First titles awarded in opening races of Ferrari Challenge

CHALLENGE EUROPE

Adam Carroll won a race marked by two appearances of the Safety Car. The British driver was the big star of the thirty-minute outing with 43 drivers divided into the four classes that make up the series. Behind him came Bjorn Grossmann and Sam Smeeth. Fourth place went to Trofeo Pirelli leader Louis Prette, ahead of his title rival Niccolò Schirò.

Emanuele Maria Tabacchi’s victory in the Trofeo Pirelli Am clinched the crown. The driver took advantage of the absence of his closest rival, Jack Brown, to seal the title with a race to spare in his first season in the Ferrari Challenge. Matus Vyboh and Jan Danis completed the podium.

In the Coppa Shell, James Weiland won, while Tani Hanna’s second place secured a repeat title win in the category after last year’s triumph. Thomas Gostner took the final step of the podium.

In the Coppa Shell Am, Henrik Jansen’s victory and the fourth place for Agata Smolka reopened the title battle. Second place on the podium went to Ingvar Mattsson ahead of Alexander Nussbaumer.

CHALLENGE NORTH AMERICA

The first race of the Finali Mondiali at Mugello on Friday offered spectacle and excitement down to the final minutes when the Safety Car came out and froze the positions. In the Trofeo Pirelli, the race saw a duel between the two drivers battling for the title, Cooper MacNeil and Benjamin Hites. MacNeil came out on top partly because of the one-second penalty inflicted on the Chilean driver for passing his rival when the yellow flag was out. Marc Muzzo was third under the chequered flag.

In the Trofeo Pirelli Am, Ziad Ghandour won ahead of Neil Gehani and John Magrue, continuing their championship battle. However, the order of arrival in the Coppa Shell changed at the end of the race when the stewards imposed a 25-second penalty on Marc Issa. Brian Davis celebrated his victory ahead of Claude Senhoreti and the new class champion.

The head-to-head between Jay Schreibman and Brad Horstmann continued at Mugello, with the former taking the lead in the standings after today’s triumph. Eric Marston crossed the line in third.

CHALLENGE ASIA PACIFIC

After the Trofeo Pirelli Am and Coppa Shell Am titles were decided in the previous rounds, Race 1 of the Asian series failed to reveal who will be crowned Coppa Shell champion. In the Trofeo Pirelli class, Go Max won ahead of Philippe Prette, taking advantage of a brilliant start before easily repelling the attacks of the Italian, who pulled off an excellent comeback after dropping positions at the start. The Japanese Nobuhiro Imada completed the podium.

In the Coppa Shell, Makoto Fujiwara took the lead in the standings, with a win over his rival Kazuyuki Yamaguchi. This class remains open, with Yanbin Xing still fully in contention for the title after finishing third today.

Andrew Moon and Kent Chen fought a heated battle in the Coppa Shell Am, interrupted only by the entrance of the Safety Car, which gifted victory to the latter. Atsushi Iritani took the bottom step of the podium.