Le Mans, France (June 4, 2017) – WeatherTech Racing drivers Cooper MacNeil (Hinsdale, Ill.), Bill Sweedler (Westport, Ct.) and Townsend Bell (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) completed maximum laps today at the Circuit de le Sarthe in Le Mans, France.
MacNeil flew over to France after competing in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship Detroit race (finishing 12th in GTD) and joined Sweedler and Bell for the day-long test at the famed Circuit de le Sarthe. The WeatherTech Racing Ferrari 488 GTE-Am car prepared by Scuderia Corsa was able to complete the day with the three drivers getting maximum track time, covering 74 laps around the 8-mile closed-road circuit. At the end of nearly eight hours of running the trio were fourth on the time sheet with a fast lap of 3:58.599, fastest of the class Ferrari cars, and fourth in the GTE Am class.
Bell and Sweedler return to the twice-around-the-clock race in 2017 as the GTE-Am class champions. For MacNeil it is his fourth run at Le Mans with a best finish of fifth in GTE-Pro in 2014 when he and Jeroen Bleekemolen ran the race without a third driver.
“Townsend and Bill arrived before I did and had everything ready to go,” MacNeil said. “When I got in the car it was right. We need to work on my seating position a little bit, but that is a small thing we will correct. The Michelin tires are great and I turned a lot of laps. The WeatherTech Ferrari is very confidence inspiring around this 8-mile track. I am happy with the way the day went and I am looking for driving it in the 24.”
“Solid first day running at Le Mans,” Bell said. “The WeatherTech Ferrari was perfect out of the box. Cooper and Bill were really strong too their first time in this new car. Can’t wait for race day!”
“The team had the car ready go from the drop of the green this morning,” Sweedler said. “It was great to get in a lot of laps for all three of us today. The car feels great on the track and we all drove competitive times. Gives me a lot of confidence for the race in two weeks.”
The team will return to Le Mans, France on Monday, June 12 when they will go through the tradition of “scrutineering” in downtown Le Mans at 4:10 p.m. cest (10:10 a.m. ET). The WeatherTech Racing Ferrari will hit the track next at the Circuit de le Sarthe on Wednesday, June 14 for the first official practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans to run June 17-18.