Scuderia Corsa finished second in the GT Daytona Class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in the final round of sprint race action.
WeatherTech Racing Driver Cooper MacNeil played hero today with an opening stint nothing short of magnificent by escaping a hectic start and advancing from his third-place qualifying position to second. MacNeil never looked back once he made his pass for second stick. He overcame immense pressure from competition to hand over a clean and nimble No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari to Ferrari Factory Driver Toni Vilander.
The crew executed perfect pit stops under Vilander. He entered the race in fourth and quickly raced back up to second place. He would dominate the field while attacking through traffic in an effort to gain on the class leader. Ultimately, time would run out before Vilander could assume the lead.
MacNeil and Vilander take home Scuderia Corsa’s fourth podium of the season. The WeatherTech Raceway podium makes two podium finishes in a row for the Las Vegas based team. The team now turns their attention to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the final Michelin Endurance Cup race. The 10 hour Petit Le Mans presents a fight for a championship battle. Scuderia Corsa sits three points out of first in the GTD endurance championship.
For MacNeil two strong weekends in a row sets the team up for success at the Motul Petit Le Mans.
“This is great,” MacNeil said. “This place is really tough. With the tire degradation we saw this weekend the game was really just managing tires and I think we did a great job doing that. It was a struggle at the end of the stint but we still did really well with it. We had nothing for the Lamborghini there at the end, they were really strong all weekend. It’s good to have two podiums in a row for the team. Now we’re on to Petit Le Mans where we won last race and we’re looking for a repeat.”
For Vilander finishing on the podium two races in a row is a testament to the team’s strength in such a tight field.
“This is such a competitive field,” Vilander said. “When Cooper qualified well yesterday I knew we had a good chance. It’s a demanding race track where it’s hard to get a good flying lap and hard to keep the tires alive over 40 laps in a stint. I could see a lot of cars that struggled with that. I was trying to maintain what we got and it worked out well. At the end of the race I wanted to make sure I maintained my place while still gaining on first place. That’s two in a row for us now and I’m looking forward to Atlanta. We’ve done some testing there so I think we should be good. It was a struggle at the beginning of the year and now it’s coming around nicely. Cooper drove one of his best stints of the year. It’s a good note to end on.”
For Team Owner Giacomo Mattioli today gives the team momentum heading into the final race of the season.
“First, I would like to thank our guests who joined us for a wonderful weekend in Monterey,” Mattioli said. “We had an excellent showing in front of our home crowd. Cooper had a great weekend with a great qualifying effort yesterday and a strong stint today. Toni was ready to strike if given the opportunity. Today showcased the strength of our team. Now, we focus on a potential endurance championship and build toward the goal of winning the final race.”
Scuderia Corsa heads to the newly renamed Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Oct. 9-12 for Petit Le Mans weekend, the final race of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. The 10-hour race is broadcast on NBC, NBC Sports and NBCSN with additional coverage provided by IMSA.tv and IMSA Radio.
