Scuderia Corsa returns to Sebring International Raceway Saturday, July 18, for the Grand Prix of Sebring. After collecting five consecutive podium finishes, including a 2016 win, the team aims to walk away with more hardware.
The Grand Prix of Sebring is another new addition to the 2020 race calendar for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series. The two hour and 40-minute sprint race is the first appearance Sebring makes on the schedule before the traditional 12-hour race goes green in November. In the past, Scuderia Corsa has very much been dominant on the bumpy track with the No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari withstanding long term abuse on the circuit. This time the team will need to get up to speed quickly to continue its podium streak.
While sprint races are typical of the WeatherTech series, which mixes endurance races with sprint races, having the entire weekend become, a sprint race is a new feature. The team will load on Friday, July 17, and end the day with Practice One before taking on practice and qualifying before the race Saturday. The hastened schedule keeps the team on its feet, but drivers Cooper MacNeil and Toni Vilander believe Scuderia Corsa is as well prepared as ever to go for the win.
For MacNeil, his focus is on keeping the podium streak alive.
“I’m really looking forward to Sebring,” MacNeil said. “Obviously, we got decent points at Daytona, but it wasn’t really where we wanted to finish so we as a team have high expectations going into Sebring. We are going to be pushing hard for a strong finish. We’re looking forward to getting our WeatherTech Scuderia Ferrari back on track.”
For Vilander, he knows the team is on a path for success, but he’s hoping to see a little more action on the track.
“First of all, Daytona was positive because we had good speed in the car, and the team worked super well,” Vilander said. “We had a good run in both practices and qualifying. Sebring is traditionally a good track for the Ferrari. There are many corners where you can make a difference, so the car balance and handling of the Ferrari is a good thing.
“I like the two-day weekend format we’re doing, it’s nice. You have to stay focused; things happen fast. Hopefully, we can have a good race. At Daytona, we had no cautions at all, and when I was in the car, there wasn’t a lot of action you usually see, so maybe we hope for one or two yellow flags. I think a podium is realistic for us, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Sebring International Raceway, in coordination with IMSA, has agreed to allow fans into the event. Once again, fans must be Florida residents. Those unable to attend in person Saturday’s activity will be streamed on IMSA.tv, and the NBC Gold TrackPass with the race aired live on NBCSN. The Grand Prix of Sebring goes green at 5:35 p.m. ET, for a full schedule visit http://imsa.com.