Category: Ferrari Challenge

The Ferrari Challenge championship completed its annual Ferrari Racing Days extravaganza at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday with two races and many more on track sessions for the 140+ cars that were in attendance.

Following Saturday’s perfect day and blue skies, Sunday’s races were held in much cooler conditions as drivers worked to get the correct temperatures into the Pirelli tires and to maximize the performance of their Ferrari 488 Challenge Evos.

Trofeo Pirelli: Matt Kurzejewski (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) secured his second win of the 2023 Challenge championship by the slimmest of margins on Sunday, besting Jason McCarthy (Wide World Ferrari) by just 0.008s. In a race that was defined by intense racing at every position, penalties ended up being a defining factor in the final podium result. Most significantly of these penalties were two 5.0s additions added to the race time of Manny Franco (Ferrari of Lake Forest) who won the race on the road, but was served those penalties for an improper gridding procedure infraction and also for avoidable contact.

Behind, it was a nose to tail affair as a mid-race safety-car brought the leading pack back together for the final five minutes of racing. At the head, Franco started to re-build his gap, but behind the intensity of the racing came to a new level as drivers jockeyed for position in the closing moments. At the end it was Dylan Medler (The Collection) who secured the final podium place despite significant last lap contact with Roberto Perrina (Ferrari of Seattle) that even extended beyond the checkered flag, earning both drivers penalties for the following weekend.

In the Am category, Brad Fauvre (Ferrari of San Francisco) secured his first win of the 2023 season, vaulting him up the standings. His win was a bit more comfortable, leading home Brian Cook (Ferrari of Seattle) by 1.8s at the line. Justin Rothberg (Ferrari of Palm Beach) secured his second podium of the weekend, this time settling for the third position.

Coppa Shell: Grey Fauvre (Ferrari of San Francisco) repeated his Saturday performance with a win on Sunday, with a margin of 2.214s over second-place finisher Cameron Root (Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo). A full course yellow also interrupted the Coppa Shell proceedings and meant that the race resumed with only four minutes remaining, leaving Fauve little time to show his pace advantage.

Root also had a comfortable advantage of 2.0s over third place finisher John Viskup (Boardwalk Ferrari) who was a further 2.0s back, but was locked in a tight fight with Rey Acosta (The Collection). Those two came to the line with only 0.8s separating them.

It was a difficult race for championship-leader Sureel Choksi (Ferrari of Denver) who had several incidents during the race and was ultimately given a penalty in the next race for incident responsibility.

In the Coppa Shell Am category, Dan Cornish (Ferrari of Austin) made it two of two at his home race. The Austin-based driver was not able to get out to such an advantage this round as he was followed closely by Jeffrey Nunberg (Ferrari of Central New Jersey) who earned his first podium in Challenge competition in Sunday’s race. Darren Bernstein (Ferrari of Washington) repeated his Saturday performance with another third-place finish on Sunday.
Schedule.

Ferrari Challenge will return to action at Road Atlanta with testing sessions kicking off the weekend on May 17 and 18 followed by the official weekend on May 19-21.

Ferrari Challenge completed its first racing action of Ferrari Racing Days at the Circuit of the Americas on Saturday under perfect Texas conditions. Blue skies and cool temperatures prevailed and offered drivers a perfect canvas on which they delivered a spectacular day of racing, the opening stanza for Ferrari Racing Days.

Trofeo Pirelli: Manny Franco (Ferrari of Lake Forest) drove away from the rest of the Trofeo Pirelli field after a dramatic start saw him surge past the pole-sitter Jeremy Clarke (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) in the opening sequence. By the time the 30-minute contest was complete, he had earned a gap of over six seconds to eventual second-place finisher Matt Kurzejewski (Ferrari of Beverly Hills). Jason McCarthy (Wide World Ferrari) rounded out the podium, finishing a further three seconds behind. Points leader in the category, Roberto Perrina (Ferrari of Seattle) finished just off the podium as he chased down McCarthy in the closing moments, finishing just one second behind. In Trofeo Pirelli AM, it was Justin Rothberg (Ferrari of Palm Beach) who led home Marc Muzzo (Ferrari of Ontario) and Brian Kaminskey (Ferrari of Long Island). Kaminskey especially was under pressure as the clock ticked over as he finished just three-tenths of a second ahead of Brian Cook (Ferrari of Seattle) for the final podium position.

Coppa Shell: The Coppa Shell race brought the sole safety car intervention on the day in the opening lap as a driver found themselves trapped in the gravel, requiring rescue. Ultimately, the race resumed with plenty of time still on the clock for a fabulous contest; one that was ultimately won by Grey Fauvre (Ferrari of San Francisco). The leading sequence of cars was shuffled through a wild turn-one sequence allowed some drivers to make immense progress while others suffered unlucky delays. But by the end of the race, Dave Voronin (Foreign Cars Italia) secured the second position, his first podium in the Challenge championship, while pole-sitter Sureel Choksi (Ferrari of Denver) rounded out the podium in third. In the Coppa Shell AM category, Dan Cornish (Ferrari of Austin) secured his place at the top step with a fantastic move on then-race leader Lisa Clark (Ferrari of Beverly Hills). The California driver finished second in the final reckoning, ensuring her points lead in the championship remains unchallenged. The duo were in a bit of a league of their own with Darren Bernstein (Ferrari of Washington) rounding out the podium, but finishing quite a few seconds behind the leading pair.

 

Tony Davis (Continental Autosport) shares his approach for the immensely fast and tricky esses section at Circuit of the Americas.  As Tony shares, the section demands compromise and precision as drivers look to maximize speed and minimize time in their Ferrari 488 Challenge Evos through an important stretch that sets the tone for the remainder of the lap.