| Wisconsin Native Eager to Race at Road America July 21, 2025By Mark RobinsonIMSA Wire Service |
| DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Sometimes there’s nothing like a little home cookin’ to cure what’s ailing. Manny Franco hopes that’s the case for him. A native of Milwaukee, Franco heads to his home track next week – Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin – for the Motul SportsCar Grand Prix. It’s a circuit where Franco and his Conquest Racing team have enjoyed success. Both driver and team trust they can begin turning around a season that hasn’t fully lived up to expectations at the 4.048-mile permanent road course. Coming off a strong rookie IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship campaign where he and the No. 34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 finished fourth in the Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) standings, capped by a win in the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans, Franco was looking for more in 2025. Especially since he’s paired this year with Ferrari factory driver Daniel Serra, a four-time WeatherTech Championship race winner and two-time victor at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Other than a third-place finish at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in May, however, the big results haven’t come. Through six races, Franco and Serra sit ninth in the GTD standings. However, they head into the final four races where their form may turn; in 2024, the No. 34 Conquest Ferrari banked three top six finishes in the final four races. The upcoming return to his home track is what Franco hopes will be the turning point, and with good reason. Franco gave the Ferrari 296 GT3 its first North American wins while competing in another series with co-driver Alessandro Balzan at Road America in 2023. In last year’s WeatherTech Championship race at “America’s National Park of Speed,” Serra and Giacomo Altoe won the Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) class at Road America in a one-off for Conquest Racing, with Franco and co-driver Albert Costa taking fifth in GTD. Franco, Costa and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli won their first race as a collective unit at Motul Petit Le Mans last October, so now it’ll be interesting to see if Franco can get a second win in a Motul-supported race at a venue he loves. “Coming home is the aspect I like most (about racing at Road America) because there’s always an added fire and motivation to do even better,” Franco said heading into the 2024 race weekend, words that still ring true. “I have friends and family that will be there, so I want to put on a good show for them and give them even more reasons to celebrate. “Always happy to go (back) to Road America,” he added recently. “It’s a home track for me, it’s where we got the first win for the (Ferrari) 296 on North American soil. It’s one track I enjoy going back to. We’re hoping to perform and do our best.” |
| One thing Franco is certain of as Conquest prepares for the Road America return is that he couldn’t ask for a better pro co-driver than Serra. Beyond his Road America victory last year, Serra has three other WeatherTech Championship wins, with two at Motul Petit Le Mans in 2018 and 2019 and at the 2024 Rolex 24 At Daytona. “In my opinion, he’s the best overall package as a Ferrari factory driver,” complimented Franco. “He’s fantastic on setup, he’s fast. When you think about racing … the one spot most people forget is the setup. It’s crucial to have not just a car that’s fast, but a car that can be that quick throughout the entire stint. He doesn’t get praised for that enough. “It helps me and Ben (Tuck, the third team driver for endurance races), the Silvers in the car, perform better with a car that’s more reactive. It’s a big thing to be able to do that.” The Motul SportsCar Grand Prix runs August 1-3 at Road America. Five IMSA-sanctioned series provide a packed schedule of racing starting Thursday, July 31, headlined by the WeatherTech Championship race beginning at 2:10 p.m. ET Sunday, August 3. The race streams live on Peacock in the U.S., and internationally on IMSA.tv and the IMSA YouTube channel. Tickets for the race weekend are available at RoadAmerica.com. |
