Challenge NA – Close Competition and New Winners Mark Race 2 at Mosport Park

Bowmanville, 17 July 2017 – Ferrari Racing Days came to a thrilling conclusion with Qualifying, Race and XX Programmes cars action filling the day for all of the clients and fans in attendance. The fast, sweeping corners of Mosport Park offered a unique challenge to drivers, in the all-new 488 Challenge and 458 Challenge EVO cars. Drivers were required to summon all of their courage and skills as top speeds peaked out at above 180 mp/h along Mosport’s long back straight, and intermittent rain hit the area. The polished surface brought little relief as drivers spent much of their practice sessions scouring for grip, before the clouds parted in time for racing action in the afternoon. The XX Programmes clients were not so lucky, however, as their session took place in largely wet conditions.   Trofeo Pirelli. Wei Lu and his Ferrari of Vancouver 488 Challenge repeated his pole performance in Qualifying 2 on Sunday morning in an intense, four-way fight. As the fifteen minute qualifying session came to a close, the top four cars were separated by only fifteen one-hundredths of a second, led by Wei’s 1.19.124. Peter Ludwig was denied pole by only one hundredth of a second, but his 1.19.138 was good for second over Cooper MacNeil and Martin Fuentes. Come the afternoon race, however, Wei fell back to fourth, ceding the lead to Peter Ludwig with MacNeil and Fuentes following through. While the leading four were spread out, there was tension throughout the race as the new 488 Challenge was up to eight seconds per lap faster than some of the slower 458 Challenge EVO cars, meaning managing traffic was a key skill required throughout the race.   Trofeo Pirelli AM. Marc Muzzo once again took pole position in Trofeo Pirelli Am, but it was a tightly fought battle for pole. The closest challenger was Chris Cagnazzi. Chris drove his Ferrari of Long Island 488 Challenge car to within two one-hundredths of a second of Marc, to start on the front row. Further back, Joe Courtney and his Miller Motorcars car took third in class over Brent Holden. However, the afternoon race was a different story. Marc was unable to maintain his advantage, allowing Cagnazzi to take his maiden win for the 2017 season, and bringing him within one point of Brent Holden for second place in the overall standings. Further back, Jean-Claude Saada completed an immense, charging drive to take second at the flag, with Marc Muzzo completing the podium.   Coppa Shell. Karl Williams did an excellent job to qualify just fourteen hundredths of a second behind the Trofeo Pirelli AM pole sitter. But, he was followed closely by Dave Musial, who pushed him all the way to the flag, setting his fastest lap late in the session. Barry Zekelman completed the top three. Come the afternoon race, Karl Williams maintained his lead to take the win over Barry Zekelman by three seconds. Michael Fassbender, after a charging drive from sixth in class, claimed his maiden podium in only his third Challenge race, finishing only 15 seconds behind the class winner, an impressive achievement.   Gentleman’s Cup. Osvaldo Gaio took his second gentleman’s cup win of the weekend, in his Miller Motorcars 488 Challenge car to the front of the Gentleman’s cup field.   Trofeo Pirelli 458. Naveen Rao and his Ferrari of San Diego 458 Challenge EVO took their maiden pole of 2017 with an 1.21:615 on his third lap of the fifteen minute morning session. It was a dominating performance, one second faster than his nearest competitor, Joseph Rubbo. Joel Weinberger completed the top three in his Continental Auto Sports car with a 1.23.302. Come the afternoon race, Naveen held off an intense charge from Rubbo to claim the victory. By also claiming fastest lap of the race, Naveen completed the triple crown, qualifying first, having the fastest race lap in his class, and finishing first. Joel Weinberger completed the top three.   Ladies Cup. Lisa Clark once again took victory in the Ladies cup class with her 458 EVO, finishing just ahead of Debra Palermo.   Racing Days. Five of the XX Programmes clients joined Mosport Park for Ferrari Racing Days taking to the track in dedicated track sessions. Three Ferrari FXX K shared the track alongside a 599XX and 599XX EVO to thrill both the Challenge drivers and the fans in attendance.     [playlist4me id="a719a39d-3845-447d-961c-d1c949a7205f"]