Scuderia Corsa Looking to Close Out Season With a Victory at Petit Le Mans - Speedway Digest

After scoring two victories this year, Scuderia Corsa has one more opportunity to score a third with this weekend’s Petit Le Mans, the final round of the TUDOR United Sportscar Challenge.

A victory would not only enable the team to finish the TUDOR Championship season on a high, but would enable Ferrari to secure the manufacturer championship in the GT-Daytona class – a goal that is very important to the team, which won the 2013 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. The team’s victories at the Detroit Grand Prix and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as their second-place finish at Virginia International Raceway, have enabled Ferrari to be in a position to win the manufacturer championship.

Bolstering the team’s effort for Petit Le Mans, which lasts for 10 hours of 1000 miles, will be the addition of Brandon Davis and Kyle Marcelli. Davis, a former World Challenge champion, competed in his first race with Scuderia Corsa at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen where the team recorded a fifth-place finish. Marcelli, a multi-time race winner in the Prototype Challenge class, has contested the 12 Hours of Sebring and Detroit Grand Prix with Scuderia Corsa.

Team owner Giacomo Mattioli explained the team’s expectations for Petit Le Mans.

“We are thrilled to be finishing our season at Road Atlanta, one of the premier circuit in North America, and to be competing in our first Petit Le Mans,” said Mattioli. “Our goal is to win our third race of the year and to help Ferrari win the manufacturer championship for the third year in a row, which would be a tremendous accomplishment in the 60th Anniversary of Ferrari North America.”

The endurance classic presents a variety of challenges for the team, as outlined by team’s engineer Joe La Joie.

“Petit is an endurance race so the racecar handling sometimes takes a backseat to other aspects,” said La Joie. “We have four drivers and four hours of practice – if it stays green. Logistically, each driver needs enough time to be comfortable and meet on track requirements; there is equipment to bed, final race preparation, etc. Once we have checked off everything on our list we will be ready for the race. Then the race mantra is take care of the car and drive defensively until the last hour or so.

“The track challenges start in Turn 1, a quick right hand turn at 95 mph that leads into some iconic turns through rolling hills. Turn 2 starts at about 80 mph and 1.5 lateral g’s on the crest of a hill. Then you must be able to accelerate downhill through Turns 3 & 4 until you climb out of the valley at over 110 mph and 1.8 lateral g’s in the ‘S’. It is easy to make this set of corners comfortable with downforce, but you must watch your top speed into T10. You have to be prepared to throw away a little of Turn 6. This makes the straight from Turn 5 a little longer and allows you to setup for Turn 7. This is the slowest corner on the track, 2nd gear, at 54 mph, and leads onto the longest straight. At the end is a big brake zone. Therefore, you must get through Turn 7 with excellent power down. The proper gearing and lower drag allow you to beat your competition to Turn 10.

“Absolute braking capacity and control are a must to complete the pass in the Turn 10 brake zone. There are a few significant bumps, hard braking, then a quick left-right combination. The change of direction must be quick and controlled. This allows the driver to exit well and accelerate up the hill. The hill crest at the bridge is fast enough to get airborne and sometimes requires the driver to lift the throttle. This can hurt the time through the fastest Turn on the circuit – Turn 12.“

Petit Le Mans will be shown on Sunday, October 4 beginning with live streaming on IMSA.com at 11:00 AM ET, with coverage on FOX Sports 2 beginning at 3:00 PM ET. A rebroadcast will be shown on Sunday, October 5 at 8:00 AM ET on FOX. Qualifying will be streamed live on IMSA.com on Friday, October 3 at 4:20 PM ET.

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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.