Ferrari Challenge Europe at Misano – Victory for Cheung, Cuhadaroglu, Nielsen and Wohlwend
Posted: 08.06.2018
Source: Ferrari
Misano Adriatico, 8 June 2018 – Eric Cheung, Murat Cuhadaroglu, Nicklas Nielsen and Fabienne Wohlwend triumphed on the first day of the fourth round of the 2018 Ferrari Challenge Europe season at Misano.
Coppa Shell. The day’s racing kicked off with the Coppa Shell, which took place at sunset and was an exciting and spectacular race. Christophe Hurni (Team Zenith Sion-Lausanne) jumped the start and was punished with a drive-through. The lead then passed to poleman Erich Prinoth (Ineco-MP Racing), who was followed by Eric Cheung (Formula Racing), Manuela Gostner (Ineco-MP Racing) and Vladimir Hladik (Baron Motorsport). There was no change until mid-race when Prinoth spun out, having to start again from fourth. This left the way open for Cheung, Gostner and Hladik. Thomas Gostner (Ineco-MP Racing), fifth up to that point, and his daughter Corinna Gostner, were hit respectively by Giuseppe Ramelli (Rossocorsa-Pellin Racing) and Agata Smolka (Rossocorsa). Hurni climbed up to eighth while Tommy Lindroth (Baron Motorsport), in his one 100th Challenge race, and Fons Scheltema (Kessel Racing), in his 200th, finished ninth and tenth. Despite the result, Prinoth still tops the championship standings although Cheung has pulled much closer.
Shell Am. Giuseppe Ramelli seemed to have notched up his first career win in the Coppa Shell Am. Driving the 488 Challenge of Rossocorsa-Pellin Racing, he performed impeccably from start to finish. However after the race was considered responsible for a contact with Thomas Gostner and was hit with a 25-second penalty dropping down to sixth. Turkey’s Murat Cuhadaroglu (Kessel Racing) won the race to close the gap with championship leader, Sweden’s Ingvar Mattsson, who started from pole but was third over the line. Alexander Nussbaumer (Formula Racing) took second.
Trofeo Pirelli. The Trofeo Pirelli race took place at night. At the start, poleman Nicklas Nielsen pulled away from the competition helped by the fierce duel between David Fumanelli (Rossocorsa) and Bjorn Grossmann (Octane 126). The Formula Racing driver crossed the line more than six seconds ahead of Fumanelli and Grossmann. Nielsen tops the championship standings.
Pirelli Am. Fabienne Wohlwend is letting nothing get in her way at the moment. The 20-year-old from Liechtenstein, winner of Race-2 at Spa, dominated from qualifying in the 488 Challenge of Octane 126. Like Nielsen, Wohlwend also benefited from the battle that raged behind her involving Tommaso Rocca (Rossocorsa), Martin Nelson (Scuderia Autoropa) and Chris Froggatt (Ferrari GB – H.R. Owen). The three fought it out until the last lap, when Froggatt, who overtook Nelson after the midway point, passed Rocca to seize second place. The second set of races are on Saturday at 8 pm and 10:15 pm.
Ferrari Challenge Europe – All ready for Misano night race
Posted: 06.06.2018
Source: Ferrari
Misano Adriatico, 6 June 2018 – The Ferrari Challenge Europe is all set for round four at Misano Adriatico track. Unusually, this weekend’s races are all at night, kicking off on Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and 10:15 pm.
Special guest. Andrea Bertolini will be race advisor at Misano. The Sassuolo driver is preparing to take to the track in the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the wheel of an LMP2 class prototype. Bertolini triumphed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GTE-Am class in 2015 together with Russians Victor Shaytar and Aleksey Basov.
Trofeo Pirelli. Just 16 points separate Nicklas Nielsen and Bjorn Grossmann in the Trofeo Pirelli. The Dane of Formula Racing and the German of Octane 126 have so far shared the spoils except for Race 1 at Spa-Francorchamps, won by an extraordinary Florian Merckx. Chris Froggatt is comfortably ahead in the Trofeo Pirelli Am, although Fabienne Wohlwend is ready to do battle after her victory in Race 2 in Belgium.
Coppa Shell. The Coppa Shell sees a very open fight between leader Erich Prinoth (Ineco-MP Racing) and pursuers Christoph Hurni (Team Zenith Sion-Lausanne), Eric Cheung (Formula Racing) and Thomas Gostner. After a one-two at Mugello Prinoth limited the damage in the next two rounds while Hurni and Cheung put in good performances at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps to put themselves back in the running for the title. Gostner (Ineco-MP Racing) is making consistency his strong point. In the Coppa Shell Am Ingvar Mattsson (Scuderia Autoropa) tops the standings 18 points in front of Murat Cuhadaroglu (Kessel Racing) and 18.5 ahead of Alexander Nussbaumer (Formula Racing).
Ferrari Challenge Europe – Misano takes centre-stage from Wednesday
Posted: 31.05.2018
Source: Ferrari
Maranello, 31 May 2018 – The fourth round of the Ferrari Challenge Europe 2018 season is less than a week away. The championship moves to Misano Adriatico, near Rimini, a track particularly famous for motorcycling, but that is sure to put on an exciting show for car enthusiasts.
Unusual format. Unlike the other race weekends, the Misano event will take place at night. For the second time in its history, the Challenge Europe will see two days of nighttime races. Nearly forty 488 Challenges will battle it out in two categories: Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell.
Friday and Saturday. As they are taking place at night the races will be held on Friday and Saturday 8 and 9 June, kicking off at 8:00 pm for the Coppa Shell and 10:15 pm for the Trofeo Pirelli. This gives Riviera holidaymakers a wonderful opportunity to round off their day at the seaside with a trip to see the Ferraris on track.
Well-stocked paddock. As always in the Ferrari Challenge the show won’t only take place on track. From the tests on Wednesday, the paddock of the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli will host a series of attractions worthy of a visit in themselves. The entire range will be on show to the public, including the new Portofino and 812 Superfast. The extraordinary Ferrari 488 Pista, Maranello’s latest special series, will also take a bow in a dedicated hospitality area. The Ferrari Store, also in the paddock, will be selling Ferrari promotional items and merchandise.
Andrea Bertolini. Special race advisor, Andrea Bertolini, will join the drivers for the weekend. Bertolini is just back from the 1000 km of Paul Ricard and is all set for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The experienced driver from Emilia will help the race officials in the management of the four races.