Subtitle:
Ferrari Takes First 2015 Win In GT Daytona Class
Bill Sweedler and co-driver Townsend Bell earned their first victory in the GT Daytona (GTD) class since their win at the inaugural race of the TUDOR Championship, the 2014 Rolex 24 At Daytona. Their victory in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Robert Graham/Royal Purple Ferrari 458 Italia marks the first TUDOR Championship win of the season for Ferrari.
Sweedler took the lead 27 minutes into the Oak Tree Grand Prix after battling pole-sitter Dion von Moltke in the No. 48 Castrol EDGE Audi R8 LMS since the start. The Ferrari held the top position in the class for the majority of the race, only giving up the lead to the Audi for a brief three laps and the No. 007 TRG-AMR car for one, before Bell once again snatched it.*
The Scuderia Corsa duo are now second in the points with 226.
Kuno Wittmer drove the No. 007 Royal Purple/Orion Energy/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA/Mellow Mushroom Aston Martin Vantage to a second place finish, allowing co-driver Christina Nielsen to extend her GTD points standings lead to six points, 232-226, over Sweedler and Bell. Nielsen took over the GTD points lead from Haase and von Moltke after placing second at Road America two weeks ago.
Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing drivers Mario Farnbacher and Ian James captured the team’s third podium finish of the season, placing third in Sunday’s race. The team gained one place in the standings, putting them in fifth with 213 points.
QUOTES
Townsend Bell, Driver – No. 62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia
“It was just a fantastic day. The Ferrari was terrific from the first session. Full credit to the team on the preparation and the hard work. Bill gave me a great car and all I had to do was steer it around. I had a bit of an issue with the (No.) 48 on cold tires. We had a little ‘rubbity-rub’ with them. But once we settled in, the car was flawless. We settled in and just had to manage the car until the end.”
Round 11 will feature all four TUDOR Championship classes in the Lone Star Le Mans at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Source:
IMSA
Races:
Oak Tree Grand Prix