Watkins Glen Finish Moves Scuderia Corsa up in Championship Standings - Speedway Digest

#NeverGiveUp continued following Scuderia Corsa at the Six Hours of the Glen. After a month-long rebuild of the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia, drivers Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell rewarded the team’s effort with a fourth-place finish in Sunday’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen. The Six Hours was not only the fifth round of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship’s GT-Daytona class, but also the third event of the Patron North American Endurance Cup.

The race, which featured multiple caution periods and one red flag period, turned into an extra challenge for the drivers, crew, and engineers of Scuderia Corsa as the changing conditions forced extra pit stops to change from dry tires, to wet tires, to dry and back to wet tires. The fourth-place finish moved Scuderia Corsa to third in the GT-Daytona Team’s championship and strengthened the hold on second place in the Patron North American Endurance Cup driver’s championship. With the NAEC in mind the team employed a strategy that put the Ferrari in second position at the three-hour mark of the race, when NAEC points were awarded. Ferrari remains second in the TUDOR Championship and NAEC’s GT-Daytona manufacturer standings, and Scuderia Corsa is second in the NAEC’s GT-Daytona team championship.

Sweedler, who started the race in conditions that quickly changed as rain began to fall as the green flag was waved, battled for position throughout his two stints behind the wheel of the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari.

“We made a gamble today with the strategy, and with how things played out, it didn’t quite work for us,” said Sweedler. “We knew there would be a lot of rain but the red flag period ended up working against us. That was one of the most challenging races I have ever done. Being out there in the mixed conditions – when the track is changing because the rain is falling or the line is drying each lap – was already a big challenge but I was also out there on slicks. It was tough for the guys but the executed really, really well and the car was very good in the rain.”

Bell guided the car throughout the final two hours which featured the heaviest rain of the race. As the race resumed following the red flag period, Bell moved the Ferrari from eighth position up to fourth by the time the checkered flag fell.

“For a variety of reasons, this was an incredibly difficult race,” said Bell. “But I think we made the most with what we had, and all things considered, we ended up with a good finish and a good amount of points. The track was changing throughout the entire six hours, and we were fighting all the time to stay on the dry line with traffic coming because there was so little grip off-line. One of the mirrors had been hit so I had to rely on the rear-facing camera quite a bit, which was interesting! And as if Watkins Glen wasn’t a challenge already, it was especially challenging in the rain. I’m glad we brought the car back without a scratch and we will focus on the next race at Lime Rock Park.”

At the Pirelli World Challenge race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Martin Fuentes in the no. 07 Scuderia Corsa / Hublot Ferrari 458 Italia and Duncan Ende in the no. 64 Scuderia Corsa / Lino’spresso battled amongst the 30 car field in the GT and GT-A race. Ende’s highlight on the weekend was his ninth place finish in the GT class in Friday’s race, while Fuentes brought his Ferrari to the checkered in Sunday’s race in fourth position in GT-A.

“The takeaway for us from Watkins Glen is that, even though didn’t have the best day, we were able to bring home a good result,” said Giacomo Mattioli, owner of Scuderia Corsa. “Just like at Le Mans, our team followed the motto of #NeverGiveUp. With the constantly changing conditions it was very difficult for the drivers, especially Bill, to have to stay on a track that was not dry with the slick tires. And the crew had to deliver perfect pit stops to keep us in a position to capitalize in the final hour, which has enabled us to gain ground in championship and remain in contention.

“It was a very busy weekend for our team in the Pirelli World Challenge race in Road America, with three races. It was very satisfying to see Martin have another strong points weekend in the GT-A class and for Duncan to be very fast all weekend as he showed with his ninth place in the GT class on Friday. We’ll be very focused on giving them a strong pair of Ferrari 458 Italias for the next PWC race.”

The next TUDOR Championship race for the GT-Daytona class will be the Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut on July 24-25. The Pirelli World Challenge team will compete next at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 31 – August 2.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.