In a thrilling sprint-style race finish, Christina Nielsen, Alessandro Balzan and Matteo Cressoni earned Scuderia Corsa its fifth consecutive GTD class podium this season. The No. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3 charged through the field at Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, earning second place in this IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship event and taking the lead in the GTD points. Scuderia Corsa also moved to the top spot in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup.
Nielsen was the first of the three teammates to race, gaining four positions from the start in her double stints. Smooth driving, great team strategy and clean pit stops allowed her to safely deliver the car to endurance specialist Matteo Cressoni in sixth place. Cressoni jumped in the Ferrari and continued to move the car up through the aggressive field, making no mistakes and handing the car off to Balzan, who fought the battle through the checkered flag for a second-place finish.
Watkins Glen is a favorite track for many sportscar drivers, as it’s both a classic circuit and a highly technical racecourse. Strategy is especially important here, and Scuderia Corsa is a team that excels at making the right calls. “This race was about taking care of the tires and setting the car up so the tires would last,” Nielsen said. “A lot of cars had punctures today and had tires that didn’t last. The team did a good job of making a quick car, but also finding the right compromise where we didn’t risk running a setup that would be very hard on the tires.”
Nielsen is very happy with the results, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready to relax. “The team had good strategy, as always, and it’s nice to say we’re now leading both championships,” she said. “We’re only halfway through the season, so there’s still a long way to go, but we won’t sit back and rest because there’s no room for that with CTMP coming up. But, it is cool to say we’ve been on the podium for five out of six rounds.”
