Scuderia Corsa and the No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari 488 GT3 take to the scenic Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Round 3 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in GT-D class, the first sprint race of the 2019 season for GT-D.
Following up a third-place finish, fifth consecutive podium for Scuderia Corsa at Sebring International Raceway, WeatherTech Racing Driver Cooper MacNeil and Ferrari Factory Driver Toni Vilander are switching gears from endurance to sprint racing. The goal for the two hour and 40-minute format is to quickly find where car performance and driver comfort align to outpace the competition.
Scuderia Corsa Engineering Analysis
The Mid-Ohio circuit is characterized by 13 corners, back to back straightaway sections separated by a sweeping hairpin corner and plenty of altitude changes on the course, thus making this track ideal for overtaking. However, with all championship classes running this race the GTD field will have more concern with traffic management and maintaining track position. Finding the appropriate grip levels will be each team’s primary objective of the race.
For team owner, Giacomo Mattioli, switching to a sprint race format requires the utmost attention to detail.
“Mid-Ohio should be a great event for our IMSA program,” Mattioli said. “Switching from endurance to sprint race changes how you prepare and strategize for a race. In each previous race, the strength of our car and driver lineup has been evident and we are looking forward to returning to Mid-Ohio with a strong performance! ”
Mid-Ohio begins Friday, May 3 with practice. Saturday, May 4 begins with a final practice session followed by IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at 11:40 a.m. EDT. The Sports Car Challenge takes place Sunday, May 5 at 1:35 p.m. with race coverage taking place on NBCSN and IMSA Radio.
