07 May 2017
Austin, 6 May 2017 – For the third time in a row, the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3 has finished on the GT-Daytona podium in an IMSA Sports Car Championship race.
GT-D. After qualifying in tenth position for Saturday’s two-hour and forty-minute race, defending IMSA GT-Daytona champions Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen put on a drive through the field in their Ferrari reminiscent of their performance at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Nielsen made up several positions in the opening part of the race before Balzan took the car to the checkered. Over the final hour, Balzan moved the Ferrari from forth position to second, finishing 2.039 seconds behind the the Riley Motorsport Team AMG Mercedes of Ben Keating and Jeroen Bleekemolen.
Third straight podium. This marks the third-straight podium finish for the team after finishing second at the 12 Hours of Sebring and third at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. After four races in the season, Balzan and Nielsen are second in the GT-Daytona championship standings.
GT-LM. Unfortunately, the race brought another disappointing finish for the hometown Risi Competitizone team. Based in Texas and with strong support from staff and clients, the team started off the weekend well, qualifying the no. 62 Ferrari 488 GTE car in second position. A first corner incident, however, brought their day to an early end after the Ferrari of Giancarlo Fisichella and Toni Vilander was hit by a Ford. The next IMSA race will be held on the Raceway at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan on June 2-3.