IMSA - Ferrari Battles Back for Podium Finish at Road America

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. (5 August 2018) – Hit from behind in the opening minutes to spoil a strong start in Sunday’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase, Scuderia Corsa WeatherTech Ferrari drivers Cooper MacNeil and Alessandro Pier Guidi fought back for the rest of the race, achieving a podium finish on the final lap at Road America in Round 9 of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Starting fourth after a solid qualifying run in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa WeatherTech Ferrari 488 GT3, MacNeil was hit from behind coming to a restart only 10 minutes into the two-hour, 40-minute event, resulting in right-rear damage and an unscheduled trip to pit road. “That was compliments of an Acura,” MacNeil said. “I was just riding around on the outside of a corner and I just got drilled. That caused a lot of damage and made the car quite unsafe to drive. You don’t want anything like this to happen, but if you’re going to have an issue, it’s best to have it early on.” MacNeil worked his way back to third before handing over the WeatherTech Ferrari to Pier Guidi. The Italian led two laps under caution prior to his final pit stop.   Coming down the stretch, Pier Guidi battled the AMG Mercedes of Jeroen Bleekemolen for fourth position when he went wide in Turn 1.   Pier Guidi managed to regain control, driving through the grass, but rejoined the race in ninth position with 21 minutes remaining. From that point, the veteran began picking up positions. He caught Bleekemolken with three laps remaining. Not content with fourth, Pier Guidi passed BMW driver Markus Palttala for third on the final lap, giving Scuderia Corsa its third podium finish of the season – and second in a row following the recent race at Lime Rock Park. Squadra Corse Garage Italia Francesco Piovanetti fought back from an early issue that saw him make a quick off in the high-speed Kink corner with the No. 51 Squadra Corse Garage Italia Ferrari 488 GT3. Undeterred, Piovanetti continued on, returning to the pits for repairs before taking back to the track. Despite having lost laps and suffering from some damage on the car, Ozz Negri later took over to click some fast laps on the way to a ninth place finish. VIR GT Weekend Next for IMSA Next up for the IMSA WeatherTech Championship Ferrari teams is the Michelin GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway on Sunday, August 19^th. The event will showcase IMSA’s GT Le Mans and GT Daytona classes.