Scuderia Corsa continues its fight in Round 3 of the IMSA iRacing Pro Series with Alessandro Balzan in the No. 63 Hublot Ferrari GTE for the Hagerty Presents IMSA iRacing at Mid-Ohio taking place on the virtual Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Scuderia Corsa and Balzan will fly the Ferrari flag in Round 3 after Balzan finished 12th in Round 2, automatically entering him into the next competition with his top finish out of the 50-car field. Race 3 marks the halfway point in the series championship. The competition is sure to level up as drivers gather more experience behind the wheel of a simulator.
Balzan had previously used iRacing for both coaching and fun, but competing in a professional series has changed the way he sees the potential in the simulator game. Balzan and engineer Bruno Finco used practice session telemetry from iRacing as data used to improve race setup and driving technique. Their combined effort aims to improve race strategy and overall finish.
For Balzan, success in the IMSA iRacing Pro Series is achieved through time and effort.
“After Laguna Seca, we reviewed the race, and I did many more races on the iRacing platform,” Balzan said. “To improve my racecraft and consistency, I took part in 45-minute IMSA WeatherTech Championship races on the iRacing platform. I worked to improve everything from having a good out lap after a pit stop, no mistakes in pit lane and working a little bit on the fuel and strategy. I am hoping to receive a good setup for Mid-Ohio. Then the other drivers and I start practicing seeing where we are.
“I’m looking forward to Mid-Ohio. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite racetrack, but having 50 cars will make it a wild race like Laguna, if not wilder. It’s a part of the real schedule that we are following, so I’m pretty sure it will offer a lot of great racing. I think it will be great to watch but also very intense, like Laguna. We hope to be more competitive, starting with qualifying hopefully with a top ten and then aiming for even higher in the race.”
The green flag falls at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Thursday, April 30, at 6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT. The race is prefaced with a short qualifying session that fans can watch via the Livestream. Before qualifying takes place, drivers take part in practice sessions to get a better feel for just how realistic the virtual Mid-Ohio course is on iRacing.
The sprint race will be streamed live on iRacing’s YouTube channel, Twitch and Facebook with commentary from IMSA Radio announcer John Hindhaugh. Pre- and post-race programming is planned complimentary of The Torque Show, hosted by Justin Bell and Tommy Kendall. Join in the conversation with IMSA’s live chat on the IMSA Facebook page. Follow all the action on Scuderia Corsa social media channels: Twitter @Scuderia_Corsa, Facebook at Scuderia Corsa, Instagram at @Scuderia.Corsa.