APAC - The battle kicks off in Melbourne

Melbourne, 21 March 2018 - Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Asia Pacific Series is ready to kicks off its eight season on Australia’s iconic Albert Park Grand Prix circuit in Melbourne this weekend. The series will for the first time open at Melbourne’s iconic Albert Park Circuit in support of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, followed by Hampton Downs in New Zealand in April. The official race schedule also includes other Formula 1 race tracks like Shanghai International Circuit, Fuji Speedway and Suzuka Circuit. In September, Ferrari Challenge returns to Singapore once again in support of the Formula 1 Grand Prix, thereafter converging at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy for the Finali Mondiali (World Finals) from 1 to 4 November, where the Asia Pacific race drivers will join those from the Europe and North American Series for the traditional end-of-season celebrations.   Three champions. The current drivers of the 488 Challenge cars will see competition heating up as a few former 458 Challenge EVO drivers have made the jump into this car, including Martin Berry of Australia who was the 2017 Asia Pacific champion in this category. This season will be one of the most competitive as we have a field of champions from the 2017 series; Philippe Prette from Italy and Ken Seto from Japan, champions in their respective categories, will definitely be fighting tooth and nail for the Trofeo Pirelli class championship this season.   Fifteen nationalities. The Ferrari Challenge is open to Ferrari drivers from all over the world, who are divided into three classes; Trofeo Pirelli, Coppa Shell and Coppa Shell AM, split according to their experience and driving level. Amateur drivers will gather in Melbourne representing 15 nationalities, including Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and United States.   Schedule. The Challenge drivers will undertake three rounds of practice sessions this week, with the first race on Saturday 24 March at 10:45 AM local time and the second race on Sunday 25 March at 10:50 AM local time.