Squadra Corse Ferrari Finished First New Class Run At Road America

After winning every Blancpain GT World Challenge America race it entered and clinching the championship in the Am class, Squadra Corse took on a new challenge this weekend at Road America.

For the first time this season, the team moved to the hotly contested Pro-Am category as the series visited the fast Wisconsin circuit for the penultimate race weekend of the 2019 season. Drivers Mark Issa and Martin Fuentes completed its weekend on Sunday with a sixth-place finish in the No. 7 Hublot/Issa Castro Law/Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale Ferrari 488 GT3. The Sunday finish marked a one position improvement from the duo’s Saturday outing, where they combined for a seventh-place result.

Issa, the championship leader in Ferrari Challenge Coppa Shell competition, raced for the first time at the historic circuit. Making just his second start in Blancpain GT competition, Issa continued to get familiar with the fast track with his run to eighth in qualifying, moving up to sixth in his opening stint of the race.

On Sunday, Fuentes ran fifth overall before stopping just before the end of the pit window, which began on a damp track with a threat of rain. Issa took over in seventh, picking up a position in the final minutes.

“We’ve been struggling with the car all weekend, and then I had a very bad qualifying for Sunday’s race,” Fuentes said. “We’re working on getting points and trying to give a little headache for the guys in front!”

Fuentes was hoping for rain for the Sunday race, but the track dried in the early laps and the forecast precipitation failed to fall during the 90-minute event.

Prior to Saturday, Fuentes won all eight events he entered this season in the Am class, clinching the title with a weekend sweep at Watkins Glen International.