Alessandro Balzan (Italy) will join Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), and Jeff Westphal (San Mateo, Calif.) for the Motul Petit Le Mans to run at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, October 15-17. Balzan is a two-time IMSA WeatherTech GTD driver champion (2016, 2017), both with Scuderia Corsa. Balzan last raced with MacNeil and Westphal at the Rolex 24 Hour At Daytona in January.
“It is great to be back racing with Cooper and Jeff and the WeatherTech Racing team,” Balzan said. “Jumping into the No. 63 WeatherTech Racing Ferrari 488 Evo will be very familiar as I last raced with the team at the Rolex 24 Hour At Daytona in January. I have been with the team at some of the races helping as a spotter. I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the red, white and blue Ferrari this week at Road Atlanta.”The team returns to IMSA WeatherTech competition following a two-race hiatus as MacNeil focused on winning his third consecutive Ferrari Challenge Series championship.
“I’m pretty excited to go back to Road Atlanta,” MacNeil said. “This will be my third race there this year. First with Ferrari Challenge, then the six-hour race with IMSA and now onto Petit Le Mans. I’m excited to be back in the car. Petit is a tough race, but we know what to expect. We have to push hard, but not too hard, so we can save the car for the end. I’m looking forward to being back in Atlanta and driving the WeatherTech Ferrari.”Westphal is looking forward to another run in the 63 at Road Atlanta.
“It feels like the final race of the season, but we aren’t quite there,” Westphal said. “Petit is one of those races where you need to have the speed over the lap, but you also need to keep
the car clean heading into the night. For multiple years it has caught many teams out. The trick, I think, is being like-minded within the team towards bringing the car into a favourable position for the final three hours.”
The team is grateful for all that Toni Vilander has done for the team this year. Due to Covid-19 restrictions and quarantine requirements on both sides of the Atlantic, it has become complicated for Toni to join us for the remaining races of the year. We hope to work with Toni again once the Covid-19 pandemic is in our rearview mirror.
Source. Kyle Chura/WeatherTech Racing/Photo. Ferrari
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