Challenge APAC – Hutasoit, Hanna and Iritani blazed their way to win at Suzuka
Posted: 25.08.2018
Source: Ferrari
Suzuka, 25 August 2018 – In the second race of Round 5 of the Ferrari Challenge APAC series, track temperatures were at a blistering 45 degree Celsius, which made it very challenging for the drivers and tires were managed to minimize deterioration. This race saw Tani Hanna from Lebanon moving a step closer to sealing the Coppa Shell class championship with his sixth win of the season. In the Trofeo Pirelli class Renaldi Hutasoit from Indonesia notched up his second victory of the season while local hero Atsushi Iritani took the spoils in the Coppa Shell AM class.
Trofeo Pirelli. It was a walk in the park for pole-sitter Hutasoit as he seemed to be competing in a race of his own. He kept his lead from the green light right to the chequered flag. Behind him, Philippe Prette, from Italy, Go Max from Japan and Alex Au from Hong Kong were locked up in a fierce battle for podium, but none were able to close up to the leader. Unfortunately, Go Max spun during lap 9 and Prette grabbed the opportunity to secure second place while Au had to settle for third position, though this was enough to keep him at the top of the table standings.
Coppa Shell. The Coppa Shell race was just as spectacular. At the start Tiger Wu from Chinese Taipei was in first ahead of Hidehiko Hagiwara from Japan. However, Tani Hanna, who started eight on the grid, showed his championship winning form when he fought his way up into the lead pack and stayed on to win in his class. Behind Hanna, the battle was between Hagiwara and Wu until they made contact at the last lap which ended their hopes of standing atop the podium steps. Naoryu and fellow compatriot Kazuyuki Yamaguchi, then seized the opportunity to forge their way ahead and took second and third positions respectively. Hagiwara eventually settled for fourth. With the win, Hanna has further solidified his position at the top of the table standings.
Coppa Shell AM. In the Coppa Shell AM classification, Race-1 winner Kent Chen from Chinese Taipei was in first ahead of Atsushi Iritani from Japan and Andrew Moon from South Korea. It was a one-two battle between Chen and Iritani but the latter executed some spectacular overtaking moves which gave him the win and Chen had to settle for second position while Moon took third position. Grant Baker from New Zealand took the Gentlemen Cup. Rookie Ran Zhang from China, who impressively powered her way from 30th position on the grid to 24th took the Ladies’ Cup for the first time.
Race Schedule. The next round of the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific will return to the Singapore street circuit in support of the Formula One Grand Prix from 14th – 16th September.
Challenge APAC – Victory for Max, Hanna and Chen in Suzuka Race-1
Posted: 24.08.2018
Source: Ferrari
Suzuka, 24 August 2018 – It was clear blue skies that greeted the Ferrari Challenge drivers for the start of the 2018 Ferrari Challenge Asia-Pacific Race-1 at the Suzuka Circuit after typhoon Cimaron passed over the Japanese archipelago overnight. With 34 drivers from 13 countries participating in the race, the 5.807 km circuit was an adrenaline-filled affair for the spectators. The circuit is also known to be an extremely challenging one with 18 turns. After a huge accident by Rezza Kamaditya in which he crashed and flipped over several times, the race was red flagged with only 10 laps completed. Fortunately he walked away unhurt, in large part owing to the safety measures built into the car. Race direction took the standings at lap 10 and declared the winners.
Trofeo Pirelli. As the lights turned green, Japanese pole-sitter Go Max got off to a brilliant start to lead the field, while Alex Au from Hong Kong challenged hard throughout the entire race but just couldn’t rein in Max. Renaldi Hutasoit from Indonesia executed some smooth overtaking manoeuvres from the start and moved from seventh position on the grid to third. He managed to keep his pace to take the last step of the podium. Au extend his lead in the championship over Prett, today only fourth.
Coppa Shell. In the battle for Coppa Shell class honours, the win went to table leader Tani Hanna from Lebanon after a dramatic close race with Hidehiko Hagiwara and Yusuke Yamasaki, both from Japan. Hanna put in some solid laps to hold the category lead. Hagiwara eventually took second place while Yamasaki was third.
Coppa Shell AM. In the Coppa Shell AM classification, Kent Chen from Chinese Taipei took his first victory in Ferrari Challenge this year with a dominant drive despite starting behind Andrew Moon of South Korea. After taking the lead from Moon, Chen went to work to keep a gap over his nearest rivals and stayed in position till the chequered flag. However, Grant Baker from New Zealand who started from fourth on the grid soon made it by Moon, eventually finishing second on the podium. Baker also took the Gentlemen Cup. Atsushi Iritani from Japan took the last step on the podium while Moon had to settle for 4th position. Kanthicha Chimsiri from Thailand took the Ladies’ Cup.
Race Schedule. Race 2 will start again tomorrow at 3:40PM local time.
Ferrari Challenge APAC – The battle moves to Suzuka
Posted: 22.08.2018
Source: Ferrari
Suzuka, 22 August 2018 – The 2018 Ferrari Challenge Asia-Pacific round five will take place on the 5.807 km Suzuka circuit in Japan from 23 to 25 August alongside the 2018 Intercontinental GT Challenge Suzuka 10 Hours race. A total of 38 race drivers, including ten from Japan, will take to the track for three rounds of free practice before returning on Friday for the first qualifying session and Race 1, while Qualifying 2 and Race 2 will take place on Saturday.
Trofeo Pirelli. Following the last race held on 1 July at Fuji International Circuit, Alex Au from Hong Kong has overtaken Philippe Prette, moving from second place to lead the table standings in the Trofeo Pirelli class with 113 points. Prette isn’t too far behind with 97 points and in third place is Renaldi Hutasoit from Indonesia with 78 points. Expect to see some fast and furious battles in this class as the fight for supremacy continues.
Coppa Shell. It was two wins in a row for Tani Hanna from Lebanon in the Coppa Shell class at the last round in Fuji, thus solidifying his lead at the top of the table with 133 points. In second place is Tiger Wu of Chinese Taipei with 82 points, followed very closely by Yanbin Xing of China with only 2 points separating them. It will be interesting to see what strategies Xing will deploy this weekend to try to move up the table before heading into the Singapore leg in September.
Coppa Shell Am. Meanwhile, David Dicker from Australia continues his lead in the Coppa Shell AM class with a total of 144 points after once again winning both his races in Fuji, widening his lead to 49 points over Grant Baker from New Zealand who has 95 points. Min Xiao from China is a close third with 90 points.
Race Schedule. Follow all the action by our Challenge drivers who will undertake three rounds of practice sessions tomorrow, with the first race on Friday at 5:20 PM local time and the second race on Saturday at 3:30 PM local time.