Ferrari Challenge Marches on to Road America

Plymouth, Wisc. 8 August 2017 – The long straights and fast corners of Road America mark the fifth round of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli series in North America.  What was initially a combination of streets in the nearby Elkhart Lake turned into a permanent racecourse in April 1955.  Fifty seven Ferrari Challenge cars, including thirty three 488 Challenge cars will take to the track starting with private testing on Thursday and official sessions on Friday thru to Sunday.   Resilience and Consistency Drives Championship Contenders. After three rounds, tight battles rage at the top of the 458 EVO class and Coppa Shell class.  Joseph Rubbo holds a slender lead of six points from the fast charging Naveen Rao.  In Coppa Shell, Karl Williams has returned from a difficult first race at Laguna Seca to close to within three points of Barry Zekelman.  In Trofeo Pirelli AM, while Marc Muzzo has a strong lead over the rest of the field, the battle for second could not be tighter.  Brent Holden holds a one point lead over Chris Cagnazzi, who closed the gap on the back of very strong results at Mosport.  And in Trofeo Pirelli, Peter Ludwig has consolidated a strong lead on the back of incredible consistency over the past three rounds, leading Martin Fuentes and Wei Lu.   A Triumphant Return. Ferrari returns to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park one week after the Scuderia Corsa team, led by Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen took fifth place in the IMSA GT-Daytona class, consolidating their lead in the IMSA GT Daytona Championship.  Drivers of the 488 Challenge and 458 EVO cars will face the same challenges that the IMSA team faced, notably the long straights and fast corners.  Teams will need to do their homework to find the optimal balance between outright downforce and minimizing drag while drivers will also be challenged to find a set up that is consistent, and confidence inspiring.   The Schedule.  On track action is scheduled to begin on Thursday with private testing sessions.  To accommodate the specific needs of Road America, the track will remain private throughout the weekend.