Scuderia Corsa walked away from the inaugural 50th Anniversary of IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship 24 Hours of Daytona with momentum and resilience.
After the green flag fast action and attrition attributed to nine yellows before the twelve-hour mark, Scuderia Corsa drivers Cooper MacNeil, Toni Vilander, Jeff Westphal and Dominik Farnbacher lead over 100 laps combined and spent nearly 250 laps competing inside the top five of the GT Daytona class. Throughout the race the Scuderia Corsa pit crew never faltered aiding in track position.
With under three hours remaining Scuderia Corsa was positioned within a striking distance to win before its advance was halted due to a contact with another GTD in no-visibility and poor raining conditions. The 24 Hours of Daytona ended indeed under red due to continuous heavy rain and a flooded track.
MacNeil specifically showed his strength in the No. 63 Ferrari 488 leading a majority of his night stint Saturday into the early hours of Sunday morning.
“The car was really good,” MacNeil said. “Toni was flying and unfortunately just so much faster than all of the other cars. He just couldn’t see anything. It was just an unfortunate accident. The good thing is, he’s OK. The car can be fixed. But it was a tough day for us because we definitely had a top three car or a car that could have won.”
For Team Principal Giacomo Mattioli his team’s precise execution throughout the race is a subject of pride.
“Another tough Daytona for Scuderia Corsa,” said Mattioli. “However, I am particularly proud of the team and Cooper MacNeil. Cooper lead for an entire stint from start to finish with a very competitive field chasing him. I think this is the best driving Cooper has done so far for Scuderia Corsa.”
