Sweedler, Bell Confirmed in Scuderia Corsa Ferrari for 24H Le Mans

Photo: John Dagys

After getting their first taste of Le Mans this June, a pair of championship-winning American drivers are headed back to La Sarthe in 2016, with the goal of taking the top step of the podium in GTE-Am.

Bill Sweedler has confirmed to Sportscar365 that he and Townsend Bell will return to the wheel of their Ferrari F458 Italia, again entered by Scuderia Corsa in the French endurance classic.

The driver pairing, which finished third in class in their Le Mans debut, won this year’s IMSA GT Daytona championship with the Giacomo Mattioli-owned squad, which led to the Le Mans invite for the second consecutive year.

Sweedler, who was the top Am driver in GTD, has designated the auto invite to Scuderia Corsa, despite he and Bell moving on to O’Gara Motorsport’s new Lamborghini Huracan GT3 in the WeatherTech Championship next year.

The team’s third driver for Le Mans has yet to be determined, as Sweedler was upgraded from Bronze to Silver rating for 2016, which could prevent the return of Jeff Segal to the lineup.

GTE-Am requires one Bronze and one Bronze or Silver-rated driver per lineup.

Sweedler said they will again utilize the same Ferrari chassis that was run this year, in an effort that saw technical and operational support from Swiss-based Kessel Racing.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John