WeatherTech Racing Ferrari to Start from Sixth Row at Mid-Ohio
Lexington, Ohio, (May 4, 2019) – WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) and Toni Vilander (Kankaanpää, Finland) will start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio from the sixth row in GTD tomorrow.
MacNeil had the controls of the No. 63 WeatherTech Racing Ferrari for the 15-minute qualifying session around the 2.25-mile, 13-turn central Ohio natural terrain road course. The Scuderia Corsa team and the rest of the competitors have been dealing with changing weather conditions all week. The team has been working hard with MacNeil and Vilander on the set-up of the white and black Ferrari. MacNeil posted a time of 1:27.753 good for 12th. However, prior to the red flag, he had a lap going that was significantly faster.
“A bit of a messy session,” MacNeil said. “Changing weather conditions and a red flag during qualifying didn’t help. I had a lap going that would have been good enough to get us in the top five, but the red came out just before I came across the timing stripe. We then went green and I caught the 57 car, which cost us time. Qualifying was not indicative of the pace of the WeatherTech Ferrari. We have a good car and we will be looking to push the pace in the race tomorrow.”
Mid-Ohio signifies the beginning of the new IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup. The WeatherTech Sprint Cup is a seven-race competition for GT Daytona (GTD) class competitors within most IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship sprint events that are two hours and 40 minutes in length or shorter. The schedule includes the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Lime Rock Park, Road America, and VIRginia International Raceway. (Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will count toward the IMSA WeatherTech Sprint Cup for the GTD class, and not toward the overall, 10-race WeatherTech Championship season).
The IMSA WeatherTech Sport Car Championship Acura Sports Car Challenge from Mid-Ohio will be televised live on NBCSN, Sunday, May 5, starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Fans can also listen to live race coverage on IMSA Radio on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com.