Alana Carter claims podium finish on TC America debut
- LIAM REDFORD
- 2 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Canadian racer Alana Carter enjoyed an excellent debut in TC America as she stood on the podium in her series debut: driving a Hyundai Elantra N1 TC EVO for Ricca Autosport, Carter finished in second position in race one during her first ever race in front-wheel-drive machinery.
Canadian racer Alana Carter enjoyed an excellent debut in TC America as she stood on the podium in her series debut. Driving a Hyundai Elantra N1 TC EVO for Ricca Autosport, Carter finished in second position in race one during her first ever race in front-wheel-drive machinery. After a challenging race two in which she finished in sixth position, Carter again displayed her adaptability in race three as she took the chequered flag in fourth position after a late rain shower led to a number of drivers sliding off the road.
Stepping up into TC America posed a new challenge for Carter who has been accustomed to racing rear-wheel-drive machinery throughout her career. The Canadian driver has a diverse resume and although the majority of her experience has come at GT4 level, she has also raced in Radical sportscars and even a dirt late model this season.
Carter joined Ricca Autosport for her debut with the experienced squad running a fleet of five Hyundai Elantra N1 TC EVO machines. Therefore, Alana was looking to work alongside her teammates to progress throughout the weekend and contend for top-5 finishes. Barber Motorsports Park was a challenging circuit for Carter to make her debut, with the Alabama circuit featuring significant elevation changes and little margin for error.
On-track action began on Thursday with two free practice sessions for Carter to acclimatise to the new car. It was an extremely positive start for the Ricca Autosport driver who began the day by setting the sixth fastest time in the first session with a quickest lap of a 1:38.243. improving by almost half a second in free practice two, Carter finished Thursday’s running in fifth position and just over a second a way from race-winner Jonathan Neudorf.
Qualifying took place early on Friday morning and the cooler track conditions led to improved times throughout the TC America field. After building tyre temperature, Carter was soon faster than her best lap from the previous day while she immediately challenged for a top-5 position. Alana ended qualifying as the fastest driver through the first sector and as a result, her quickest time of a 1:36.509 placed her in an impressive fourth position on her series debut, just half a second away from pole position.
The first race of the weekend took place on Friday afternoon with Carter lining up from fourth on the grid. During the pace laps, a technical issue for champion-elect Jeff Ricca saw him pull into the pits and therefore Alana was elevated a further position. As the lights went out, Carter made a good start and passed teammate Eric Kunz, while PJ Groenke moved into the runner-up spot from the third row of the grid.
As the drivers continued to generate tyre temperature on the first lap, Carter came under pressure from Kunz. Alana was able to protect her position well and after Groenke was issued a drive-through penalty for a start procedure violation, Carter was into second position. After Kunz had closed to within three tenths of a second, Carter responded and on lap three, she set the overall fastest lap of the race. An overall best sector one time on lap four followed and this enabled her to open out a margin of three-quarters of a second.
Out front, JMF Motorsport driver Jonathan Neudorf was edging away with the gap between himself and Carter sitting at just over two seconds. Kunz then applied the pressure to Carter once more as he set a new fastest time in pursuit of a season’s best result. The margin between Carter and Kunz continued to fluctuate during the middle portion of the race as both drivers traded sector times as they looked to pull clear of fellow Canadian driver Connor Attrell.
Despite racing a front-wheel-drive car for the first time, Carter’s tyre management was excellent and this resulted in her building an advantage over Kunz in the closing stages. By lap 11, the gap stood at two seconds and Carter maintained this gap to the chequered flag as she finished her first ever race in TC America in second position to complete a fantastic debut.
Race two at Barber Motorsports Park took place later on Friday afternoon with the grid positions based upon the fastest lap times set during the first contest. As a result, Carter lined up on the third row of the grid from sixth position in her Ricca Autosport prepared machine. It was a challenging start for Alana who lost out to Antonio Costantino at turn one, before the FTG Racing Mazda 3 TC of Chris Taylor also moved ahead.
Completing lap one in eighth position, Carter then come under attack from James Klimas who made contact with Alana as he passed her into turn one. Carter was then able to settle into a rhythm and after re-passing Taylor, she set off in pursuit of Klimas. By lap four, Carter was into seventh as Costantino pitted with a technical issue and at this point, her sector times were now matching those inside the top-5.
This allowed her to catch Klimas and she was soon on the tail of the Skip Barber Racing driver. Overtaking was proving challenging throughout the field, however Carter was applying consistent pressure to ensure she would be in position to move ahead if Klimas made a mistake. After briefly dropping away from the rear of the Toyota GR Corolla TC machine, Carter closed back in on her rival and at the conclusion of lap 11, she was just a quarter of a second behind.
As the drivers began the final lap, Carter used her momentum to good effect as she made a superb pass at turn five to move into sixth position. Carter pulled out a margin of over one second to Klimas during the remainder of the lap to finish race two in sixth position, gaining further experience of front-wheel-drive machinery during a challenging contest.
The final race of the weekend took place on Sunday morning with Carter lining up from fourth on the grid courtesy of her fastest lap time from race two. As the race got underway, it was a good start from Alana who maintained fourth position while she quickly applied pressure to race one winner Jonathan Neudorf. On lap two, Carter was the second fastest driver on track and this ensured she remained less than half a second behind Neudorf as she chased her second podium finish of the weekend.
Neudorf himself was looking for a way past PJ Groenke and with Jeff Ricca out front, the leading four drivers were extending their margin over fifth-placed Connor Attrell. As the fifth lap got underway, Carter forced Neudorf to defend into turn one and although the JMF Motorsport driver protected his position well, Alana was looking confident in her pursuit of the Toyota GR Corolla TC machine.
After briefly dropping back from her rival, Carter was the fastest driver on track during both laps six and eight, underlining her continued speed in her first weekend in front-wheel-drive competition. By lap nine, Carter was just two tenths of a second behind Neudorf as she shaped for another sustained challenge. Neudorf was forced to defend and as a result, Attrell closed back in as he looked to become involved in the battle for the final step on the podium.
With just five minutes to go, rain started to fall at Barber Motorsports Park and this made conditions extremely challenging with all the drivers on slick tyres. Neudorf’s Toyota GR Corolla TC machine was equipped with four-wheel-drive and as a result, he was now the fastest driver on track and extending his margin over Carter, while catching the two leading drivers in the process.
Carter was doing an excellent job of keeping her car on the circuit as a number of her rivals slid off the road, particularly under braking. The rain continued to intensify on the final two laps and survival became the prime objective as the slick tyres continued to lose temperature. A fantastic drive from Carter saw her take the chequered flag in fourth position to conclude an excellent debut weekend in the series.
Carter’s first event in TC America was a huge success as the Canadian driver secured a podium finish and two further top-six finishes. Her speed over both one lap and a full race distance was strong as she battled with former race winners throughout the event. The final round of TC America is set to take place at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the weekend of 18th/19th October.