WeatherTech Racing together with Scuderia Corsa will field the No. 62 Ferrari 488 GTE in the GTE-Am Class for drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Bill Sweedler (Westport, Ct.) and Townsend Bell (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, June 17-18. The all-American trio bring solid miles to the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Sweedler and Bell are returning as the defending Le Mans GTE-Am Class winners from 2016. MacNeil will be making his fourth start at the French classic. Combining the efforts of the seasoned IMSA WeatherTech Championship drivers under the Scuderia Corsa banner for the 24 hours was a natural decision.
“I think we are headed to Le Mans with a very strong package,” MacNeil said. “Bill and Townsend won there last year in a Ferrari. We will be running a brand new 488 GTE and the Scuderia Corsa team knows the car and knows us as well. I run with them in the Ferrari Challenge Series, so between us three drivers and the team we already have a great racing relationship. This will help us to get right down to getting the car set-up and ready to go for race day.”
“We have threatened to team up for a couple of years,” Sweedler said. “Cooper had his own program and we had ours, but this year we were able to get all of the pieces in place to do it together! We have known the MacNeils for a many years and shared resources at Alex Job Racing in the past. Cooper has a lot of miles at Le Mans and has a lot of time behind the wheel of a Ferrari. Experience, drive, and a former winning team gives us another shot at winning the biggest sports car race in the world.”
“With our win last year, we have learned what it takes to stand on top of the podium at Le Mans,” Bell said. “We will have high expectations and we’ll have to be at the top of our game again. We’ve been friends with Cooper for a long time now in the paddock and I’m looking forward to racing with him. He is a great guy and has the experience at Le Mans which is key. As we found out to be successful at the 24 you have to have the pace. No excuses. No full course yellows, wave bye to game your way back on the lead lap.”
