Ferrari Challenge NA – Close Competition and New Winners Mark Race 2 at Mosport Park
Posted: 17.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Bowmanville, 17 July 2017 – Ferrari Racing Days came to a thrilling conclusion with Qualifying, Race and XX Programmes cars action filling the day for all of the clients and fans in attendance. The fast, sweeping corners of Mosport Park offered a unique challenge to drivers, in the all-new 488 Challenge and 458 Challenge EVO cars. Drivers were required to summon all of their courage and skills as top speeds peaked out at above 180 mp/h along Mosport’s long back straight, and intermittent rain hit the area. The polished surface brought little relief as drivers spent much of their practice sessions scouring for grip, before the clouds parted in time for racing action in the afternoon. The XX Programmes clients were not so lucky, however, as their session took place in largely wet conditions.
Trofeo Pirelli. Wei Lu and his Ferrari of Vancouver 488 Challenge repeated his pole performance in Qualifying 2 on Sunday morning in an intense, four-way fight. As the fifteen minute qualifying session came to a close, the top four cars were separated by only fifteen one-hundredths of a second, led by Wei’s 1.19.124. Peter Ludwig was denied pole by only one hundredth of a second, but his 1.19.138 was good for second over Cooper MacNeil and Martin Fuentes. Come the afternoon race, however, Wei fell back to fourth, ceding the lead to Peter Ludwig with MacNeil and Fuentes following through. While the leading four were spread out, there was tension throughout the race as the new 488 Challenge was up to eight seconds per lap faster than some of the slower 458 Challenge EVO cars, meaning managing traffic was a key skill required throughout the race.
Trofeo Pirelli AM. Marc Muzzo once again took pole position in Trofeo Pirelli Am, but it was a tightly fought battle for pole. The closest challenger was Chris Cagnazzi. Chris drove his Ferrari of Long Island 488 Challenge car to within two one-hundredths of a second of Marc, to start on the front row. Further back, Joe Courtney and his Miller Motorcars car took third in class over Brent Holden. However, the afternoon race was a different story. Marc was unable to maintain his advantage, allowing Cagnazzi to take his maiden win for the 2017 season, and bringing him within one point of Brent Holden for second place in the overall standings. Further back, Jean-Claude Saada completed an immense, charging drive to take second at the flag, with Marc Muzzo completing the podium.
Coppa Shell. Karl Williams did an excellent job to qualify just fourteen hundredths of a second behind the Trofeo Pirelli AM pole sitter. But, he was followed closely by Dave Musial, who pushed him all the way to the flag, setting his fastest lap late in the session. Barry Zekelman completed the top three. Come the afternoon race, Karl Williams maintained his lead to take the win over Barry Zekelman by three seconds. Michael Fassbender, after a charging drive from sixth in class, claimed his maiden podium in only his third Challenge race, finishing only 15 seconds behind the class winner, an impressive achievement.
Gentleman’s Cup. Osvaldo Gaio took his second gentleman’s cup win of the weekend, in his Miller Motorcars 488 Challenge car to the front of the Gentleman’s cup field.
Trofeo Pirelli 458. Naveen Rao and his Ferrari of San Diego 458 Challenge EVO took their maiden pole of 2017 with an 1.21:615 on his third lap of the fifteen minute morning session. It was a dominating performance, one second faster than his nearest competitor, Joseph Rubbo. Joel Weinberger completed the top three in his Continental Auto Sports car with a 1.23.302. Come the afternoon race, Naveen held off an intense charge from Rubbo to claim the victory. By also claiming fastest lap of the race, Naveen completed the triple crown, qualifying first, having the fastest race lap in his class, and finishing first. Joel Weinberger completed the top three.
Ladies Cup. Lisa Clark once again took victory in the Ladies cup class with her 458 EVO, finishing just ahead of Debra Palermo.
Racing Days. Five of the XX Programmes clients joined Mosport Park for Ferrari Racing Days taking to the track in dedicated track sessions. Three Ferrari FXX K shared the track alongside a 599XX and 599XX EVO to thrill both the Challenge drivers and the fans in attendance.
Ferrari Challenge NA – Canadian drivers and teams take victories at Mosport Park
Posted: 15.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Bowmanville, 15 July 2017 – A glorious sunny day saw Wei Lu, Marc Muzzo, Karl Williams and Joel Weinberger take victory at historic Mosport Park in the third round of the North American series of the Ferrari Challenge while welcoming XX Clienti for Ferrari Racing Days.
Trofeo Pirelli. Wei Lu took his maiden win of the 2017 season with an excellent lap of 1:19.352, two tenths faster than the best that Peter Ludwig, our points leader, could accomplish in his Wide World of Cars Ferrari. Cooper MacNeil rounded out the top three. Come the race, it was a close fought battle throughout, with lapped traffic playing a significant role in the action. However, Wei Lu, and his Ferrari of Vancouver 488 Challenge were able to prevail over Peter by 1.625 seconds. In a race that ran uninterrupted by caution periods, Wei absorbed serious pressure from Peter and Cooper throughout the thirty minute race. The three finished within three seconds of each other at the flag.
Trofeo Pirelli AM. Seven Trofeo Pirelli Am cars took to the track for qualifying in the morning with Marc Muzzo and his Ferrari of Ontario 488 Challenge car continued his strong run of form, taking pole, fastest race lap and the win on Saturday. While the race itself ran trouble free for much of its thirty minute duration, a hard incident into the Moss hairpin brought out a prolonged caution period that ultimately concluded the race. Further down the field, Chris Cagnazzi continued his impressive run of podiums, continued from Montreal, taking second place in his Ferrari of Long Island 488 Challenge car and Brent Holden completed the podium in third.
Coppa Shell. A strong field of fifteen cars took the green flag in Coppa Shell. Karl Williams set the pace in qualifying in the morning setting an excellent lap of 1:20.811, a tenth and one half faster than his closest competition, Murray Rothlander, who only claimed second by four one-hundredths of a second. Come race time, Karl and his Ferrari of Beverly Hills powered car led the class to the finish with Barry Zekelman and Amir Kermani rounding out the top three. Hollywood star Michael Fassbender took ninth place.
Gentleman’s Cup. Osvaldo Gaio took his Miller Motorcars 488 Challenge car to the front of the Gentleman’s cup field, and set the fastest lap in his class as well. His 1:22.444 was one tenth clear of the fast time set by Karl Williams, both on lap 12 of the truncated race.
Pirelli 458. Joel Weinberger took class pole in his first Challenge race of the 2017 season in his 458 Challenge EVO car, followed closely by Joseph Rubbo and Caesar Bacarella. The top four positions were incredibly tight in qualifying, spread by only four tenths of a second. In the race, Joel maintained his advantage, taking class victory with Naveen Rao overtaking Caesar Bacarella for third place.
Ladies Cup. Lisa Clark took victory in the Ladies cup class in her 458 Challenge EVO. The Ladies Cup was a typically close fought affair between Lisa and Debra Palermo with Debra finishing just behind Lisa.
Ferrari Racing Days – Challenge and XX Programmes at Mosport Park
Posted: 12.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Bowmanville, 12 July 2017 – The Ferrari Challenge North America and the powerful cars of the XX Programmes are raring and ready to offer excitement and spectacle at the North American edition of the Ferrari Racing Days this weekend on the Mosport Park track.
Mega-horsepower. The FXX K, the hybrid car of the XX Programmes, is the most eagerly awaited car on a circuit that has hosted eight editions of the Formula One Grand Prix. A selection of these cars, which was first presented to the public at the 2014 Finali Mondiali, will be in action in Canada along with a few 599XXs and 599XX Evos, another two cars of this special Corse Clienti activity. The 599s deploy a sophisticated under-car air suction system to create something similar to the ground effect in Formula 1.
Fassbender returns. The third round of the Ferrari Challenge North America, which will also take place at Mosport Park, sees the return to the Coppa Shell of Hollywood star, Michael Fassbender, who debuted at Laguna Seca where he picked up his first points. Dave Musial, who swept all before him at Montreal, tops the standings, one point ahead of Barry Zekelman and 15 in front of Karl Williams who shared the spoils in the first round of 2017.
Trofeo Pirelli. Peter Ludwig has won three of the four Trofeo Pirelli races held so far, but Martin Fuentes is only 15 points behind after victory in Race-1 at Montreal. Wei Lu is third in the standings. The Pirelli Am class is led by Marc Muzzo, who after racing in Canada will fly to Europe to compete in the European series at the Paul Ricard. Brent Holden, winner of the first season race at Laguna Seca, lies in second 19 points adrift from the leader. Joe Rubbo tops the table among drivers racing the old 458 Challenge EVO on 45 points, but Oscar Paredes-Arroyo is just seven lengths behind.
Programme. The Challenge and the test sessions of the special cars of the XX Programmes will begin on Friday. On Saturday Race-1 of the Trofeo Pirelli and the Trofeo Pirelli 458 takes place 2:45 pm followed, an hour later, by the Trofeo Pirelli Am and the Coppa Shell. On Sunday the Trophy Pirelli Am and Coppa Shell gets going at 2:05 pm while the Trofeo Pirelli e Trofeo Pirelli 458 starts at 3:05 pm local time.