Three Ferrari 488 GT3 entries will take to Watkins Glen International for the traditional Six Hour this weekend. In addition to the No. 63 and No. 64 entries from Scuderia Corsa, 24 Hours of Daytona winner Ozz Negri will race a Ferrari for the first time in 16 years in this weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours race. The Brazilian will join Squadra Corse Garage Italia for their first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race.
Scuderia Corsa. IMSA GTD class regulars Cooper MacNeil and Jeff Segal will be joined by Gunnar Jeannette in the No. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3 this weekend. MacNeil and Jeannette finished a season-best second in the Twelve Hours of Sebring, which also served as Round 2 of the North American Endurance Cup. MacNeil and Segal are coming off a fifth-place finish at Detroit Belle Isle, with Segal continuing to sub for Alessandro Balzan, who is recovering from a minor medical procedure. The no. 63 team is currently fifth in the GTD standings with 21 points and is tied for sixth in the North American Endurance Cup with 16 points.
No. 64. Bill Sweedler, Townsend Bell and Frank Montecalvo are set to drive the team’s no. 64 entry. This will be their third race of the season, which opened with a fifth-place finish in the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Squadra Corse Garage Italia. Making his first race of 2018, Negri joins Ferrari factory driver Daniel Serra and Francesco Piovanetti in the no. 51 Ferrari 488 GT3. Serra drove for Ferrari in the North American Endurance Cup rounds at Daytona and Sebring but he also drove the No. 51 Ferrari 488 GTE in the last 24 Hours of le Mans. Negri made his American Le Mans Series debut driving a Ferrari 360 Modena for JMB Racing at Sebring in 2002, finishing 11th. He’s been a regular at Watkins Glen since 2004, competing in Grand-Am Rolex Series and the IMSA WeatherTech Championship. His best finish was second in the August race in 2004, while he placed third in the 2005 Six Hours driving a Ligier Prototype for Meyer Shank Racing. “I was really impressed with the Ferrari 488 GT3 and how quickly you can get comfortable with that car,” said Negri, who recently tested with the team at the circuit. “This is a strong team to be racing with, and we have all the pieces we need to have a competitive weekend.”
Weekend Schedule. Action begins on Friday with a pair of one-hour practice sessions, at 10:25 a.m. and 2:50 p.m. ET. Saturday begins with final practice at 8 a.m., with a 15-minute GTD qualifying session at 11:35 a.m. Competitors have a 20-minute warm-up at 8 a.m. Sunday morning, with the Sahlen’s Six Hours taking the green flag at 9:45 a.m.
Source. Ferrari
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