08 October 2017
Imola, 8 October 2017 – A page in the history of Ferrari Challenge was written at Imola, when for the first time a female driver left all her rivals behind to win a race in the Coppa Shell. Nineteen year-old Fabienne Wohlwend from Liechtenstein triumphed at the wheel of the 488 Challenge of Octane 126 team. The Trofeo Pirelli was also decided on the second day at Santerno, with Daniele Di Amato (CDP) taking the title with a round to go, while in the Trofeo Pirelli Am victory went to Jens Liebhauser (Formula Racing).
Coppa Shell. The Coppa Shell kicked off proceedings again on Sunday. This time Fabienne Wohlwend secured pole position at the wheel of the 488 Challenge of Octane 126 team and began writing her extraordinary tale. The girl from Liechtenstein was nearly three-tenths of a second ahead of Saturday’s winner, Henry Hassid, although clearly she still had it all to do in the race. At the start Hassid tried attacking her in the first two laps but she successfully fended him off. The group stretched out behind the top two with Johnny Laursen (Formula Racing) ahead of Fons Scheltema (Kessel Racing) and the Gostner family duo of Manuela and Thomas with the 488 Challenge of Ineco-MP Racing. Hassid let Wohlwend go for a while but then pulled closer launching another attack three laps from the end. However, Fabienne held him off again and in so doing wrote an amazing page in the history of motorsport and Ferrari. Johnnhy Laursen came third but still tops the championship standings with a healthy lead over the Frenchman.
Trofeo Pirelli. The Trofeo Pirelli title was decided in a rather extraordinary race. At the start everything pointed to Philipp Baron, in the 488 Challenge of Rossocorsa, making up points on Daniele Di Amato who had failed to start in the CDP team car. At the off poleman Bjorn Grossmann (Octane 126) kept his head but Baron immediately began pressing him in an attempt to make the most of the absence of his title rival. On the second lap Baron launched an attack and the pair went into the Tamburello chicane side-by-side with Baron coming out fractionally ahead. However, Grossmann kept his foot down and touched the rear of Baron’s 488 Challenge sending it into a spin. The Austrian driver collided with the barriers, ending his race there. At that very moment the CDP team mechanics managed to put Di Amato back on track and although he crossed the finish line three laps off the pace, he still sealed the European championship for the second time after his win in 2014. Grossmann was penalised for contact with Baron, dropping from first to third place. This left top spot to Sam Smeeth for his first Pro victory at the wheel of the 488 Challenge of Stratstone Ferrari, ahead of Alessandro Vezzoni for Rossocorsa-Pellin Racing team.
Pirelli Am. The Trofeo Pirelli Am saw a counterattack by championship leader Jens Liebhauser (Formula Racing) who dominated the day from qualifying. The race was fought at the highest level with Liebhauser pursued by the winner of Race-1, Martin Nelson (Scuderia Autoropa) who was in turn followed by the season’s other big star, Britain’s Chris Froggatt. Victory in the Trofeo Pirelli 458 again went to Galip Atar (Octane 126), increasingly dominant in the standings. The next round is in three weeks on Friday and Saturday October 27-28 with the Finali Mondiali at Mugello.
[playlist4me id="547c796a-ca58-4623-834e-d652012586d1"]