Round three of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe 2024, at the Jerez circuit, concluded with the first wins of the season for Philipp Baron (Gohm Motorsport – Baron Racing Team) in the Trofeo Pirelli and Manuela Gostner (Ineco – Reparto Corse RAM) in the Coppa Shell. The sweltering Spanish Sunday also brought victories for Claus Zibrandtsen (Formula Racing) in the Trofeo Pirelli Am and Andreas Königh (Gohm Motorsport – Haupt Racing Team) in the Coppa Shell Am. Fabrizio Fontana (Formula Racing) secured a second successive victory in the Trofeo Pirelli 488. The Ferrari official driver, Yifei Ye, was Race Advisor for the races in Spain.
Trofeo Pirelli. After two second-place finishes at Balaton, Philipp Baron climbed the top step of the podium for the first time this season in Race-2 at Jerez in Andalusia. Starting from third place, the Austrian driver took the lead, also benefiting from the drive-through penalties inflicted on Giacomo Altoè (Emil Frey Racing), who started from pole, and Luca Engstler (Gohm Motorsport – Engstler) for excessive speed at the start. Baron controlled the second half of the race, finishing ahead of Luca Ludwig (MERTEL Motorsport). Making a spectacular comeback from a drive-through, Altoè finished third, setting the fastest lap time of 1’43”838. The fourth-placed Bence Valint (Ferrari Budapest – Rossocorsa) retains the lead in the overall standings, six points ahead of Baron and seven over Altoé.
Claus Zibrandtsen also claimed his first win of the season in the Trofeo Pirelli Am, emerging victorious from a close contest among the top drivers in his class. In second place, Marco Zanasi (CDP – Pinetti Motorsport) continued his positive form, benefiting from the exits of Hendrik Viol (Scuderia Praha Racing) and Hanno Laskowsky ahead of him to take a sixth consecutive podium. Angelo Fontana (Rossocorsa) came third. With the best qualifying and race time in class, Viol retains the top spot in the standings, 11 points ahead of Zanasi.
Coppa Shell. After an excellent start and a decisive overtake of Motohiko Isozaki (Cornes Motors Shiba), Manuela Gostner took the race lead, gradually extending her advantage over her pursuers to the finish line, where she celebrated her first triumph of the season. Tibor Valint (Ferrari Budapest – Rossocorsa) finished runner-up, while Christophe Hurni (Zénit Scuderia) came third, marking his first podium finish of the year. Thomas Gostner (CDP – MP Racing) secured fourth spot, while the day’s poleman, Henry Hassid (Kessel Racing), finished fifth after being penalised with a drive-through for excessive speed at the start. The Frenchman, who also received the extra point for the fastest lap of 1’45”382, retains the overall lead, 24 points ahead of John Dhillon (Graypaul Nottingham), 25 in front of Manuela Gostner, and 29 over Tibor Valint.
A thrilling Coppa Shell Am race saw Andreas König cross the finish line just 558 thousandths of a second ahead of Zois Skrimpias (Ineco – Reparto Corse RAM), who started from pole. Andrea Levy (Rossocorsa) took third place, earning the extra point for the best lap time in class.
Trofeo Pirelli 488. Fabrizio Fontana scored another double victory following his success at Balaton. The Italian took pole position and held the top spot throughout the 30-minute race, finishing with the fastest lap in the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo. Runner-up Ivan David Mari (Garage Zénith – Best Lap – FCI) secured his first podium, followed by Tommy Lindroth (Gohm Motorsport – Baron Racing Team) in third.
Next round. The Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe will return to the Iberian Peninsula for round four in two weeks, from 4 to 7 July at the Portimão circuit in the Portuguese Algarve.