Turning Point Tuesday: Year of Firsts Gives Scuderia Corsa Second Consecutive Team Championship in GT Daytona

Three hours into the 2016 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, a crowd of reporters and cameras huddled around the Scuderia Corsa pit stall. Even though the race was still seven hours from the finish, all eyes were on Christina Nielsen as she drove the No. 63 Ferrari 488 GT3 down pit lane, eager to celebrate her first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship title and the first GT Daytona (GTD) championship by a female driver in history.

While the anticipation and excitement in the pit box seemed almost tangible, the scene was anything but unexpected.

Two wins and seven podium finishes highlighted Scuderia Corsa’s dominant season with Nielsen and Alessandro Balzan behind the wheel. However, it was the team’s win from the class pole at Sebring, only the second race of the year, that set the tone for the No. 63 team.

The Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring fueled by Fresh From Florida victory, which included Jeff Segal as the team’s third driver, marked Balzan’s first career endurance race win, as well as the Ferrari 488 GT3’s first international win. It also marked Nielsen’s first career victory and the first time a female driver stood atop the podium at Sebring since Liz Halliday in 2006.

“I’m just as thrilled as I can be,” Nielsen said after the victory. “Sebring is a unique event, probably my favorite beside Petit Le Mans. Getting my first win here feels amazing – it’s something we worked super hard for. Now I guess we’re on a good path for the championship.”

With the first win of the season under its belt, the No. 63 seemed unstoppable. Three consecutive podium finishes followed Sebring, with the third being another Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup victory –  at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

However, after the Watkins Glen victory and a fourth-place finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, things started to get shaky for the team that had built a comfortable 22-point lead in the standings.

Early in the Lime Rock race, another car spun off-track and collected Nielsen, causing significant damage to the Ferrari. The team’s points lead diminished to 13 after an 11th-place finish, and would have lost more had the second-place car in the standings, the No. 23 Porsche of Alex Riberas and Mario Farnbacher, not had problems of its own as well.

Balzan and Nielsen recovered from the setback with their fifth podium of the year at Road America, only to struggle again at VIRginia International Raceway the following race. Mechanical issues, a drive through the grass, a flat tire and a penalty all plagued the No. 63 Ferrari at VIR, but the team ultimately came away with an eighth-place result, which still kept them atop the standings..

Another podium finish at Circuit of The Americas all but sealed the championship for Scuderia Corsa. Christina Nielsen would only have to complete her mandatory three-hour drive time at the Road Atlanta season finale to make history and win the GTD championship with Balzan.

The team called Nielsen into the pits three hours, seven minutes into the season finale, officially a champion. As she made her way back over the pit wall following her stint, the 24-year-old Dane briefly lay on pit wall as the crowd cheered her on and Balzan came over for an embrace.

The pair would wrap up the season with a third-place finish at Petit Le Mans, their seventh podium of the season, and also clinch the GTD driver’s title for the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup.

While the first wins and championships for both drivers have come and gone, there’s no doubt that winning again in 2017 sounds just as sweet, which is why Scuderia Corsa was quick to lock down the dynamic duo for next year.

“With Christina and Alessandro, our team has a high level of chemistry that would be very hard to replicate,” said team owner Giacomo Mattioli. “They have a good time and build each other up, but they maintain a team-first attitude and work together to solve problems when we encounter them. I am very proud of the job that Christina and Alessandro did in 2016 and I am looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish in 2017.”