Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Alessandro Balzan (Italy), and Jeff Westphal (San Mateo, Calif.) are ready for the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Advance Auto Parts this weekend, November 12-14.
The last time the trio of MacNeil, Balzan, and Westphal raced together they won Petit Le Mans last month. In the last race MacNeil and Balzan just missed a podium finish thanks to a late race incident at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. In the IMSA July race, Toni Vilander and MacNeil finished second. The Scuderia Corsa-managed team and the three drivers are poised to finish the season on high note at the rescheduled from March Sebring 12-hour race.
MacNeil will race at Sebring for the third time this year, having won in Ferrari Challenge in October, and his podium run in July.
“We have had two really good races in the last month,” MacNeil said. “The Scuderia Corsa guys have had a good read on the car the last two races. We really have it handling and driving well. At Sebring that is important. You need a car that handles the fast turns and that you can manage over 12 hours of racing. I think we are going to see the gamut of weather with rain, heat and who knows what else this weekend. I am looking forward to running for a third time at Sebring this year.”
Balzan also has a strong Sebring resume, having won in 2016.
“Excited. Sebring has always been one of my favorite endurance races here in the U.S.” Balzan said. “I have had great results with the Scuderia Corsa team, we won in 2016 and were P3 in 2017. In 2018 I was second with Cooper. The car has always been good over the bumps. We had a tough end at Laguna Seca, but we had a good race as a team. We want to end the season on high note. I am looking forward to a good team race this weekend with Cooper, Jeff and Scuderia Corsa team.”
Westphal is excited to get back behind the wheel of the No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari.
“I am really looking forward to rejoining the WeatherTech Racing team this weekend at Sebring,” Westphal said. “It is typically a race that fairs well for our WeatherTech Ferrari. The last time we raced together was at Petit and we won. The team is highly motivated coming off of Laguna Seca and a tough finish. I personally love Sebring, so there is a lot of positives heading into this week.”
Source. Kyle Chura
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