First Victory And Perfect 1-2 Finish For Ferrari GB In Spain
Ferrari GB took the chequered flag for the first time this season with a perfect first and second place in the Spanish sunshine as the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli moved to Valencia (2,3,4 June).
In the second round of the 2006 season, the racing was tough in temperatures of 28�?C and the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB worked hard in qualifying to ensure that both cars in the Trofeo Pirelli dominated the front row of the grid with pole position and second place.
Ferrari Challenge racing combines the excitement of wheel-to-wheel racing with the luxury of Ferrari hospitality and lifestyle as the drivers compete on Grand Prix circuits across Europe.
Since the opening round in the rain at Silverstone in May, when Ross Kaiser took pole position and a podium finish, the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB has nearly doubled in size with two new drivers joining Ross Kaiser in the Trofeo Pirelli (Christian Passuti and Lorenzo Cas?�) and Geoff Farmer joining Borislav Maleti�� in the Coppa Shell.
This was a full weekend of pure Ferrari motorsport as the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli headlined at the Ferrari Racing Days event in Spain at the Ricardo Tormo race circuit outside Valencia. The crowds of Ferrari fans also saw the Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge, and a range of Ferrari Formula 1 cars including the world championship winning cars of Michael Schumacher from 1999, 2001 and 2003. A handful of VIP Ferrari clients also had a unique opportunity to sample the new Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano which made a visit to the event.
Ferrari GB Managing Director Massimo Fedeli said ���I was proud to celebrate with the team this weekend in Spain as we welcomed three new drivers to the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB with such an impressive performance.
On track we tried a number of new approaches and combined them with the commitment of our drivers to deliver a perfect result in the Trofeo Pirelli. But the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli is all about luxury lifestyle racing and away from the pit-lane we have also enjoyed the company of Ferrari friends, clients and business partners from across the world to our own hospitality here in Valencia.
In true Ferrari spirit we will now focus our efforts on the next round of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli in Spa-Francorchamps in three weeks time.
On Track with Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB
The weekend started on Friday with free practice and the chance to develop the optimum set-up for the cars. In the Trofeo Pirelli, Ross Kaiser worked with new team mates Lorenzo Cas?� and Christian Passuti, while Borislav Maleti�� welcomed Geoff Farmer to the Coppa Shell.
On Saturday the two qualifying sessions saw Lorenzo and Christian take 4th place on the grid with Ross just behind in 6th for the first race. After a review of the in-car telemetry and technical set-up of both cars, Ross then put his car in second place in the second qualifying session with Lorenzo and Christian edging ahead for pole position in race two.
In the Coppa Shell, Borislav had a good development session on Friday taking 20th position on the grid for the first race and 22nd place for race two. For Geoff Farmer the free practice on Friday and qualifying session on Saturday were the first opportunities to get behind the wheel in a competitive racing car for two years and he qualifed 17th for race one and 16th for race two.
Sunday was race day and in the first round Lorenzo and Christian fought through the field from 4th place on the grid to 2nd place on the podium. Ross had a tough battle during the race but still improved on his grid position to finish 4th. The second race was the real opportunity for victory with Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB as Lorenzo and Christian led from pole position, with Ross completing the 1-2 formation from grid to chequered flag.
In the Coppa Shell, Geoff Farmer stormed away from 17th on the grid fighting through the field to a magnificent 6th in the first race. Borislav, in only his second weekend as a Ferrari racing driver, climbed from 20th to 16th by the end of the first race. Race two was another opportunity for Borislav and he improved from 22nd to 18th. Geoff continued to develop in Race 2 and climbed from 16th to secure another 6th finish place.