Supreme strategy led Scuderia Corsa to second place in a two hour and 40-minute sprint race at Sebring International Raceway, making it six years in a row at the famed sports car course with the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Ferrari Factory Driver Toni Vilander put on a show for fans at track and home, leading the GT Daytona field in the first half of his stint. After pitting for fuel, he steadily stalked field leaders from third place. Vilander made the pass for second with under 30 minutes remaining and cut his three-second gap to first down to one second before the checkered flag waved. His headlights shown over the first-place finisher as a reminder of what almost wasn’t.
WeatherTech Racing Driver Cooper MacNeil played a substantial part in giving Vilander a push to the front. MacNeil qualified third for the start of the race and battled out front through his double stint. The only yellow flag seen during the race occurred early in MacNeil’s drive, he answered the restart with gusto keeping the No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari clean. MacNeil handed the Ferrari over to Vilander from the third-place position.
For MacNeil the Grand Prix of Sebring had him celebrating a return to the podium and another job well done.
“It was a really good day for our WeatherTech Scuderia Corsa Ferrari,” MacNeil said. “It honestly felt like a win compared to how fast the Lexus was today. Obviously, that didn’t deter us from pushing hard. I know I gave everything I had in my stint and I know Toni gave it everything in his. It’s nice to be back up on the podium in P2.
“It was a great day for the team, a nice reward for their work and relentless endeavors. Next up we go to my home track of Road America and I’m looking forward to that one. We’ll go back to the drawing board to see how we can make the Ferrari faster but for now I’m happy with the way the weekend went.”
For Vilander the checkered flag came too soon but he feels positive about the team’s performance.
“The Ferrari performed incredibly well today as you can see,” Vilander said. “I was a bit unlucky in traffic after my pit stop but I was able to get around the BMW. In the end I was very close to the Lexus. I think if we had a few more laps we would be on the top of the podium. But second place is encouraging. I think we can build on this moving forward.”
For Team Owner Giacomo Mattioli, the Sebring result showed his team’s power and endurance in sprint races and endurance races.
“Sebring has been very kind to us, and I am happy to see our success here continue,” Mattioli said. “With a sprint race at Sebring, we knew anything was possible. Our key to success today was the team strategy and Cooper taking on a double stint. I am very happy for Cooper and Toni and the entire team. The effort today was exceptional, and I hope we can continue this to Road America.”