Finali Mondiali – Incredible crowds on the event’s final day
Posted: 29.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari / Manfred Steinert
Scarperia, 29 October 2017 – The Ferrari Finali Mondiali 2017 closed with over 40,000 fans flocking to Mugello during the weekend. They were drawn by ideal temperatures along with the record number of cars on show, including the 488 Challenge, 458 Challenge EVO, Formula 1 and XX Programmes. Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne was also present, greeting customers and handing the Trofeo Pirelli to the winner Fabio Leimer, before enjoying a walk in the pitlane to chat to the customers and the public in the stands and pose with the drivers and management for the usual photos.
World champions. The morning was dominated by the final races of the Challenge 2017 for the four class world titles along with the Gentlemen’s Cup and Ladies’ Cup divisions. Switzerland’s Fabio Leimer won the Trofeo Pirelli, with the 488 Challenge of Octane 126, while Jens Liebhauser (Formula Racing) crowned a season to remember by sealing the Trofeo Pirelli Am world title. However, European champion Johnny Laursen, another Formula Racing driver, sealed the Coppa Shell. In this race Henry Hassid (Charles Pozzi) secured the Gentlemen’s Cup, while Fabienne Wohlwend (Octane 126) took the Ladies’ Cup. The final world title, the 458 Challenge EVO class one, went to US driver Joseph Rubbo (Ferrari of Long Island).
FXX-K EVO. The day also saw the last session of the F1 Clienti and XX Programmes, one of Ferrari’s special activities that also starred in the gala evening on Saturday at Stazione Leopolda in Florence. After the award ceremony for the European Ferrari Challenge champions the FXX-K EVO was unveiled. This model is the evolution of the car presented at the 2014 Finali Mondiali. Its 1050-plus hp and hybrid technology derive from the experience gained in the Formula 1 World Championship and in GT racing at the highest level.
Sunday. The highlight of the event was the early afternoon show, which saw the participation of Giancarlo Fisichella, Andrea Bertolini and Davide Rigon in three F60 Formula 1 cars. Rigon then hopped into the 488 GTE, which he usually drives in the World Endurance Championship where he gave the change to teammate Sam Bird. The same happened for car no. 51 with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, who currently top the Drivers’ championship, while Ferrari enjoys a healthy lead in the Constructors’ title. F1 Clienti, XX Programmes and a number GT racing cars then completed an extraordinary array of 70 vehicles. Before the usual photos, the 125 S, the first Ferrari ever built, led the parade of cars along with the paratroopers of the Sezione Paracadutismo Sportivo Carabinieri who arrived on the track with the Italian flag and the Prancing Horse in yellow, the symbol of Maranello.
Packed paddock. Thousands of people thronged the paddock, brimming with attractions, for a photo with the Formula 1 cars in the tent dedicated to 70th anniversary or to make a purchase at the Ferrari Store, or even to collect an autograph during the session dedicated to Challenge drivers including Hollywood actor, Michael Fassbender.
Trofeo Pirelli: Leimer and Liebhauser on top of the world
Posted: 29.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Scarperia, 29 Oct 2017 – The Octane 126 team monopolised the Trofeo Pirelli podium at Mugello. The world title went to Fabio Leimer, who didn’t always compete during the European championship season but was consistently fast over the Finali Mondiali weekend at the Tuscan circuit. There were no surprises in the Trofeo Pirelli Am, won by European champion Jens Liebhauser of Formula Racing.
Trofeo Pirelli. Fabio Leimer started from pole, won by a few thousandths of a second ahead of teammate Bjorn Grossmann. The Swiss set off best to quickly lead his teammate and the rest of the group. Leimer, who this season sometimes raced with the 488 GT3 of Octane 126, won with relative ease as Grossmann played the role of team driver to perfection. Third place went to Sam Smeeth (Stratstone Ferrari), who had a stunning first season, which also saw him win Race-2 at Imola.
Trofeo Pirelli Am. Jens Liebhauser again proved himself in a class of his own this season. The German of Formula Racing dominated the Trofeo Pirelli Am race from start to finish, adding the European title to the world one. Second place went to Canada’s Marc Muzzo, who is the new North American champion but also competed in a few European races. He was at the wheel of the 488 Challenge of Ferrari of Ontario. Sweden’s Martin Nelson took third for Scuderia Autoropa. Britain’s Chris Froggatt (HR Owen) missed out on a top position, paying for an irregularity with a drive through penalty that put him out of the running.
Coppa Shell: Celebrations for Johnny Laursen, Henry Hassid and Fabienne Wohlwend
Posted: 29.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Scarperia, 29 Oct 2017 – Johnny Laursen, 2015 European Le Mans Series champion and recent winner of the European Ferrari Challenge, put the icing on the cake of his 2017 season by securing the Coppa Shell world title.
An all-European affair. The battle was fought entirely between European drivers thanks to their intimate knowledge of the Mugello circuit, now a venue for all the major European championships. Johnny Laursen went into the first turn ahead, albeit wheel-to-wheel with French driver Henry Hassid of the Charles Pozzi team. The Danish Formula Racing driver never gained a comfortable margin over his pursuer but his experience helped him keep his cool and win the race. However, Hassid had the consolation of victory in the Gentlemen’s Cup.
A three-woman fight. It was an even more extreme battle for the third step of the podium and the Ladies’ Cup. Manuela Gostner, who went from strength to strength in 2017, secured an excellent fourth place on the grid and started shoulder-to-shoulder with Octane 126 star, Fabienne Wohlwend. The Ineco MP Racing driver set off best to take third forcing the Wohlwend to chase. The woman from Liechtenstein attempted an attack at the two-thirds mark moving into the only space left by the Italian. The two cars came into contact but Wohlwend avoided a penalty and took third place along with the Ladies’ Cup.
Joseph Rubbo Pirelli 458 champion
Posted: 29.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Scarperia, 29 October 2017 – Joseph Rubbo (Ferrari Long Island) brought the Trofeo Pirelli 458 World Championship to North America with a lights to flag victory in the final Pirelli 458 Challenge race in the history of Finali Mondiali. Starting from the front row, Joseph held his position through the long turn one, building a lead that he would not relinquish for the thirty minute duration of the race.
Fierce battle. Further back, however, the battle for second and third came down to the final few laps between Martin Berry (Ital Auto Singapore) representing the Asia Pacific region and off the back of two excellent wins earlier in the weekend, held off Naveen Rao (Ferrari San Diego) for much of the race. Representing North America, Naveen had just come off the back of a bitterly competitive championship in North America and clearly relished the opportunity to challenge Joseph Rubbo. But first he would have to pass Martin, and despite having a small pace advantage, Naveen was unable to get close enough to make a meaningful attempt. Until the final laps, that is. Sensing that time was running out, Naveen made a very late lunge down the inside of the final turn, but in the process made contact with Martin’s car. The stewards deemed it a move worthy of penalty, and so Naveen was forced to drive through the pit lane with only a couple of minutes left.
Atar third. This episode promoted Galip Atar (Octane 126) to the final step of the podium, ensuring all three regions of Ferrari Challenge were represented.
Coppa Shell: Celebrations for Johnny Laursen, Henry Hassid and Fabienne Wohlwend
Posted: 29.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Scarperia, 29 Oct 2017 – Johnny Laursen, 2015 European Le Mans Series champion and recent winner of the European Ferrari Challenge, put the icing on the cake of his 2017 season by securing the Coppa Shell world title.
An all-European affair. The battle was fought entirely between European drivers thanks to their intimate knowledge of the Mugello circuit, now a venue for all the major European championships. Johnny Laursen went into the first turn ahead, albeit wheel-to-wheel with French driver Henry Hassid of the Charles Pozzi team. The Danish Formula Racing driver never gained a comfortable margin over his pursuer but his experience helped him keep his cool and win the race. However, Hassid had the consolation of victory in the Gentlemen’s Cup.
A three-woman fight. It was an even more extreme battle for the third step of the podium and the Ladies’ Cup. Manuela Gostner, who went from strength to strength in 2017, secured an excellent fourth place on the grid and started shoulder-to-shoulder with Octane 126 star, Fabienne Wohlwend. The Ineco MP Racing driver set off best to take third forcing the Wohlwend to chase. The woman from Liechtenstein attempted an attack at the two-thirds mark moving into the only space left by the Italian. The two cars came into contact but Wohlwend avoided a penalty and took third place along with the Ladies’ Cup.
Challenge Europe – Niklas Nielsen Sweeps top step of the podium
Posted: 28.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Scarperia – The atypical warmth of late October continued for race two of the Ferrari Challenge European Championship on Saturday. What started off cool and cloudy broke into a wonderful warming sunshine a few hours before the final race of the European season began at 14:30.
Trofeo Pirelli. Polesitter Niklas Nielsen (Formula Racing) completed a lights to flag victory in the second race, but it was certainly not easy, as he was challenged by Fabio Leimer (Octane 126) through the first few corners. The pair traded fastest laps over the opening few laps, but was unable to progress. Bjorn Grossmann (Octane 126) completed the podium in what was ultimately a truncated race, caused by an incident in the final corner. Having half spun, Bonamy Grimes (Stratstone Ferrari) was then struck by another car while sitting in the middle of the track, leaving debris everywhere. Fortunately both drivers were fine, but the race was ended while clean up could be affected.
Trofeo Pirelli AM. Jens Liebhauser (Formula Racing) took victory in the Trofeo Pirelli Am class, beating his closest rival, Chris Froggatt (HR Owen) by just over eight seconds. Martin Nelson (Scuderia Autoropa) took a comfortable third place, four seconds back of Martin, and seven seconds clear of his closest challenger from the rear.
Coppa Shell. A staggering driver from Henry Hassid (Charles Pozzi) saw him take victory in the Coppa Shell class, and beat his Trofeo Pirelli counterparts in the overall standings. Not only did he beat his closest competition by three seconds, his closest in-class challenger was Fabienne Wohlwend (Octane 126), the Ladies Cup Winner. Ultimately, Fabienne would take second, by three seconds over Johnny Laursen (Formula Racing).
Pirelli 458. The 458 EVO class was a relatively straightforward affair with only three cars participating. Kriton Lendoudis (Formula Racing) took the win over Halger Harmsen (Lueg Sportivo) while Galip Atar (Octane 126) finished on the third step of the podium.
Schedule. The Finali Mondiali will take place on Sunday, with each class taking part in its own race. Track action begins at 9:00.
Challenge NA – Peter Ludwig and Joseph Rubbo confirm their status as Champions
Posted: 27.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Scarperia, 27 October 2017 – A glorious summer day and a packed paddock greeted drivers upon their arrival to the Mugello circuit on Saturday. While qualifying took place in cooler than normal conditions, the race took place at mid-day, perfectly timed for optimal temperatures and the warming sunshine of the Tuscany region.
Trofeo Pirelli. Peter Ludwig (Wide World of Cars) took the win and the championship in a hotly contested Trofeo Pirelli class, where the championship contenders started line-astern and there was drama from the off. Peter Ludwig and Wei Lu (Ferrari of Vancouver) accelerated as one upon the green lights, down the long run to Turn 1. As they braked and entered the bend, there was nothing between them, but a firm move, and a bit of contact, from Peter Ludwig established his position as the leader, while Cooper MacNeil (Ferrari of Beverley Hills) followed in third. As the race progressed, Peter developed a significant lead whiel Cooper did everything he could to claim second position. A safety car briefly brought the pack back together, but ultimately it was a new line found by Wei and degrading tires on Peter’s car that brought the drama to a fitting conclusion. Knowing that this was for the championship (if Wei won the race, he would certainly take the championship), Peter defended sternly and thankfully was rescued by the checkered flag, thirty minutes later.
Trofeo Pirelli AM. Marc Muzzo (Ferrari of Ontario) again took victory in the Trofeo Pirelli AM category, beating out his chief championship rival, Chris Cagnazzi (Ferrari of Long Island). Brent Holden (Ferrari of Newport Beach) returned to the podium after a long absence, with a strong gap of six seconds over the fourth placed car.
Coppa Shell. Karl Williams (Ferrari Beverly Hills) took his second victory of the weekend in the Coppa Shell class, beating all of even the Trofeo Pirelli AM drivers in the overall results, ahead of Barry Zekelman (Ferrari of Long Island). Rounding out the podium was Dave Musial (Lake Forest Sportscars). While the podium was a fairly straightforward affair, it was further back in the Coppa Shell field where we saw the most action of the day. Michael Fassbender (Ferrari North America) made contact with Osvaldo Gaio (Miller Motorcars) on the entry to one of Mugello’s many chicanes. Osvaldo made a lunge to the inside, and was unfortunately in Michael’s blind spot. The two collided, and in the process of getting back onto the track, Osvaldo collected Joel Weinberger (Continental Autosports) leading to the only safety car of the race.
Pirelli 458. Joseph Rubbo (Ferrari of Long Island) claimed the 458 EVO Championship after a smartly run race where he stayed immediately behind his only rival, Naveen Rao (Ferrari of San Diego) for the duration of the thirty minute race. Knowing that a second place to Naveen’s first would clinch the championship, Joseph never put a wheel wrong and stayed right in Naveens wheel tracks, a challenge that was complicated by the faster 488 Challenge cars coming through their private battle. In the end, there was nothing to be done, Naveen took home the victory, but Joseph Rubbo took home the championship. John Boyd (Ferrari of Denver) completed the podium positions in third.
Schedule. The Finali Mondiali will take place on Sunday, with each class taking part in its own race. Track action begins at 9:00.
Challenge Europe – Laursen and Liebhauser champions
Posted: 27.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Scarperia, 27 October 2017 – Ever darker skies meant that the headlights were on for the first race of round 7 of the European Ferrari Challenge championship. Packing the largest grid of the three regions in attendance, 46 cars, all but three of which are the new 488 Challenge car, took the green flag at 16:45. Interrupted by one caution and a last lap incident that scrambled the rear portion of the field, what initially began as a straightforward but tense affair, soon turned dramatic.
Trofeo Pirelli. Nicklas Nielsen (Formula Racing) took the win in Trofeo Pirelli after securing the lead at the first corner of the first lap. Despite never enjoying a gap much beyond one second, he held firm and delivered the win over Fabio Leimer (Octane 126) and Philipp Baron (Rossocorsa). In what was mostly a tense affair due to the tight margins involved, Nicklas was able to also set the fastest lap of the race, as well as for the day overall at 1:52.6.
Trofeo Pirelli AM. Jens Liebhauser (Formula Racing), claimed victory in the Trofeo Pirelli AM class. Despite the gap being split by another Trofeo Pirelli car, Jens was only able to claim the victory by less than a second over Martin Nelson (Scuderia Autoropa). Fortunately, they were both ahead of the last lap chaos that shook up the field. An aggressive move into the carousel corner led to a bit of light contact, and two cars spinning. With the majority of the field caught behind, chaos ensued as cars dodged left right and center to avoid. In the scramble, additional cars went off track and lost time, or spun themselves. In the end, it was Robin Jensen who claimed the third step on the podium.
Coppa Shell. Johnny Laursen (Formula Racing) claimed a championship earning victory in Race 1, beating his key challengers Henry Hassid (Charles Pozzi) and Fons Scheltema (Kessel Racing). Caught in the middle of the last lap incident, Johnny was able to sneak through unscathed while the Coppa Shell field scattered, leaving Erich Prinoth (Ineco – MP Racing) and Fabienne Wohlwend (Octane 126) to round out the podium.
458 EVO. The shrunken 458 EVO field acquitted itself well, with Holger Harmsen (Lueg Sportivo), Kriton Lendoudis (Formula Racing) and Galip Atar (Octane 126) comprising both the entire field as well as the podium.
Schedule. The final race of the European Championship of Ferrari Challenge will take place on Saturday at 14:30, again at the Mugello Circuit.
Challenge NA – Marc Muzzo and Karl Williams claim class championships in North American series
Posted: 27.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Scarperia, 27 October 2017 – A cool, grey day greeted the Ferrari Challenge drivers from North America for race 1. Championships in all four classes were up for grabs and drivers took advantage of the great driving conditions to put on an excellent show.
Trofeo Pirelli: Championship leader Peter Ludwig (Wide World of Cars) endured a rocky race, perhaps a bit more literally than he would have liked, being forced off into the gravel early on by a hard charging and eventual race winner Wei Lu (Ferrari of Vancouver), and running wide while charging down third placed Martin Fuentes (Ferrari Silicon Valley). While his championship would have to wait for another day, Wei Lu again claimed victory after a very demonstrative move around the outside of pole sitter Cooper MacNeil (Ferrari Silicon Valley) on the second lap. Despite two safety car periods, the first midway through to rescue cars involved in an incident, and the second at the very end of the race to retrieve a beached car, Cooper was unable to re-take his position at the front of the field.
Trofeo Pirelli AM: Marc Muzzo (Ferrari of Ontario) claimed a hard fought championship over Chris Cagnazzi (Ferrari Long Island), and claimed it in thrilling fashion. Despite facing race-long pressure from Joel Weinberger’s (Continental Autosports) 488 Challenge car, Marc held firm and claimed victory in his class and established the necessary margin over his chief antagonist, Chris Cagnazzi. Marc’s win was not without drama, caused again by two safety car periods, which allowed Joel to close the gap and mount his challenge afresh.
Coppa Shell. Karl Williams (Ferrari Beverly Hills) also solidified his Championship in his second season in Ferrari Challenge. Aided by consistent and impressive speed, Karl was routinely able to fight with drivers in the Trofeo Pirelli and Trofeo Pirelli AM class, running as high as 4th overall in the race this afternoon. Again, it was a close call to his chief antagonist, Barry Zekelman (Ferrari of Ontario), who claimed the second step on the podium ahead of Murray Rothlander in third. Osvaldo Gaio (Miller Motor Cars) also continued his streak of leading the Gentlemen of the group, claiming the Gentleman’s Cup.
Pirelli 458. A hard fought season would continue to the final round of the Finali Mondiali, with Joseph Rubbo (Ferrari of Long Island) a scant two points ahead of Naveen Rao (Ferrari of San Diego) going into the weekend. It was again a brutally competitive race in the class with John Boyd (Ferrari of Denver) ultimately splitting the top championship contenders in the race. The Ladies Cup was also, again after a dominant season, won by Lisa Clark (Ferrari of Beverly Hills).
Schedule. The final race of the North American season will take place again at Mugello tomorrow, Saturday, at 13:00.
Challenge APAC – Prette champion in Go Max’s magic day
Posted: 27.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Scarperia – The first race of the 2017 Finali Mondiali got underway at just past 1 pm at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello in the rolling hills of Italy’s Tuscany region. Cool temperatures and cloudy skies, in addition to all of the rubber laid down during the preceding two days made for a very fast track and ideal driving conditions. Featuring thirty one cars from the Asia Pacific region of the Ferrari Challenge Championship, drivers did battle over thirty minutes at the fast, undulating circuit.
Trofeo Pirelli. Philippe Prette (Ferrari of Hong Kong) completed his championship march in the Asia Pacific Trofeo Pirelli class, clinching his third Ferrari Challenge career title. Further up the field, however, Go Max (M Auto) took a hard earned, but dominant win in Race-1 of round 7 for the Asia Pacific Ferrari Challenge series. After an epic first turn scrap, Tadakazu Kojima (Rosso Scuderia) captured the overall lead of the race while competing in the Coppa Shell class. Go Max was never far behind, however, and set the fastest lap of the race to that point, a 1:55.0. A caution flag seven minutes into the start of the race neutralized the most tantalizing battle for the lead, while two cars were rescued from precarious positions after contact. Once the race went back to green flag running with 15 minutes to go, Go Max set about eating into Kojima’s lead and made a late braking maneuver into one of Mugello’s numerous right-left chicanes. Huilin Han (CTF Beijing) also fought past with Philippe following through. However, by that point, Go had established a lead that could not be closed down, taking a dominant win. Huilin Han came home in second and claimed fastest lap of the race with third place enough for Philippe Prette to confirm his status as the Trofeo Pirelli 2017 Champion in Asia.
Trofeo Pirelli Am. Angie King (Autostrada Motore Manila) took a lights to flag victory in the Tofeo Pirelli AM class in round one, but it was the battle for second and third place that had championship implications. While neither driver was able to clinch the championship, Ken Seto (Rosso Scuderia) did well to beat his main rival, Tiger Wu (Modena Motori Taiwan) in a hard fought battle. Ken came out ahead, finishing second, while Tiger finished close behind in third, founding out the podium.
Coppa Shell. A remarkable qualifying set up a stunning performance from Tadakazu Kojima (Rosso Scuderia), who managed to take the overall lead of the race at the first corner. It was a lead that he maintained until the race reached about half distance and the overwhelming consistency of Go Max led to him being shuffled down the overall order. Eric Zang (Denker Guangzhou) did well to close the championship gap to Makoto Fujiwara (Cornes Tokyo) by finishing in second place to Makoto Fujiwara’s fourth. Charles Chan (Ferrari Hong Kong) also consolidated this third position in the championship, by taking third place in the race, and completing the podium. David Dicker (Continental Cars Auckland) took the Gentleman’s cup, finishing sixth overall in class and Kanthicha Chimsiri (Cavallino Motors Bangkok) took the Ladies Cup.
Pirelli 458. Martin Berry (Ital Auto Singapore) completed another flawless lights to flag race, with the already confirmed champion of the 458 EVO class claiming victory in race one. Sky Chen (Cornes Osaka) took second place while Tamotsu Kondo (Auto Cavallino Kobe) completed the podium in third place.
Schedule. Race two, and the final race of Round 7 of the Asia Pacific Ferrari Challenge Championship will take place on Saturday at 16:40.
Finali Mondiali, ready to go!
Posted: 26.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
A Prancing Horse themed weekend at Mugello with free entry
Scarperia, 26 October 2017 – The Finali Mondiali 2017 go live on the Mugello track, with a memorable and exclusive weekend that only the Prancing Horse can provide, combining sport, passion, history and innovation.
The Challenge. The Ferrari owned circuit will welcome over a hundred cars, including the 488 Challenge, the new model introduced this season, and the 458 Challenge EVO. The last two races of the European, North American and Asia-Pacific championships will be held on Friday and Saturday with many titles still up for grabs. However, on Sunday the competitors of the various championships will compete for the Trofeo Pirelli, Coppa Shell and Trofeo Pirelli 458 world titles in three intercontinental races.
F1 Clienti and XX Programmes. The cars of the exclusive Ferrari F1 Clienti and XX Programmes will be the other big attraction on track. These Ferrari activities enable a group of very special customers to drive a Formula 1 car used in previous seasons by Scuderia Ferrari, and a very limited series of laboratory cars only approved for track use: FXX, 599XX, FKK K.
Packed paddock. The paddock at the Finali Mondiali will also offer a treasure trove of surprises for the fans expected to flock to the circuit from Friday to Sunday. In addition to the current Ferrari range, there will be Challenge cars from previous seasons and the LaFerrari Aperta, the iconic car of the Prancing Horse 70th anniversary. But above all there will be 70 racing cars from every era that have written memorable pages in the history of motorsport, from the 126 CK and 412 T4 of Gilles Villeneuve to the 458 Italia GTE that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Fisichella, Vilander, and Bruni.
Sunday. Sunday will be the main day of the event, when after the three Finali Mondiali Challenge races the Ferrari Show will offer a comprehensive overview of the competitive world of Maranello, with cars of every era on track. Fans will enjoy the Formula 1 single-seaters and an exhibition by GT drivers with the 488 GTE and GT3 cars, which are performing brilliantly in the WEC and in major GT championships.
FXX K EVO. The Mugello event will also offer the chance to discover a new Ferrari creation, the FXX K EVO, the evolved version of the 1050-plus horsepower hybrid vehicle that was presented at the 2014 Finali Mondiali in Abu Dhabi.
Free entry. Entry to the Finali Mondiali is free. Simply download the free ticket on www.mugellocircuit.it. The programme and more information are available at www.finalimondiali.ferrari.com.
Finali Mondiali – Ferrari Challenge – The charge of the 101
Posted: 18.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Maranello, 14 Oct 2017 – The Finali Mondiali are back at Mugello and as always the customer response has been fantastic, with a record number of 488 Challenges expected at the Tuscan circuit. They will also be joined by a number of drivers of the 458 Challenge EVO, the car that at this event ends its competitive career in the Ferrari single-make championship. A total of 101 drivers will be present, more than at last year’s Finali Mondiali at Daytona.
Trofeo Pirelli. Competitors in the three series of the Ferrari Challenge, Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific (APAC) will be on track from Friday. Almost all the titles are still to be decided. While a fourth place finish in the second race at Imola was enough for Daniele Di Amato to seal the European Trofeo Pirelli, in North America the series is still up for grabs. Wei Lu, Cooper MacNeil and Martin Fuentes remain in the running with just nine points between them. The APAC series is also a three-way fight, but two good placings would be enough for Philippe Prette to seal another title.
Trofeo Pirelli Am. The three editions of the Trofeo Pirelli Am are wide open. Europe will see a three-way tussle between Jens Liebhauser, rookie Chris Froggatt and the experienced Martin Nelson. The Challenge APAC presents a similar picture, with Ken Seto in the lead but needing to fend off Tiger Wu and Yanbin Xing. However, the North America class is a two-way faceoff between Marc Muzzo and Chris Cagnazzi.
Coppa Shell. The Coppa Shell also sees some big duels, with two old acquaintances from the European Le Mans Series, Johnny Laursen and Henry Hassid, dominating in Europe. The Frenchman has already won the Gentlemen’s Cup for the over-55s but, with six victories this season, the Charles Pozzi team driver looks likely to try to seal the title on the ups and downs of Mugello. It is a two-way fight in Asia with the winner of the first part of the season, Makoto Fujiwara, having to hold off the pursuit of Eric Zang. Then there is another head-to-head in North America with Karl Williams in front of Barry Zekelman.
Trofeo Pirelli 458. The Trofeo Pirelli 458 is the other title already claimed, taken by Australia’s Martin Berry, who dominated the APAC championship. This class is only open to the 458 Challenge EVO, which at the end of Finali Mondiali is due to retire from the world’s most famous single-make championship. Otherwise, everything is wide open: just 16 points separate Holger Harmsen and Galip Atar, with the Turk almost within touching distance of becoming his country’s first Ferrari Challenge champion. The situation is even more open in the North America series, with Joe Rubbo leading Naveen Rao by two points, James Walker by five and Francesco Piovanetti by 17.
Ladies. Six women will also be competing in the Finali Mondiali at Mugello: Lisa Clark and Debra Palermo will race in the North America class while Kanthicha Chimsiri dominates the scene in the APAC series. In Europe, the hottest duel sees Fabienne Wohlwend, historic winner of the last race at Imola, battling it out with Manuela Gostner and Tina Kok. The last two rounds of the championship are on Friday and Saturday, while Sunday sees the turn of the three Finali Mondiali where a single race of all against all will decide the world champions in the various classes.
Finali Mondiali at Mugello, 26. – 29. October
Posted: 11.10.2017 / Source: Ferrari
Maranello, 11 October 2017 – The 2017 Finali Mondiali at Mugello from 26 to 29 October, will give all fans a chance to enjoy four days of excitement and spectacle, marked by Ferrari’s unique and exclusive style. This event mixes sport, passion, and competition with the unmistakable magic of the historic Formula 1 cars and the incredible power and beauty of the FXX K, the latest car of the exclusive XX Programmes. The final races of the season in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific championships will take place. On Sunday, a record number of 488 Challenge will compete for the coveted world championship title. There is also great excitement ahead of the Ferrari Show on Sunday, which will feature the Scuderia Ferrari demonstrations of pit stops, thrilling accelerations and fast laps on the Maranello-owned circuit. Ferrari GT racing cars will take a bow at the end of a season in which they competed in the most prestigious championships. Indeed, there will be the 488 GTE that triumphed in the Manifacturers’ Championship of the WEC and is bidding for the 2017 titles with Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Sam Bird and Davide Rigon. Finally, the Finali Mondiali will offer many activities in the paddock, including some for the youngest Ferrari fans with the special Paddock Junior. Maranello’s entire range will be on display, including the brand new 812 Superfast and Portofino, presented only a few weeks ago at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Furthermore, in order to celebrate the 70 years Anniversary, in the paddock will be available in incredible display of 70 racing cars with GT racing cars and F1 cars from the past 70 years.