Reports from the Donington Park Paddock

Donington Park was the mid-way stop for the 2022 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli UK season. With a history that dates back to the 1930s, Donington Park is one of the most internationally-renowned and historically significant circuits in the world. The shorter National circuit hosted the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo cars and their drivers on 25-26 June 2022.

Don’t stop me now. Jason Ambrose (Dick Lovett Swindon) continued his winning streak at Donington Park. On his debut weekend, Ambrose achieved two podium finishes, taking 2nd and 3rd places in Races 1 and 2 respectively. Ambrose then went on to achieve two race wins at Snetterton, making four podium finishes out of four races. Despite 2022 being his debut year, he’s repeated his performance from Snetterton, taking first place in both races, making it four consecutive race wins and six consecutive podium finishes. He is yet to finish a race off the podium…

Un-Lucky for some. In Qualifying 1, it was Lucky Khera (Graypaul Birmingham) who set the pace early on, but H. Sikkens (H.R. Owen London) would snatch this from Khera with a time just 0.016 seconds faster. Before he could respond, heavy rain fell forcing all cars back to the pits and preventing Khera from re-gaining his pole position. Khera’s bad luck bit again in Race 2 when a puncture demoted the championship leader from third to last place.

All yours. With rain falling and just 10 minutes remaining of Qualifying 1, most drivers headed to their respective garages, however new-comer Oliver Kilbride (Carrs Ferrari) swapped to Pirelli Wet tyres to get some much-needed wet weather experience. A smart move; he returned as the only car on track and had the rare opportunity to enjoy the circuit all to himself for the rest of the session.

My first pole. Andrew Morrow (Charles Hurst) only joined the series this year, but since the first round at Oulton Park, he has achieved four podium finishes, taking his first pole position in the second qualifying session of the weekend, 0.202 seconds ahead of seasoned drivers Khera and Sikkens. He converted this into his first win in Race 2 at Donington.

30 Years. 30 Races. This year sees the Ferrari Challenge celebrate it’s 30th anniversary, and Race 2 at Donington Park was Paul Rogers’ 30th race in the series. The JCT600 Brooklands driver qualified in second place behind Ambrose, finishing the race in fourth position in the Coppa Shell class.

Sometimes they come back. The designated race advisor for the third round of the Ferrari Challenge UK is James Calado, who has returned to the Donington track after many years. His last appearance was at a Formula 3 race in 2008.