Close ties to Ferrari Silicon Valley Will Lead to Big Weekend for Scuderia Corsa at Laguna Seca - Speedway Digest

After a six-week break for the GT-Daytona class, Scuderia Corsa’s IMSA team is back in action for this weekend’s event at Laguna Seca in Salinas, California. But not only is the team back in action, but the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia will be competing in one of its most important events of the season.

The owners of Scuderia Corsa, Art Zafiropoulo and Giacomo Mattioli, are also owners of nearby Ferrari Silicon Valley – making the Laguna Seca race the team’s home event for the season. A number of clients and sponsors will be on hand for the weekend, with a rally of client Ferraris taking place each day from Ferrari Silicon Valley to Laguna Seca.

The local ties extend to driver Townsend Bell, who was born and raised in nearby San Francisco. Bell and teammate Bill Sweedler are currently third in the GT-Daytona championship and second in the GT-Daytona Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup after finishing in third place at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

“I always enjoy driving at Laguna Seca – it is the first track I ever drove at, a place where I’ve enjoyed a lot of success, and close to where I grew up,” said Bell. “And it’s a great place to drive a car like the Ferrari 458 Italia, and it will be great to enjoy the support of everyone from Ferrari Silicon Valley. Hopefully we will put on a good show for them and get another strong finish like we were able to get at Sebring.”

“It’s always a treat to drive at Laguna Seca, especially in a car as well-balanced as the Ferrari,” said Sweedler. “We had a lot of speed at Daytona and just had some bad luck at the end, and then at Sebring we didn’t think we had a shot at a result and all of a sudden things came together for us at the end. It was definitely a big boost for the team to get a podium and great for our championship, and now we’ll look to do it again in front everyone from Ferrari Silicon Valley.”

For Mattioli, whose team made its professional motorsports debut at Laguna Seca in 2012, the Laguna Seca event brings added importance as the team aims for a GT-Daytona class championship.

“It is obviously a very important race for us this weekend, with so many clients, friends, and supporters coming to the track to support the team,” said Mattioli. “And there is a very good feeling within the team right now after coming from behind to score a podium at Sebring. We are in a good position in the championship, and another finish like that will help our chances even more.”

Sunday’s IMSA race from Laguna Seca will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 at 4:00 PM ET. Saturday’s qualifying will be streamed live starting at 7:15 PM ET on IMSA.com.

Author
Recent Posts

Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.