WeatherTech Racing Ready for Sebring
BOLINGBROOK, Ill., (March 12, 2019) – WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Toni Vilander (Finland), and Jeff Westphal (San Mateo, Calif.) are ready for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring to run at Sebring International Raceway, March 13-16.
The team is looking to continue the success from the Rolex 24 hours at Daytona when they were in contention to win with under three hours to go until a crash ended their race. MacNeil, Vilander, and Westphal will take that momentum to the 3.74-mile, 17-turn Sebring road course this weekend in the Scuderia Corsa prepared No. 63 WeatherTech Racing Ferrari. The Sebring circuit is known for its bumpy surface, changing central Florida weather conditions, and tricky traffic conditions.
“Sebring is always one of the toughest races of the year,” MacNeil said. “I won there in 2013 and also have had heartbreak when we should have won another one. The track is rough and makes the car move around over the bumps. In addition, managing traffic can be a real challenge especially as night falls. We had a great race going at Daytona, hopefully we can continue that performance and close it out with a good finish this weekend.”
“Everyone says that 12 hours of racing at Sebring is equal to 24 hours at Le Mans,” Vilander said. “Sebring can be a difficult track, especially if you are used to the smooth tracks in Europe. You just have to accept the bumpy surface and set your car up to be as fast as possible over those bumps. It is a lot of work behind the wheel for a driver and it is usually hot. The Scuderia Corsa team knows how to set-up the WeatherTech Ferrari for Sebring so we will be prepared to have a great race on Saturday.”
“I have raced at Sebring in the 12 hours once and managed to lead the race in that effort, I have also raced there in a GT4 car,” Westphal said. “Turn 17 and Turn 1 will be key to extracting the most speed from the WeatherTech Ferrari, as it’s the bumpiest two corners in which rolling speed is very high. A successful race will be 100 percent effort from all the drivers, crew, and engineers. The level in this championship is so high, there is no other option if you want to win.”
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring will run March 13-16. Saturday’s race will take the green flag at 10:40 a.m. ET. The race broadcast will start on CNBC at 10:30 a.m., transition to NBC Sports from 1 to 3 p.m. then over to NBCSN for the finish from 3 to 11 p.m.
Fans can also listen to live race coverage on IMSA Radio on IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com, with Sebring race coverage also available on SiriusXM Radio Channel 202 (Streaming 972).
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