Ferrari Takes to Lime Rock ‘Bull Ring’ in Northeast Grand Prix

Scuderia Corsa looks to return its Ferrari to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship podium in the Northeast Grand Prix, set for Saturday, July 20, at Lime Rock Park. Cooper MacNeil and Toni Vilander will co-drive the No. 63 WeatherTech Ferrari 488 GT3 in the two-hour, 40-minute race on the tight 1.5-mile circuit that will feature 52-second lap times for the GT Daytona competitors. The drivers have their own strong records of success at the track as MacNeil and Gunnar Jeannette finished third for Scuderia Corsa in the IMSA event last year, while Vilander was a World Challenge SprintX winner during the Memorial Day weekend in the R. Ferri Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3. “Lime Rock is a fast and tight bull ring,” said MacNeil, an ALMS GTC class winner at the circuit in 2012. “The key for us with the WeatherTech Ferrari will be to have a confident handling car coming down the hill through the last two turns. Running sub 60-second lap times gives you no time to rest. Our Ferrari shines through high-speed corners, so I am looking forward to this weekend. We need to have a mistake-free run on the track and in the pits to get a positive result this Saturday.” Vilander was an ALMS pole winner at Lime Rock, leading GT2 in 2006 driving the Risi Competizione F430GT. “Lime Rock is a small and interesting race track,” Vilander said. “We race without the prototypes, so the only traffic will be the GTLM cars. It was nice to get a weekend off and recharge as well as spend some time with the family. Lime Rock was my first ever race in the U.S. in 2006. I’ve always been very competitive there. It is a physical track, no time to rest. Some drivers like it, some don’t; I like it. We will need to work hard on the set-up with the team to get the car handling and get a result for the No. 63 WeatherTech Racing Ferrari.” The race will be the sixth stop for the GTD championship, with Vilander and MacNeil currently eighth in the points with podiums at Sebring and Watkins Glen. It will also be the fourth of seven events for the inaugural Sprint Cup for the shorter races on the schedule, with MacNeil and Vilander ninth in the standings. Practice for the Northeast Grand Prix begins on Friday with a pair of one-hour sessions. GTD qualifying begins on Saturday at 9:35 a.m. (all times ET). The two-hour, 40-minute race is set to begin on Saturday at 3:10 p.m. The race will be televised on a same-day delay on NBCSN, beginning at 9:30 p.m.