Scuderia Corsa drivers Duncan Ende and Martin Fuentes recorded a strong pair of results at this weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge doubleheader at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course in Lexington, Ohio in their Ferrari 458 Italias.
Ende, who has won previously at Mid-Ohio in the American Le Mans Series, qualified in a strong ninth position overall for Saturday’s race in his no. 64 Scuderia Corsa / Lino’spresso USA Ferrari 458 Italia. Launching well from the lights, Ende battled throughout the race and made up two positions with strong passes to take the checkered flag in seventh position. Looking for a second strong race, Ende would stall during the standing start of Sunday’s race dropping him to the back of the field. He spent the rest of the race making up lost time to finish in twelfth position in the GT class.
“Despite the issue that we had at the start of Sunday’s race, it was a really strong weekend,” said Ende. “I am very happy with qualifying and with Saturday’s race. I really enjoy racing at Mid-Ohio – the track has a great atmosphere with great fans who really enjoy sports car racing. I hope they enjoyed the racing this weekend and hopefully they were entertained by the Scuderia Corsa Ferraris!”
Fuentes, who retired from Saturday’s race, rebounded strongly on Sunday. Passing multiple cars during the race, he steered his no. 07 Scuderia Corsa / Hublot Ferrari 458 Italia to fourth position in the GT-A class. Fuentes result showcased the strength of the GT-A field as the GT-A winner finished in third position overall and the top three in GT-A were inside of the top-10 overall. The result brought him closer to the GT-A championship leader and keeps him in championship contention with six rounds of racing remaining in the 2015 season.
“I’m very happy with the result of fourth place in Sunday’s race,” said Fuentes. “Mid-Ohio is a very technical track and a very difficult track to pass other cars, but we managed to reduce the difference between us and the GT-A leader so we are looking forward to the next race at Miller Motorsports Park. Thanks to the Scuderia Corsa team for giving me a great Ferrari for the weekend, and thanks for the support from all our sponsors.”
The performances by Ende and Fuentes left Scuderia Corsa Technical Director Roberto Amorosi upbeat about their prospects in the final few races of the season.
“It was a positive weekend for Scuderia Corsa,” said Amorosi. “I am very happy for Duncan who drove a solid race on Saturday, achieving his best result of the season. Martin drove a solid race on Sunday, and finishing in fourth position in GT-A allows him to close the distance to the GT-A championship leader, keeping him in contention for the championship. We are looking ahead to the next race at Miller Motorsports Park!”
The Pirelli World Challenge races at Miller Motorsports Park in Toole, Utah will be held on August 21-23. Scuderia Corsa will compete this week at IMSA’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.