Kicks Off the Season in Melbourne, Australia

Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Asia Pacific Series will take place on Australia’s iconic Albert Park Grand Prix circuit in Melbourne this weekend from 15th – 17th March 2019. 2019 Races. For the second year in a row, the semi-permanent circuit will be hosting the opening round of the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific (APAC) series. Now in its ninth year, the calendar for this championship is made up of six rounds, travelling to renowned racetracks including here in Melbourne at Albert Park, a night race in Sepang in April, Shanghai in May, Motegi in July, Fuji in August, Singapore in September, before finishing at Mugello in Italy for Finali Mondiali (World Finals), where the Asia Pacific race drivers will join drivers from the Europe and North America Series for the traditional end-of-season celebrations. The Australian and Singapore rounds are raced in support of the Formula 1 Grand Prix events. Competitive Race Ahead. Clients and fans will once again see the Ferrari 488 Challenge car in action during the races. This season will be one of the most competitive with a field of champions from the 2018 series; Philippe Prette from Italy who was crowned the APAC champion in the Trofeo Pirelli AM class during the World Finals and David Dicker from Australia, APAC champion in Shell class, will definitely be fighting tooth and nail to defend their titles. Three Classes. The Ferrari Challenge is open to Ferrari drivers from all over the world, who are divided into three classes; Trofeo Pirelli AM, Coppa Shell and Coppa Shell AM, split according to their experience and driving level. Amateur drivers will gather in Melbourne representing 12 nationalities, including Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Thailand and USA . Schedule. Challenge drivers will undertake two rounds of practice sessions this week, and qualifying sessions taking place on Thursday and Friday, with the first race on Saturday 16th March at 10:45 AM local time and the second race on Sunday 17th March at 10:35 AM local time.