Bell, Segal, Sweedler and Scuderia Corsa add names to Le Mans history books with dominant victory in GTE-Am
Scuderia Corsa press release.
June 19, 2016 (Le Mans, France) – Scuderia Corsa has triumphed at the biggest race in the world – the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The no. 62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia driven by the all-American lineup of Townsend Bell, Jeff Segal and Bill Sweedler captured victory in the GTE-Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday afternoon in only the team’s second appearance at the endurance classic. Throughout the race, the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari was a contender for victory, taking the lead for the first time as the sun began to set in the race’s fifth hour. From that point the Ferrari had the GTE-Am victory in its sights, and Jeff Segal took the checkered flag just after 3:00 PM on Sunday afternoon.
Thanks to rapid stints at the wheel by all three drivers, the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari finished three minutes ahead of the second-placed car and lapped the rest of the GTE-Am field. The car completed 331 trouble-free laps of the 8.5-mile Circuit de la Sarthe, while the Scuderia Corsa crew executed 25 mistake-free pit stops.
“Since our first Le Mans last year, our only ambition was to get back to Le Mans and win,” said Sweedler. “We knew that if we came back with the same Scuderia Corsa team, and the same drivers, we’d have a winner. Last year we didn’t quite know what to expect, but this year we were ready. But I think we are all a little bit shocked that it happened!”
Townsend Bell was the driver who eased the Scuderia Corsa Ferrari into the lead for the first time late on Saturday evening. The Le Mans victory is another success that Bell, Sweedler and Scuderia Corsa have enjoyed together.
“It’s so fun to win with these guys,” said Bell. “We’ve had a lot of success together. With Scuderia Corsa, we have won Le Mans as well as the IMSA championship. Here, we had a terrific race. The Ferrari was exceptional, and my teammates were so fast that we won it with a margin. You couldn’t ask for a better race than this.”
Segal partnered with Scuderia Corsa to win at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March, and has now won two of the world’s biggest endurance races with Scuderia Corsa in the same year.
“Winning at Le Mans is so special, you just can’t put it into words,” said Segal. “Standing on the top step of the podium here is something you dream about but when it is happening it doesn’t seem real. It’s difficult to put into words what this means – to win here representing Ferrari and Scuderia Corsa. My teammates Bill and Townsend were outstanding, and the crew were flawless, and the Ferrari was just perfect here. Everything came together just perfectly.”
It has been nearly four seasons since Giacomo Mattioli’s Scuderia Corsa made it’s professional racing debut in a GRAND-AM race at Laguna Seca, and now, his team has stood atop the podium at Le Mans.
“What an amazing result” said Mattioli. “The drivers ran hard and flawlessly, I could have not asked them to perform any better. The crew was impeccable for the entire weekend and executed perfectly thorough the 24H. I would like to thank Kessel Racing for the great support. It is truly a privilege to win Le Mans with Ferrari. This is really the pinnacle of sports car racing – an amazing feeling.
Scuderia Corsa will return Stateside to compete in the upcoming Six Hours of the Glen at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. In the GT-Daytona class, Scuderia Corsa drivers Christina Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan are the current championship leaders.
About Scuderia Corsa
2015 24Hours of Le Mans Podium, 2015 IMSA GTD and 2013 Grand-AM Rolex GT championship-winning team Scuderia Corsa was founded in 2013 by Giacomo Mattioli and Art Zafiropoulo.
Follow Scuderia Corsa on Twitter @Scuderia_Corsa, on Facebook at Scuderia Corsa, Instagram at #Scuderiacorsaferrari and ScuderiaCorsa.com
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Picture Credit to Roberto Viva