Scuderia Corsa Ferrari Captures Podium Finish in Watkins Glen Six Hours

Scuderia Corsa came home with a podium finish in Sunday’s Six Hours of The Glen, with Jeff Westphal, Cooper MacNeil and Toni Vilander placing third in the No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari 488 GT3.

Vilander and MacNeil both took turns leading the race, with Westphal also running in podium contention during his time at the wheel.

“The weekend started a little difficult for us,” said MacNeil, who had joined Vilander on the podium in the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans. “The Scuderia Corsa guys worked their butts off all weekend. They made three spring changes in one day. The car finally came to life on race day. We were in a good fight all day. We struggled a little bit on the straightaways, but we were good in the corners and under brakes. One of the big things about Watkins Glen International is that it’s a technical track.”

The race ran at a furious pace, with only four caution periods over the six hour distance, including one for a multi-car crash on the opening lap.

“The good news is the car is in one piece because we literally have a race in seven days with the same race car,” added MacNeil. “That was huge because this place isn’t always so easy to leave unscathed. But another third-place finish with Jeff and Toni in the car after our third-place finish at Sebring. Then Toni and I at Le Mans and now here at the Six Hours of The Glen. All and all, a good weekend for Scuderia Corsa and the WeatherTech crew and Ferrari as well. We’re the only Ferrari here representing the brand pretty well on the podium I’d say.”

“I think this race went really good,” Vilander said. “We had a few meetings throughout the weekend on what we needed to improve and we were able to hit all those marks. We had a really great run at Le Mans, so to continue that momentum to this race was our plan. I don’t want to complain about BOP because I am here to just do my job and drive, but the gap between us and the lead competitors is becoming too large to survive. We need a little bit of help from IMSA, but I think we can keep chipping away and work towards the championship.”

Westphal drove the opening stint in the Ferrari, working his way up to second, and then added a later stint in the car.

“I think both personally and as a team Scuderia Corsa and WeatherTech Racing were able to extract as much as possible out of our Ferrari 488 GT3 today,” Westphal said. “The drivers drove flawlessly to keep the nose clean and ahead of the pack which is all you can do. I’m really proud of all of us and effort here at The Glen.”

Scuderia Corsa now has the task of prepping the car for the next event on the calendar, next weekend’s  Sportscar Grand Prix at Mosport Park.