifth position in race one. Race two saw Valdez keep the nose of the Type R clean to bring it home in sixth.
TCA Honda Civic Si FE1
Piloting the only Honda in the field, Alex Garcia feel back to third position in a scramble going into the turn one at the start. Settling in and laying down some strong consistent laps, he was able to work his way back into the lead by the halfway point on his way to a comfortable victory. Garcia's performance in race one also earned him the Hard Charger Award.
Race two saw Garcia get his Honda into second on the opening lap. Although he wasn't able to catch the leader, he did comfortably pull away from the rest of the field securing second place. After missing the first three races of the season, Garcia was able to take his Honda Civic Si to victory lane five times in 2024.
FANATEC GT WORLD CHALLENGE AMERICA POWERED BY AWS
The season ending weekend is setup differently for the GT cars compared to the rest of the year. Instead of two 1.5 hour races, the largest GT field of the year took to the Brickyard for one eight hour double points race to conclude the season. Eighteen-year-old Luca Mars took the green flag 12th behind the wheel of the Acura NSX and had a huge start making up four places in turn one. He continued to make moves throughout the rest of his stint getting the Acura up to the sixth overall (second in class) when he handed the car over to Zach Veach. Unfortunately, the team was called for a pit infraction and had to serve a drive-through penalty putting them back into 12th. The NSX was performing great with Veach and third-hour driver Gabby Chaves working their way through the field. By the time Mars was behind the wheel again, they were back into fourth place in class. Through the next cycle of drivers the team had worked all the back into sixth overall and third in class.
With just two hours remaining, Veach made contact with a driver slowed unexpectedly and was given another drive-through penalty, but the team keep pushing. They were able to pit under caution with a little over an hour remaining, getting Chaves behind the wheel and needing to save fuel to make it to the end. Despite being in fuel saving mode, Chaves was able to use the NSX to carve his way through the field, making it all the way up to fourth overall and second in class. That is where they finished as the Acura runs out of gas on the cool-down lap after a very successful Indy 8-Hour race.
Quotes
Celso Neto (#22 Skip Barber Racing Acura Integra Type S DE5) "Race one was a really tough race, physically and mentally. But the team really helped me with the car and with the support from Honda Racing HRC, I couldn't ask for anything more. I'm really happy with our performance. Race 2 was about keeping my head together and not using up the tires by pushing too hard. Historic race weekend for us here at Indy! Swept the Brickyard conquering all awards with 2 poles, 2 wins and 2 fastest laps of the race! Very happy to finish the year on such a high note."
Zack Veach (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3) "What a day! It seemed like everything that could happen to put us down, did. We had an issue with the timer in pit lane that resulted in a drive-through. We clawed our way back to run second and then a bronze [rated driver] broke really early in front of me and I hit him, so we had another drive-through. But this team never quit and I'm just so proud of Racers Edge. These guys have so much heart and worked so hard to make this car what it is. I just can't thank them, and Acura and HRC, enough for the opportunity. It's been a great season and I'm thankful to end it on a high note like this."
Luca Mars (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3) "It was awesome. I learned so much this year – from Zach [Veach], and from everyone at HRC. We just kept getting faster and better, improving all around, throughout the season. So we were fighting for wins and podiums at the end. After a eight hours here, I'm super happy with P2 here. We fought hard. We had some setbacks, but never gave up and were able to get it done there at the end."
Gabby Chaves (#93 Racers Edge Motorsports Acura NSX GT3) "It was awesome. I'm so glad we were able to come back from the penalties. Everyone just put their head down and we made the right strategy calls. Opting to go to the fuel save early, I think that was really good. We were able to keep up our pace, even while saving fuel. It was perfect."
Next
This weekend's races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway closed out the 2024 SRO TC America and Fanatec GT World Challenge America seasons. The 2025 season gets underway March 28-30 at Sonoma Raceway in California.
TCX Indy Friday Race Results
1st TCX - #22 Celso Neto, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S (Fastest Lap)
5th TCX - #39 Christopher DeFreitas, Racers Edge Motorsports, Acura Integra Type S
6th TCX - #19 Cooper Broll, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S
TC Indy Friday Race Results
5th TC - #11 Kris Valdez, DRS, Honda Civic Type R (Hard Charger Award)
TCA Indy Friday Race Results
1st TCA - #14 Alex Garcia, Skip Barber Racing, Honda Civic Si FE1 (Hard Charger Award)
GT World Challenge America Indy 8 Hour Saturday Race Results
4th (2nd in class) - #93 Luca Mars, Zach Veach & Gabby Chaves, Racers Edge Motorsports, NSX GT3
TCX Indy Sunday Race Results
1st TCX - #22 Celso Neto, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S (Fastest Lap)
4th TCX - #19 Cooper Broll, Skip Barber Racing, Acura Integra Type S
6th TCX - #39 Christopher DeFreitas, Racers Edge Motorsports, Acura Integra Type S
TC Indy Sunday Race Results
6th TC - #11 Kris Valdez, DRS, Honda Civic Type R (Hard Charger Award)
TCA Road America Sunday Race Results
2nd TCA - #14 Alex Garcia, Skip Barber Racing, Honda Civic Si FE1
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