Weekend notebook: Ferrari dominate Ultimate Cup opener

The 2024 Ultimate Cup Series season kicked off at the Paul Ricard circuit, where the previous season concluded, with a clean sweep for the Maranello cars. The Visiom team’s reigning champions triumphed in the Endurance class with the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020. Ferrari scored four out of four in the Sprint class, with Lorenzo Bontempelli and Francesco Atzori of SR&R each claiming double wins.

In the Endurance event, Visiom’s reigning champions, who clinched the 2023 title at the Paul Ricard, demonstrated their competitiveness right from the start. Having secured pole position with the best average time across three qualifying sessions, the seasoned trio of Jean Bernard Bouvet, David Hallyday, and Jean Paul Pagny, dominated the four-hour race in the number 1 Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020.

The French also posted the best lap time of 2’02”390, with Bouvet’s performance nearly four seconds quicker than the second-placed finishers, who crossed the line four laps behind.

The second Ferrari in the race, XP Racing’s 488 Challenge Evo number 29, crewed by Pompidou, Papin and Marchix, finished seventh overall and second in the UGTX class.

Prancing Horse cars also triumphed in the four Sprint Series races, each lasting 25 minutes. Defending champion Francesco Atzori, driving the Ferrari 488 GT3 for the SR&R team, secured a pair of wins, while his teammate Lorenzo Bontempelli claimed the top step of the podium in the other two races. The Ferraris also excelled in the UGTX class, with Motohiko Isozaki’s double triumph in the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo number 105 of AF Corse and two podiums for Fréderic Lacore in Racing Spirit of Leman’s number 91 and Lyle Schofield (SR&R). At the Paul Ricard, the Sprint series also featured the debut of new Cavallino Tridente Cup – in this race reserved for Maranello cars only - for Maranello cars, in which Lorenzo Bontempelli and Francesco Atzori emerged victorious.

The next round of the Ultimate Cup Series takes place in Portimão from 23 to 26 May.