Doriane Pin (Scuderia Niki – Iron Lynx) in the Trofeo Pirelli and Ernst-Albert Berg (Penske Sportwagen Hamburg) in the Coppa Shell, claimed the first pole positions of the thirtieth season of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe, which kicks off this weekend at Portimão in the Algarve. Marco Pulcini (Al Tayer Motors) and Joakim Olander (Scuderia Autoropa) were the fastest in the respective AM classes.
Trofeo Pirelli. Expectations were high for the first time trial of the 2022 Ferrari Challenge season, with the drivers immediately battling it out down to the nearest thousandths of a second. After thirty minutes of entertainment on the ups and downs of the Algarve track, Doriane Pin was the quickest, taking the baton from Danish champion Michelle Gatting, the star of the 2021 Ferrari Challenge season. The 2021 world champion, Luka Nurmi (Formula Racing), will start behind her, while the Belgian John Wartique (FML-D2P) is third in class.
Marco Pulcini's season got off to the best possible start. He set the fastest time in the Am class and the second overall, just seventy-five thousandths ahead of Danish driver Christian Brunsborg (Formula Racing). The experienced French driver Ange Barde (SF Côte d'Azur Cannes – IB FAST) will begin from third on the grid, just ahead of the Italian pair Nicolò Rosi (Kessel Racing) and Alessandro Cozzi (Formula Racing).
Coppa Shell. The battle for pole in the Coppa Shell, with twenty-nine drivers due to start at Portimão, was even more intense. After thirty minutes of excitement, Ernst-Albert Berg set the best lap time, with Roman Ziemian (FML – D2P), Axel Sartingen (Lueg Sportivo – Herter Racing), Claudio Schiavoni (Scuderia Niki – Iron Lynx), Franz Engstler (Scuderia GT) and Christian Herdt-Wipper (Saggio München) all within a second of each other.
Joakim Olander (Scuderia Autoropa) was the fastest in the Am class and seventh overall. He will start ahead of the 2021 world champion in the class, Peter Christensen (Formula Racing). British driver Mark Bailey (Scuderia Monte-Carlo) will set off from third on his Ferrari Challenge debut.
Programme. The first race of the Portuguese weekend will get underway at 1:20pm for the Trofeo Pirelli and 3:50pm for the Coppa Shell, both lasting 30 minutes.