FERRARI CHALLENGE ON TRACK AT MONZA
The first round of both the Italian and European series
of the Ferrari Challenge Pirelli Trophy takes place this weekend
at the Monza circuit.
No less than 77 F430 Challenge cars will take to the track,
in the hands of 86 drivers representing 24 European nations,
with a significant increase in the number of participants
from Eastern Europe. The weekend programme gets underway today
with free practice for both series and the first qualifying
sessions for the European series. Saturday features the remaining
qualifying sessions and the first European races (Pirelli
Trophy and Shell Cup,) while Sunday is the grand finale with
the second races in the Continental series and the two Italian
races.
The first official times of the European series today saw
the German Bjorn Grossman (Autohaus Gohm) in the Pirelli Trophy
and the Italian Walter Forer (Rossocorsa/Pellin) in the Shell
Cup set the fastest times in 1.53.995 and 1.55.591 respectively.
This year’s format is based on two races of 38 minutes
plus one lap each, while it is no longer obligatory to make
a pit stop with the possibility of changing drivers: the driver
pairs will split their on-track duties equally (first qualifying
and race 1 for one driver, second qualifying and race 2 for
the other.) The age limit in the Youth Cup, the winners of
which get an end of season test session in an F430 GT, has
been reduced to 28.
Once again this year, television coverage of the Italian
series is in the hands of Sky, which will broadcast all the
races live. The Monza round goes on air on Sunday 30th March,
starting at 9.15 am on Sky Sport 2 (Race 1) and at 3 pm on
Sky Sport 3 (Race 2,) repeated at 7 pm, 00.30 am and 11 pm
of the next day, again on Sky Sport 2.
This will be the sixteenth year of the Ferrari Challenge
Pirelli Trophy and it is run in three series: apart from the
European and Italian ones, on track in Monza, there is also
the North American series, which has already staged its first
event on 9th March at Homestead (Florida.) The final round
will take place on the weekend of 7- 9 November at a venue
yet to be decided.
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