Ferrari Racing Days Budapest – Vettel lights up the Hungaroring
Posted: 28.06.2015
Source: Ferrari
Budapest, 28 June – This year, Sebastian Vettel won’t be able to enjoy the affection of the German fans who would have given him a great welcome at the German Grand Prix, but today, he certainly enjoyed a warm reception from the Hungarian ones, who will get a chance to cheer him on in around a month’s time. This afternoon, the Scuderia Ferrari driver thrilled a crowd of over 15,000 who flocked to the Hungaroring for the Ferrari Racing Days event.
What a show. Seb was without a doubt the star attraction on the final day of the event organised by Corse Clienti in Budapest. The four times world champion went into action just before lunch, giving a few lucky Shell guests rides around the track in an F12berlinetta. Shell, a long time partner of the Scuderia was also sponsor of this edition of the Ferrari Racing Days. Then, after a photocall with the Ferrari Challenge Europe drivers and those from the XX and Formula 1 Clienti Programmes, he got behind the wheel of the very same F2012 that he drove on his first appearance as a Scuderia driver last year at Fiorano. Today he did a few quick laps, some pit stop simulations and the obligatory donuts, for which he is rightly famous, almost as much as for his many wins.
Feel the love. At the end of the demonstration run, Vettel got a rapturous reception from the crowd and in response, he jumped the barriers and went to meet the welcoming throng under the grandstands. “This, my first experience as a Ferrari driver outside of the Grands Prix has been amazing,” said Seb. “I felt great affection from all the fans here as they surrounded me and I am happy to have entertained them with an adrenalin-packed show.”
FXX K. Besides Vettel, and also on the last day of the event, the Ferrari FXX K attracted the eyes, ears and hearts of fans; it’s the latest car of the XX Programmes, which ran in the hands of its owners for the first time in Budapest. The extraordinary 1,050 horse power, 860 of which come from the V12 combustion engine with 190 supplied by the hybrid system that originates from Formula 1, the sound of its engine and the spectacular lines have made it the undisputed queen of this edition of the Ferrari Racing Days.
Immortal charm. In terms of sound, however, even the Formula 1 Clienti have had their say, with very special drivers that have been able to drive them and have fun revving up the normally aspirated V8 and V10 engines, power plants who have written some unforgettable pages on the history of the category. Helping them enjoy the most of the singleseater cars was Davide Rigon, a very special tutor for customers who were equally special. In the paddock, the entire range of Ferraris attracted the attention of spectators, but, in particular, many wanted to take a picture of the 488 GTB, the new V8 turbo engined sportcar presented in Geneva this past spring.
Challenge. Even today, the only thing that gives that special charm that only competitions can give is the Challenge. In the Ferrari Challenge Europe, we have witnessed an encore of Saturdays, with victories for Bjorn Grossmann and Martin Nelson, who took the lead in the Trofeo Pirelli and Pirelli Am championships. In the Coppa Shell, the victory went to the Czech driver Vladimir Hladik, while in head the Belgian Jacques Duyver came in first place at the Championship.
Ferrari Challenge Europe – Double for Grossmann and Nelson as Hladik shines in Budapest
Posted: 28.06.2015
Source: Ferrari
Budapest, June 28 – Second day full of spectacle and emotions in Budapest for the third round of the Ferrari Challenge Europe, which offered the usual entertainment for the fifteen thousand people who came to the Hungaroring, despite the threat of rain.
Trofeo Pirelli. The Trofeo Pirelli class has offered a Race-2 of the highest level: at the start, the poleman Bjorn Grossmann (Octane 126) managed to hold the first position after a good, wheel-to-wheel battle with Babalus (Autoropa), who was forced at the first turn to give way to the Belgian Florian Merckx (Baron Service), who had just received Sebastian Vettel’s autograph on his helmet, the guest of honor of the Ferrari Racing Days in Budapest. Grossmann quickly gained the advantage, proving himself unbeatable on the track at the Hungaroring. On the other hand, behind him began a battle between Merckx and Babalus, which lasted a few laps, before the championship leader ran into a problem that caused him to lose several positions. The victory went to Grossmann, ahead of Merckx, and to the Russian Victor Shaytar (AF Corse), recent winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours. With this achievement, Grossmann takes first place in the championship standings.
Pirelli Am. At the Pirelli Am, Alexis De Bernardi (Kessel Racing) started in pole position but was almost immediately passed by Sweden’s Martin Nelson (Autoropa), who thus repeated the victory of Race-1, like Grossmann in the Trofeo Pirelli Pro. Still, Kessel Racing’s driver from Luxembourg was very good at defending second position from attacks by Foitek Racing’s Swiss driver, Nicolas Stürzinger, who starred in Race-1 and was capable of a very aggressive race today. Less lustrous was the race of Alessandro Vezzoni (Rossocorsa-Pellin Racing) who was overtook by Nelson now leading the championship.
Coppa Shell. Even more excitement was in store in the Coppa Shell. First and foremost, about the weather conditions: sure enough, it started to rain just as the cars came out of the garage and were about to take off, and so almost all the drivers opted to fit rain tires. Immediately after the start, the rain subsided and so Thomas Loefflad (StileF Squadra Corse), holder of pole position, opted to change tires. In the lead was Vladimir Hladik (Scuderia Praha), who took off with slicks. The pace of the German driver, from the back of the group, and the track continuing to improve gradually, led the drivers to change tires. Vladimir Hladik succeeded in crossing the finish line first, ahead of Tommy Lindroth (Baron Service), who in turn took off with slicks, and Loefflad. Fourth place was for Gautham Singhania. The Coppa Gentlemen victory went to Fons Scheltema (Kessel Racing), ahead of Holger Lange (Foitek Racing) and Kriton Lendounis (AF Corse). The next event takes place in a month at the Ferrari Racing Days at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Ferrari Racing Days Budapest – The FXX K stars at Hungaroring
Posted: 27.06.2015
Source: Ferrari
Budapest, 27 June – The Ferrari Racing Days are underway in Budapest with the first day of competition. Thousands of spectators flocked to the Hungaroring on Saturday to watch exciting duels in the Ferrari Challenge Europe and to see the range of road cars and Formula 1 Clienti. However, the star of the day was the FXX K, the latest car from the XX Programmes, which customers were able to try out on track for the first time.
Star of the show. The FXX K literally enchanted the crowd, the thousands of people in the stands, as well as the guests in the paddock, many of who were guests of Shell. Ferrari’s long-term partner also brought its tracklab to Budapest, showing off its high precision research laboratory. Shell’s tracklab is present at all Formula 1 Grand Prix, giving constant assistance to Scuderia Ferrari. The FXX K, with 1050 horsepower, 860 from the V12 combustion engine and 190 from the hybrid system derived from Formula 1, was put through its paces in two 40-minute sessions, amazing everyone with its performance as well as its beauty and technology. This totally uncompromising car, available only to a limited group of Ferrari Clients who are also track testers for Maranello, will appear in two more sessions on the track tomorrow.
F1 Clients. If the FXX K was the big attraction as the greatest novelty of the event, the fans in the stands certainly weren’t indifferent to the charms of the Formula 1 Clienti, cars that have made the history of the class and that are roaring again thanks to the very special customers who have had the chance to buy them from Ferrari. The public, but also the fans in the paddock, really enjoyed rediscovering the sound of the aspirated 056 engine, as well as that of the 10-cylinder engine, which on cars like the F2002 and F2004 marked some memorable years in the history of the Scuderia. Scuderia Ferrari and AF Corse World Endurance Championship (WEC) driver Davide Rigon is in Budapest to advise these special clients and help them extract the maximum performance and driving pleasure from the cars.
First love. Two F2012s are in the garage with the Clienti single-seaters. On Sunday the car and spare car will take centre stage in an exhibition by Sebastian Vettel in his first performance with Scuderia Ferrari. The car is the one that the German drove at Fiorano just after signing his contract with the Formula 1 team. So Sebastian gets to meet it again. Shortly after 1pm Vettel will present fans with 20 minutes of high-adrenaline driving, thrilling acceleration, fast laps, pit stops tests and, of course, with the traditional donuts, the almost unique trademark of the four-time world champion.
Range and Challenge. Visitors to the paddock were drawn to the Ferraris from every era, which went on track as part of the Passione Ferrari initiative. Then of course all the cars in the current range were proudly displayed outside the Corse Clienti hospitality area, including the 488 GTB, the brand new V8 sportcar with the first Ferrari turbo engine since the F40 at the end of the ‘80s. The drivers also raced at the Hungaroring on Saturday in the Ferrari Challenge Europe at the wheel of the superfast 458 Challenge EVO. Bjorn Grossmann (Octane 126) won the Pirelli Trophy on Saturday, while Martin
Nelson (Autoropa) took the Pirelli AM and Jacques Duyver (Kessel Racing) the Coppa Shell. It will be the same again on Sunday with two exciting races.
Ferrari Challenge Europe – Grossmann, Nelson and Duyver win Race-1 at Budapest
Posted: 27.06.2015
Source: Ferrari
Budapest, June 27 – The first day of competition at the Ferrari Racing Days in Budapest kicked off on Saturday with Race-1 of the Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell, which fulfilled expectations with some spectacular racing, thrilling overtaking and breathtaking duels.
Trofeo Pirelli. Race-1 in the Trofeo Pirelli lacked nothing for excitement. At the start poleman Bjorn Grossmann (Octane 126) held onto first ahead of the recent winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Victor Shaytar, who was then overtaken by a sharp David Gostner. On lap 3 the Russian AF Corse team driver regained second place, leaving the Italian Ineco-MP Racing driver to fend off attacks from Florian Merckx and championship leader Babalus (Autoropa). On the following lap the Belgian Baron Service driver attacked Gostner but overshot allowing Babalus to overtake him and move past Gostner into third. A little later Merckx regained fourth place. Grossmann crossed the finish line first, having also notched up the fastest lap, putting him just four points behind Babalus, today third in the race behind Shaytar.
Pirelli Am. Nicolas Stürzinger of Foitek Racing was determined to put on a show in the Pirelli AM class. Starting badly from second place on the grid, on the second lap the Swiss overtook Alessandro Vezzoni (Rossocorsa Pellin-Racing) to move into third in pursuit of Tommaso Rocca (Rossocorsa) and poleman Martin Nelson. On lap 4 Rocca also had to give way to Stürzinger. At that point the Swiss began his duel with Nelson, who used his experience to force the young Foitek driver into a mistake on turn 8. Nicolas resumed behind Rocca but managed to hold onto third position despite pressure from Lubomir Jakubik (Praha-RFD Racing). This success brought Nelson up to 74 points in the championship table, just seven behind Vezzoni. Andreas Segler stays third.
Coppa Shell. The Coppa Shell also brought loads of thrills and excitement. Indeed, Roberto Cava and Murat Ruhi Cuhadaroglu collided on the first turn, leaving the Turk stuck in the middle of the track and forced to retire. At the front Jacques Duyver stayed in first ahead of Gautham Singhania and Erich Prinoth, who did superbly to pinch third place from Fons Scheltema. However, the Italian Ineco-MP Racing driver was out of the running after a few laps, with Kessel Racing regaining the three podium places. For a few laps Singhania battled to overtake Duyver, but the Belgian put in a superb performance towards the finish, lengthening his lead to secure his third win of the season. Besides third place Scheltema also won the Gentlemen’s Cup for the over 55s, with Thomas Gostner (Ineco-MP Racing) in second and Erich Cheung (AF Corse) third. Duyver has thus stretched his championship lead, while Thomas Loefflad (StileF Corse) is now in second place. It will be the same again on Sunday with Race-2 of Trofeo Pirelli at 2.30pm and Race-2 of Coppa Shell at 4.30pm.
Ferrari Racing Days – A Le Mans winner competes in the Challenge
Posted: 26.06.2015
Source: Ferrari
Budapest, 26 June – Two weeks ago he achieved one of the goals most sought by all drivers: a win in the Le Mans 24 Hours. This weekend, he will be one of the central actors of the Ferrari Challenge Europe. We are talking about Victor Shaytar, the Russian driver who captured first place in the most important endurance race in the world, together with his compatriot Aleksey Basov (who, a few years ago, also played a central role in the Ferrari Challenge Europe) and with Ferrari’s official driver, Andrea Bertolini.
Duplicate car. The Russian will be at the controls of a car of the AF Corse team, which, however, will be painted in exactly the same colours as the 458 Italia of the SMP Racing team, for which he competes in the World Endurance Championship. Victor will compete in the highest category: the Trofeo Pirelli.
The track. Shaytar did not shy away; in this video, he accepted to describe for Ferrari.com the Hungaroring track, which hosts the third event of the season of the Ferrari Challenge Europe, and his feelings as he takes the wheel of a 458 Challenge EVO.
Ferrari Racing Days – The show is under way in Budapest
Posted: 26.06.2015
Source: Ferrari
Budapest, 26 June – FXX K, Formula 1 Clienti, and Ferrari Challenge Europe are on the track; the entire Ferrari line is in the paddock, including the brand new 8-cylinder sport model, the 488 GTB, in addition to the customers’ cars, at the centre of the attention on the track during the exclusive Passione Ferrari [Passion Ferrari] events. The Budapest Ferrari Racing Days are off to a grand start, under a glorious sunshine that displaced the early morning clouds.
FXX K. Everyone’s eyes were focused on her, the FXX K, the new car of the XX Programmes which made her official début in the hands of the exclusive Customers-Testers. Three cars went on the track on the first day, during a 40-minute session. On Saturday, the cars, characterised by a power of 1050 HP (860 provided by the thermal engine and 190 by the hybrid part), will be engaged in two more 40-minute sessions, during which the engineers will start to collect the first data that will be useful to build the Ferraris of the future.
F1 Clienti. The spectators at the circuit also reacquainted themselves with the sound of the old-generation Formula 1 cars, less hybrid, but more fascinating. The credit goes to the Formula 1 Clienti single seaters, cars which have made history in the category and which, thanks to this exclusive Ferrari initiative, can go on fascinating the audience on the most spectacular circuits in the world.
Challenge. The first day of activity on the track also included action in the Ferrari Challenge Europe, the most famous single-maker championship in the world, with the free trials in both its categories: Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell.
In the paddock. In the paddock,the entire Ferrari line put on a great show, in addition to a series of customers’ cars that had the opportunity to go on the track in the context of the Passione Ferrari event. Six specimens of the brand-new 488 GTB, the latest sports V8 of the Prancing Horse, equipped with a turbo-charged engine, were among the cars on the track.
Sebastian is coming. On Saturday, the event will enter into the heart of things, while waiting for Sebastian Vettel to attract the attention of all the spectators in the audience on Sunday. The German driver will be in the spotlight at the wheel of an F2012, the first Ferrari that he drove when he first arrived to the Scuderia; he will also put on a show with lightning accelerations, pit stop trials, and burn outs in his first exhibition with the Maranello Team.
Ferrari Challenge Europe – Coppa Shell Duyver seeking to increase his lead in the standings
Posted: 26.06.2015
Source: Ferrari
Maranello, 26 June – The Ferrari Challenge Europe, Coppa Shell resumes this weekend; extreme challenges and overtakes are common currency in this most lively series. Three drivers were able to climb to the highest step in the podium during the four first races. The only one who won twice also leads the standings: Jacques Duyver, the Belgian of Kessel Racing finished first in Race-1 in Monza and duplicated the feat at the Mugello track.
The rivals. Competition behind Duyver is fierce. The experienced Erich Prinoth (Ineco-MP Racing), winner of Race-2 in Monza and runner-up in Race-1, follows the leader by about ten points. Thomas Loefflad (SileF Squadra Corse) occupies third place with 45 points and a win in Race-2 at the Mugello track.
Coppa Gentlemen. Within the Coppa Shell there is also a category reserved to drivers over 55, the Coppa Gentlemen. First place in this special division is occupied by Erich Prinoth who has over twice as many points as his nearest pursuer, the Dutch Fons Scheltema (Kessel Racing) and, incredibly, over three times the number of points of the third racer in the standings, Thomas Gostner (Ineco-MP Racing). This video makes us relive the thrills of the Mugello, while we wait for the excitement that this category certainly reserves for us at the Hungaroiring track.
Ferrari Challenge Europe Trofeo Pirelli – Babalus races to retain his lead
Posted: 25.06.2015
Source: Ferrari
Maranello, 25 June – They will be the most eagerly anticipated events of the weekend in Budapest. We are talking of the two races in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli whose standings are still fluid and in which many contenders are unleashed, ready to give it all to seize the win.
Chasing Babalus. In the Trofeo Pirelli Pro, the rabbit answers to the name of Matteo Santoponte, also known as “Babalus”, who, on the strength of two wins and another podium position in four races at the wheel of the 458 Challenge EVO of the Autoropa team, leads the standings with 69 points, 14 more than the German of the Octane 126 team, Bjorn Grossmann. David Gostner (Ineco-MP Racing) follows in third place, with a larger gap. At Mugello, the two winners were, in fact, Grossmann and Dario Caso (Rossocorsa-Pellin Racing) with the latter racing at the limits of the regulation in Race-1.
Vezzoni seeking confirmation. In the Trofeo Pirelli AM, first place in the standings belongs to Alessandro Vezzoni (Rossocorsa-Pellin Racing). The Italian driver, winner of three of four races this season, leads with 72 points, 13 more than the German Andreas Segler (StileF Squadra Corse) and 20 more than the Swede Martin Nelson (Autoropa). The only driver who has won a race, besides Vezzoni, is Tommaso Rocca (Rossocorsa) who, however, is further back in the standings. This video shows the most spectacular moments of the Mugello races, with overtakes at the limit and the striking images of the 458 Challenge EVO engaged on the track.
Ferrari Racing Days Budapest – Event starts Friday: Gené to present Challenge 2015 drive
Posted: 25.06.2015
Source: Ferrari
Maranello, 25 June – It’s one of the most expected event of the year from the clients, enthusiasts and fans who will pack the stands of Budapest’s Hungaroring track: tomorrow will be the opening day of the Ferrari Racing Days that are finally returning to Hungary. One of the events on the schedule it’s Round 3 of the Ferrari Challenge Europe, the world’s most famous one-make series, whose 2015 drivers are introduced in this video by Marc Gené, Scuderia Ferrari test driver and tutor to Prancing Horse clients.
Vettel and the Scuderia. Obviously there are great expectations for Sebastian Vettel in his first exhibition with Scuderia Ferrari. The German driver will be at the wheel of an F2012, a single-seater powered by the naturally aspirated V8 engine in use until the end of the 2013 season, which is equipped with Shell V-Power fuel and Shell Helix Ultra lubricant with PurePlus technology. Seb will perform fast laps along with simulations of pit stops and starts and thrilling burn-outs, the famous donuts that almost made him as famous in Formula 1 as for his victories on the track.
FXX K. The FXX K is another performer eagerly awaited by the public and media, which will debut officially in the hands of special Client-Testers to officially launch the new two years XX Programme. The vehicle has a power output of 1050 HP and is derived from LaFerrari. In addition to these cars there will be Formula 1 Clienti cars, singleseaters that have written the history of Formula 1, and other XX cars.
Not just a track event. Of course there will be activities on the track, but there will also be a paddock packed full of attractions. Above all, there will be the entire range of Ferrari road cars, including LaFerrari, California T and the latest 8-cylinder sports, the 488 GTB. Shell will also be active in the paddock. This long-term partner of Scuderia Ferrari will allow visitors to discover some of the secrets of the highest level of motor sport through the Shell Trackside Laboratory present at all Grand Prix races. Shell’s Formula 1 technicians will be on site to answer all the questions and curiosity of fans.