Ferrari Challenge North America - The series returns to Sonoma Raceway

Sonoma, 8 April 2016 - California's wine country welcomes the Prancing Horse marque once more for the second round of the 2016 North American Ferrari Challenge.   A prized backdrop. With 34 drivers in the Trofeo Pirelli, Trofeo Pirelli AM, and Coppa Shell classes racing this weekend, the competition will be sure to delight the Tifosi in attendance. The weekend constitutes of two 35-minute sprint races on the well-known 2.52-mile track set among the vast rolling hills of Northern California.   Contenders strive for more. The victor at this season's opener in Daytona and reigning North American Ferrari Challenge champion, Emmanuel Anassis (Ferrari Quebec) will continue to attest his high-speed talents. Although he's shared several victories at Sonoma Raceway, Anassis will have to pay close attention to the vivacious action behind him. Former Pirelli World Challenge driver Nick Mancuso (Lake Forest Sportscar) will be bringing back his talents in the Trofeo Pirelli category this weekend. In addition, Gregory Romanelli (The Collection), Wei Lu (Ferrari of Vancouver) and Carlos Kauffmann (Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale) will surpass the steep elevation changes and burst ahead of the circuit traffic.   Pirelli AM. Steve Johnson (Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale) returns for a second round of racing after his successful weekend in Daytona in January. Standing atop of the podium steps twice earlier this year, he'll have to maintain his lead in the Trofeo Pirelli AM against 12 other drivers in his class. Familiar names such as Patrice Brisebois (Ferrari Quebec), Marc Muzzo (Ferrari of Ontario) and James Weiland (Ferrari of San Francisco) return to the stage, but some fresh blood, including Chuck Quinton (Ferrari of Central Florida), Cort Wagner (Lake Forest Sportscar) and Alistar Garnett (Ferrari of Beverly Hills), will drive to their highest potential to accrue points and a possible victory.   Coppa Shell. The class with the largest potential for this weekend is Coppa Shell with 17 drivers involved. Although a number of drivers will be driving on their home grounds - like rookie Matt Keegan (Ferrari of San Francisco) - for most this is a new racetrack in their competitive portfolio. Extensive testing sessions since the start of the season, however, have provided the drivers will enough acquaintance to really push their 458 Challenge EVOs against the Chute. Jean-Claude Saada (Boardwalk Ferrari) is looking for another podium victory for the second year in a row, while newcomer Luis Perisquia (Ferrari of Central Florida) pushes for the best results.   Schedule. Two practice sessions are scheduled for today among other racing activities to endear the fans. The first race of the weekend is scheduled for 2:35 PM PDT on Saturday (23.35 CET) and Race 2 begins at 2:30 PM PDT on Sunday (23.30 CET). You can follow all of the action by following @FerrariUSA and #FerrariChallenge on Twitter.