Starting from third position, Sweedler executed a pair of daring passes – including one at the start – to move the Ferrari into the GT-Daytona class lead. Flawless pit stops by the Scuderia Corsa crew, and inch-perfect driving by Bell kept the Ferrari up front for the duration of the race. The victory means that the team has closed the gap in the GT-Daytona team championship as Scuderia Corsa now sits in second position. Bell and Sweedler are now also in second position in the driver’s championship, having also narrowed the gap to the leader, and are coming on strong just as the TUDOR Championship season heads into the final couple of races. 

 

“What a great race,” said Sweedler. “The Scuderia Corsa guys did a flawless job. The drivers, crew, engineer, strategy were all flawless. We have been working hard for this, and frankly, this victory coming towards the end of the year with us in the championship hunt. We knew that if we were unable to put good points on the board, or win, at VIR that our chances for the championship were slipping away. So our focus was to make no mistakes, and it’s worked out perfectly for us.” 

 

The championship was also on the mind of his teammate, as Bell defending the lead in the early part of his stint from one of the other GT-Daytona championship contenders.

 

“We’re coming for that championship,” said Bell. “It was nice to finally have a venue where we could show what the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari is capable of. The Ferrari was perfect all day. And what a job that my teammate Bill Sweedler did! He drove the Ferrari to the lead and then the pressure was on me to keep it there. We had a good battle with the 48, but then we settled down and we were able to pull out a gap. I’m so happy for the guys – we’ve had some good results but they really deserve this victory.”

 

The next round of the TUDOR Championship will be the Lone Star LeMans at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on September 17-19.