Scuderia Corsa Ferrari takes seventh in IMSA Road Race Showcase

In a race that ran at a record-setting flat out pace, Cooper MacNeil and Toni Vilander soldiered to a seventh-place finish in the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari in Sunday’s IMSA Road Race Showcase at Road America. MacNeil started 10^th in the No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari 488 GT3, and worked his way up to eighth by the 50-minute mark when he turned the car over to Vilander. “It was a tough day today,” MacNeil said. “That was the maximum we could have done with how the B.o.P. (Balance of Performance) is currently. We’ve had a bit of help with the B.o.P. over the past few races, but it just isn’t enough. The Scuderia Corsa guys continue to work hard to make the car as fast as they can, but at the end of the day, it just isn’t enough. We maximized the effort today and honestly didn’t have much more for anybody. We can take satisfaction in the fact that we did the best we could, we just need a bit of help and we’ll be there.” Vilander had to fight tooth and nail to gain positions down the stretch, eventually passing Townsend Bell to take seventh. He got up to sixth prior to the white flag, only to lose that position on the final lap. “With the way our car is now compared to the others, it is difficult to get a run and make moves in the brake zones,” Vilander said. “Cooper did a great job at the start and was with the pace, but to make up track position we needed some yellows today.”  Unfortunately for the team, the two-hour, 40-minute race ran under the green from start to finish. Vilander is confident that the team will continue to improve over the final three races. “The performance of the Scuderia Corsa team is good,” Vilander said. “We will go onto Virginia International Raceway in a couple of weeks with the hopes of a better performance.” The GT Challenge at Virginia International Raceway will be held on Sunday, August 25, showcasing the GTLM and GTD classes. All four IMSA WeatherTech Championship classes will compete at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sept. 15, followed by the season-ending Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on Oct. 12.