IMSA - Fighting Fifth for Ferrari in Detroit

DETROIT (June 2, 2018) – WeatherTech Racing Ferrari drivers Cooper MacNeil and Jeff Segal fought their way to a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the challenging Belle Isle Park temporary circuit.   GT-Daytona   MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.) qualified seventh in the GT Daytona (GTD) class driving the No. 63 WeatherTech Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 488 GT3. Managing to avoid a pair of close calls in the opening laps due to a spinning competitor, MacNeil cleanly got by to take over the sixth position.   MacNeil held sixth throughout the remainder of his 37-minute opening stint in the 100-minute event. The team opted to keep MacNeil out for an extra lap before turning the Ferrari over to Segal (Miami, Fla.).   “We were happy to see the yellow, so we decided to try to do a one-stop race,” MacNeil said after the stop. “It seemed to have worked before for us last year (when they finished second).”   Rejoining the race in seventh, Segal quickly ran what was then the fastest lap of the race – one minute, 29.520 seconds – and worked the Ferrari             up to fifth. Looking for one more spot, Segal engaged in a dogfight that lasted all the way to the checkered flag, taking fifth at the finish ahead of his trip with MacNeil to head to Le Mans for the Test Day.   The finish left MacNeil in sole possession of fourth in the GTD standings after four races.  The checkered flag was only the beginning of a busy month of June for the Ferrari drivers.   “As soon as this race ends, we’re going to Le Mans to test there in another WeatherTech Ferrari,” MacNeil said. “Then next weekend is a Ferrari Challenge event  in Montreal during the F1 Grand Prix, and it’s super cool to be there. Then as soon as the race is done in Sunday in Montreal, I go right back to Le Mans for scrutineering on Monday.  We race that weekend in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the biggest race of my career – so I’m excited.”   June ends two weekends later in Watkins Glen, N.Y., with preparation for the next race of the WeatherTech Championship, the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen on Sunday, July 1.