Scuderia Corsa returns to VIRginia International Raceway, chasing a repeat scenario in a podium hunt.
In 2019, drivers Cooper MacNeil and Toni Vilander finished third in the GT Daytona class at VIR. This year, the duo hopes to find a win as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series enters the second half of the season at the peak of summer. MacNeil and Vilander received a taste of success at Sebring International Raceway finishing second. Since restarting the Independence Day weekend season, the Scuderia Corsa No. 69 WeatherTech Ferrari hasn’t placed outside of the top five. Vilander and MacNeil finished seventh at the season opener in January.
Scuderia Corsa developed a strong sense of consistency amongst the chaotic start and stop schedule 2020 created IMSA. The team pairs its stability with the steadfast 17 turn, 3.27-mile course of VIR that always serves up a balance of excitement and grueling challenges. The IMSA WeatherTech Championship field looks slightly different this weekend with the MICHELIN GT Challenge at VIR being a GT-only challenge. The GTLM and GTD field take on one last sprint race before returning to endurance action in September.
For MacNeil, VIR brings back only good memories, and he plans to build upon his past successes.
“VIR has been both positive and promising every time we’ve been there,” MacNeil said. “We’ve always had good pace. The last time I was there was in October of 2019, and I won the SCCA Runoffs. None the less, it was a pretty special race to win and on a special track. Toni and I finished third last year. We’ll look to build on our knowledge and expertise from last year. Big thanks to Kerrigan and Connie, who run a great track with great personnel. I’m looking forward to getting back to work there with Toni.”
For Vilander, he’s focused on getting the win with the lack of prototype traffic.
“A GT weekend is always a bit more exciting, I think,” Vilander said. “I think it makes it easier for the fans to understand, and for us, as drivers, you do not have to focus on so many other races around you. We are really pushing for the win now. We’ve had a good car in the last couple of races. There needs to be a bit of a change in competition, and we’ll be out front. We’re very competitive, and VIR has been a good track for the Ferrari, so I think we’re in a good position.”
The MICHELIN GT Challenge at VIR is not open to the public but will be broadcast in various forms. Friday, Aug. 21, presents a bulk of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship action with Practice One at 8 a.m. ET, Practice Two at noon and Qualifying at 5:35 p.m. The sessions will be live streamed on IMSA.tv and the NBC TrackPass. Race day is Saturday, Aug. 22. The green flag drops at 2 p.m. sharp for a two hour and 40-minute race on NBCSN.