Brno: hunt on for championship leaders Michelle Gatting and James Weiland

The battle between the 488 Challenge Evo cars for supremacy in the Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell classes will resume at Brno this weekend. The thirty-eight Ferraris competing in the third round of the season are set for another intense and spectacular show, albeit behind closed doors at the Czech Republic circuit.

Trofeo Pirelli. The hunt is on for championship leader, the Danish Michelle Gatting (Scuderia Niki - Iron Lynx), in a category that sees the return of Niccolò Schirò (Rossocorsa), who previously starred in 2019 with four wins and nine podiums. The Italian will join a fight that includes John Wartique (FML - D2P) and Luka Nurmi (Formula Racing), and local driver Matús Výboh (Scuderia Praha). Frederik Paulsen (Formula Racing) will need to make up for a difficult start to the season. However, despite taking longer than expected to adjust to the new class, the Trofeo Pirelli Am 2020 champion is ready to fight for a podium finish.

Trofeo Pirelli Am. Sergio Paulet (Santogal Madrid - MST Team) and Christian Brunsborg (Formula Racing) hope to continue their excellent debut season in the Prancing Horse one-make series and their duel for top spot in the standings. In the busiest class with fourteen drivers in all, the Spaniard and the Dane will be up against rivals such as Hugo Delacour (Scuderia Monte-Carlo), Marco Pulcini (Rossocorsa – Pellin Racing) and Ange Barde (SF Côte d’Azur Cannes). These drivers have either improved or, like the experienced Frenchman, already climbed the top step of the podium. Surprise results also cannot be ruled out, partly due to the uncertain weather conditions.

Coppa Shell. After the first two rounds at Monza and Spielberg, the American James Weiland (Rossocorsa) tops the ranking with an 11-point margin over Christian Kinch (Formula Racing) despite four different winners in four races. The consistency of the 2020 World Champion, the only perennial on the podium, makes him the man to beat. As always, the fight for victory also includes drivers such as Ernst Kirchmayr (Baron Motorsport), “Alex Fox” (SF Grand Est Mulhouse) and Fons Scheltema (Kessel Racing).

Coppa Shell Am. The standings reflect the delicate balance of power in the gentleman driver class, with the Swedish Joakim Olander (Scuderia Autoropa) and the Italian Giuseppe Ramelli (Rossocorsa - Pellin Racing) separated by just one point, 46 against 45. The two shared the spoils at Monza and Spielberg and, on the back of these performances, built up a small margin over Tommy Lindroth (Baron Motorsport) and Willem Van der Vorm (Scuderia Monte-Carlo). Miroslav Výboh (Scuderia Praha) will need to put in an excellent performance and has the added motivation of racing on his home circuit.

Programme. After Friday’s test and free practise sessions, the qualifying sessions on Saturday and Sunday will be identical (Coppa Shell qualifying starts at 9 am local time and Trofeo Pirelli at 9.45 am). The 30-minute Coppa Shell race will set off at 2.30pm, while the Trofeo Pirelli gets underway at 3.45pm.

The live broadcast with English commentary will be available on live.ferrari.com.