Ferrari Challenge readies for return to Montreal

The North American leg of Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli continues this weekend in Montreal Canada, where drivers will once again support the Grand Prix du Canada and the Scuderia.

Trofeo Pirelli. Cooper MacNeil (Scuderia Corsa, Ferrari of Westlake) took the opportunity to solidify his standing over Benjamin Hites (The Collection) after a contentious weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.  The two drivers collided in Race 2, immediately ending Benjamin’s race while Cooper was able to carry on and score more valuable points.  With eight races to go, the Chilean driver still has plenty of time to close the gap, but will be looking for strong performances at both races in Montreal.  Thomas Tippl (Scuderia Corsa, Ferrari of Beverly Hills) and Martin Burrowes (Ferrari of Ft Lauderdale) remain locked in a tight battle for third in Trofeo Pirelli after Martin took a surprise win in race 2 at Laguna Seca.

Trofeo Pirelli AM. Ziad Ghandour (Boardwalk Ferrari) continues to hold the points lead in the Trofeo Pirelli AM category despite a difficult weekend at Laguna Seca.  After his promotion from the Coppa Shell category by which he also keeps his points form the prior races, Danny Baker (Ferrari of Palm Beach) has vaulted to second in the category, however he too had a difficult weekend at Laguna and will be looking to reverse his fortunes in Montreal.  The winner of the Laguna weekend was certainly Neil Gehani (Continental AutoSports) who took a win and a second place finish, and is thus only 16 points behind Ziad and twenty points ahead of Barry Zekelman (Ferrari of Ontario).

Coppa Shell. Mark Issa (Ferrari of Atlanta) has established himself as the firm favorite in Coppa Shell after running off two wins at Laguna Seca.  His closest challenger, Brian Davis (Ferrari of Palm Beach) benefited from the same rules as Danny Baker, having moved up from Coppa Shell AM to the Coppa Shell category.  After four consecutive wins in Coppa Shell to open the season, Brian’s Laguna was far less kind, though he remains only eleven points behind Mark.  Dale Katechis (Miller Motorcars) has had impressive consistency, with two third place finishes in Laguna Seca to generate a 16 point lead over Claude Senhoreti (Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale).

Coppa Shell AM. Lisa Clark (Scuderia Corsa, Ferrari of Beverly Hills) leads the Coppa Shell AM category, despite never winning a race thus far in 2019.  Her two third place finishes at Laguna and a second place finish at Sebring, along with strong finishes at COTA have ensured that she holds a two point lead over Jay Schreibman (Cauley Ferrari of Detroit).  The pair are only a further six points ahead of Gianni Grilli (Ferrari of Quebec).  The top six in Coppa Shell AM are separated by only twenty points, meaning a few strong results over the coming eight races could drastically change the standings.

Schedule.  The weekend will begin on Friday with two twenty minute practice sessions for Ferrari Challenge competitors.  Qualifying will take place on Saturday at 12:20 (all times ET) followed by Race 1 at 3:30pm.  The grid for race 2 will be set based on the fast laps from race 1.  Race 2 will take the green flag at 11:15am on Sunday.