WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Toni Vilander (Kankaanpää, Finland), and Jeff Westphal (San Mateo, Calif.) are ready for the final race of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season Motul Petit Le Mans to run at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, October 10-12.
The Scuderia Corsa managed team comes into Petit Le Mans as the defending race winners from last year. The trio of MacNeil, Vilander, and Westphal had a third-place finish at Sebring and The Glen with the team also adding podium finishes at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Virginia International Raceway (VIR). The team is poised to repeat last year’s win at Michelin Raceway on Saturday.
MacNeil will be pulling double duty during race week as he is also competing in the T2 Class in the SCCA Runoffs that run concurrently with Petit Le Mans at VIR.
“I will start the race week on Monday testing and qualifying all week at VIR for the Runoffs,” MacNeil said. “It will be a difficult weekend as the race in Atlanta ends at 10pm Saturday and the race in Virginia starts at 9am the following morning.
“We won Petit last year and I know we can do it again. Toni and I were on the podium at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and Jeff was with us on the podium at The Glen. We tested at Michelin Raceway after the VIR race, so we should unload the WeatherTech Racing Ferrari one-step ahead in regard to set-up and what to expect. I am looking forward to a lot of driving this week and hopefully some winning!”
“I am looking forward to the last race of the season,” Vilander said. “We have been having good results lately with our podium finish at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Cooper put in a great opening stint, got us great track position and I was able to bring it home to the podium. Jeff joins us again, in his last race with us we were on the podium. The team won Petit last year, so we will try and repeat that effort on Saturday.”
“The set-up on the WeatherTech Ferrari will need to be spot on in terms of traction this weekend,” Westphal said. “The field and talent in GTD is extremely deep, so the margin between cars will likely be the long run averages and tire degradation. Combine that need with the history of rain showing up at some point will require our No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari to be very forgiving with its traction in order to have a competitive car for the 10-hour event. The win last year is a tough result to live up to, but the Scuderia Corsa guys have a history of being strong at this event. I think the key will be the decision making over 10-hours and keeping our nose clean.”
Source. Kyle Chura/WeatherTech Racing
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