FERRARI CHALLENGE

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The Ferrari Challenge is an Asia-pacific championship featuring many top drivers racing circuits from Suzuka, Japan to the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Australia and finishing off in the heart of Ferrari land, Monza, Italy, for the Finali Mondiali. Round two saw the 3.9-litre V8 turbo Ferrari 488s racing on the International track at Hampton Downs on April 13–15. Friday was practice day, while Saturday was meant for qualifying and race one; however, with the huge downpours on Saturday, which engulfed huge sections of track and turned them into lakes, just the two qualifying sessions were held. Therefore, the two 30-minute races were held on Sunday.

Within each race were categories for Trofeo Pirelli, Coppa Shell, and Coppa Shell AM. New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com Between races, Ferrari demonstration laps and hot laps with the crew from Downforce took place, while younger attendees could get their faces painted and have their memorabilia signed by their favourite drivers.

Race one was interrupted twice when cars overshot the turn-two corner and got beached in the gravel trap, resulting in the safety car being deployed. Just a few laps later, the red flag came out when turn one was the scene of a coming together between car and barrier. The main Trofeo Pirelli class had Italy’s Philippe Prette winning, having started from fourth on the grid. Further back, our own David Dicker, who was racing in the Coppa Shell class, was victorious over Kent Chen of Chinese Taipei, while another Kiwi, Grant Baker, came home third. Baker also received the Gentlemans Cup.

Having completed the formalities — such as the pit lane walk, and grid walk followed by the haka and national anthem — race two was under way. The clouds blackened overhead and spread their load just in time for the beginning of the race, meaning it was a wet start. Unlike race one, it was relatively clean racing. Once again, Philippe Prette was first to the chequered flag, this time leading from start to finish in the Trofeo Pirelli class, while Grant Baker had a stellar second placing in the Coppa Shell AM field, with David Dicker following on in third. This result placed Dicker in second and Baker in third of the overall standings in the Shell AM class.

The next stop for the seven-round series will be the Shanghai International Circuit in China, over May 24–27.