Altoè and Hassid win first race in Jerez

The first day of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe, at the Jerez circuit in the heat of southern Spain, concluded with victories for Giacomo Altoé (Emil Frey Racing) in the Trofeo Pirelli and Henry Hassid (Kessel Racing) in the Coppa Shell. Round three of the Prancing Horse single-make series also featured wins for Hendrik Viol (Scuderia Praha Racing) in the Trofeo Pirelli Am and Zois Skrimpias (Ineco – Reparto Corse RAM) in the Coppa Shell Am. Fabrizio Fontana (Formula Racing) was the fastest driver in the Trofeo Pirelli 488. Official Factory Driver, Yifei Ye, engaged this year in the FIA WEC with the 499P number 83, attended the Iberian event as Race Advisor.

Trofeo Pirelli. Giacomo Altoè, with the Ferrari 296 Challenge number 2, secured his third consecutive victory. After defending pole position in the early laps, he kept his closest pursuers at bay even after the Safety Car, which was deployed because of an off-track incident involving an Am class driver who escaped unhurt. Altoè crossed the finish line first with the fastest time of 1’43”697, following a qualifying time of 1’41”470. The contest behind Giacomo Altoè saw the young Hungarian driver Bence Valint (Ferrari Budapest – Rossocorsa) come out on top, finishing second after Luca Ludwig (MERTEL Motorsport) was relegated to third place because of a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits. 

Hendrik Viol prevailed in the Trofeo Pirelli Am after a thrilling race with 134 overtakes, thus increasing his lead in the overall standings. Herbert Geiss (Maranello Motors) took second place and achieved his first podium finish ahead of Hanno Laskowski (Emil Frey Racing), with a 5-second penalty for exceeding track limits. Poleman Marco Zanasi (CDP – Pinetti Motorsport) finished fifth, after suffering a drive-through penalty for an incorrect starting alignment.

Coppa Shell. After a close and sustained contest with Manuela Gostner (Ineco - Reparto Corse RAM), who started from pole position courtesy of a qualifying time of 1’42”867, Henry Hassid pulled off the decisive overtaking move ten minutes from the chequered flag to claim his second win of the season. However, the Italian woman received the extra point for the best race time of 1’45”369. The UK’s John Dhillon (Graypaul Nottingham) rounded off the first podium of the Spanish weekend.

Zois Skrimpias enjoyed a perfect day in the Coppa Shell. Starting from pole position, he held off Eric Cheung’s (Formula Racing) attempts to catch him down to the chequered flag, with Cheung finishing as runner-up. The Greek, who extends his lead in the overall standings, also received the extra point for the best lap time. Third place went to Andreas König (Gohm Motorsport – Haupt Racing Team).

Trofeo Pirelli 488. Fabrizio Fontana led from the start, setting off from pole position in the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo class and posting the fastest lap time to take his fourth win of the season. Behind him were Pino Frascaro (Rossocorsa) and Niels Zibrandtsen (Formula Racing), with his third consecutive podium finish.

Programme. On Sunday, 23 June, the qualifying sessions will start at 9 a.m. with the Coppa Shell and Trofeo Pirelli 488, followed by the Trofeo Pirelli and Trofeo Pirelli Am at 10 a.m., and finish at 11 a.m. with the Coppa Shell Am. The second races will start in the same sequence, at 2.00 p.m., 3.15 p.m., and 4.30 p.m.