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Scuderia Corsa aiming to repeat Detroit success at Watkins Glen

Brandon Davis joins Alessandro Balzan and Jeff Westphal for Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen.

#63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia: Alessandro Balzan, Jeff Westphal

#63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia: Alessandro Balzan, Jeff Westphal

James Holland

Los Angeles, Calif.) - After winning the previous TUDOR United SportsCar Championship GT-Daytona race at the Raceway at Belle Isle, Scuderia Corsa and its no. 63 Ferrari 458 Italia are looking for their second win in a row at this weekend's Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen.

The combined efforts of driver Jeff Westphal and the Scuderia Corsa pit crew catapulted the Ferrari from its sixth-place starting position to the lead of the GT-Daytona class in last month's race in Detroit. After a full-course caution period, Alessandro Balzan withstood heavy pressure to guide the no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia to its first victory of the year.

For the Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen, Balzan and Westphal will be joined by Brandon Davis. A former World Challenge Touring Car Rookie of the Year and GT Champion, as well as a NASCAR Whelan All-American State Champion in 2011, Davis competed in this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona as well as the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring.

"We have known Brandon for a while and are excited to have the chance to work with him," said Giacomo Mattioli, Scuderia Corsa team owner. "He has the right balance of speed and experience that will be a great benefit to our team, and I am looking forward to seeing the very strong driver lineup of Alessandro, Brandon and Jeff drive our Ferrari this weekend."

Davis is equally thrilled to join Scuderia Corsa for the first time this weekend.

"I'm really excited to join Scuderia Corsa for the Six Hours," said Davis. "They are a premier team and to be in a championship winning car is even more of an honor. I am looking forward to the opportunity to drive the Ferrari and with the team coming off of a win, it is my goal to try and repeat those results. Watkins Glen is a great place to race - I skipped my graduation so I could compete in a World Challenge race at the Glen."

The Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen will be broadcast live on Sunday, June 29 at 11:00 AM ET on FOX Sports 1.

Watkins Glen Technical Analysis - Joe La Joie, engineer of no. 63 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 458 Italia:

The Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen is an endurance race, so the handling sometimes takes a backseat to other aspects. Handling wise, the Glen long track is a challenging combination that requires an efficient aero package, change of direction, and a solid endurance brake package.

Turn 1 - This is the second longest straight and second hardest brake zone. It's bumpy and downhill so the car control must be good. You must watch for lacking of the front tires when trail braking. The turn has significant banking so it can be fast with high loads and can be hard on the left front tire. The exit must be fast, requiring good throttle application and gearing in order to get to the Bus Stop.

Turns 2,3, and 4 - This section of corners need to be flat which is difficult because they are fast needing efficient aero balance and support. The gearing has to be correct so the driver can shift between the turns and have the power to make it up the hill.

Bus Stop - This is the biggest brake zone and a great place to pass. That assumes you got out of T2 and up the hill flat. While we run the endurance brakes for the Six Hours, they must have good torque in order to out-brake the other cars. The Bus Stop itself requires the car to absorb the curbs while having good direction change.

Carousel - This is a long sweeper and you can lose critical time here. The throttle application is critical which requires the differential to be good. The long sustained G's require good balance and support.

Toe of the Boot - This is rather slow and requires some attention to mid-corner balance so the throttle application can be good in order to get to turn eight. This is the third-longest straight.

Heel of the Boot - This is the third biggest brake zone and another excellent opportunity to pass.

Turn 9 - The goal in this corner is to get out of it well for the runs through turn 10 and 11.

Turn 10 - This turn is fast. We want to keep the momentum up all the way through turn 11. Turns 2, 3, 4 and 10 determine the aero balance of our Ferrari.

Turn 11 - This brings you back onto the main straight - the second-longest straight on the track. It is relatively fast, not as fast as turn 10, but still very fast.

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