Frontrunners Face Adversity on Saturday at Indianapolis

Indianapolis Motor Speedway gave Ferrari Challenge North America drivers everything they could handle on Saturday and predicts to do the same on Sunday. Championship-contending drivers were not spared from problems, while others enjoyed clean air en route to victory.

While Saturday yielded an exciting start to the series’ final event Stateside this year, Ferrari Challenge North America also looks forward to Sunday as the 488 Challenge Evo races on United States soil for the final time.

Trofeo Pirelli. Trofeo Pirelli was arguably the smoothest race of the day, with Matias Perez Companc (Ferrari of Central Florida) taking home the win. It wasn’t an easy task as Dylan Medler (The Collection), who sits second in the title hunt, ran close in his mirrors all race in search of precious points. Medler finished second by .581 seconds, while David Musial Jr. (Ferrari of Lake Forest) finished third for his first podium in three races.

The elder David Musial (Ferrari of Lake Forest) had similar success on Saturday, winning Race 1 in Trofeo Pirelli Am. He sailed to the win over second-place Ofir Levy (Ferrari of Silicon Valley) and third-place Sureel Choksi (Ferrari of Denver).

Meanwhile, the Trofeo Pirelli Am title will see a shake-up after Race 1, as championship leaders Brian Cook (Ferrari of Seattle) and Tony Davis (Continental AutoSports) both experienced difficult races. The pair started by side-by-side and were part of a chaotic first lap. Cook – who held a 21-point lead over Davis before Indianapolis – ran sixth before finding his Ferrari off in the grass by the midway point. Meanwhile, Davis ran second but incurred damage that dropped him down the lineup, limping home in fourth. 

Coppa Shell. While Rey Acosta (The Collection) led flag-to-flag for his first Coppa Shell victory of the year, all eyes shifted to Eric Marston (Ferrari of Westlake), who pit in the first five minutes with an issue. Marston – who leads the Coppa Shell championship – returned for a top-10 finish, but Yahn Bernier (Ferrari of Seattle) jumped from fifth to second to gain ground on Marston in the championship.

A podium battle then ensued between Chuck Whittal (Ferrari of Central Florida), fourth in points, and Robert McWilliams (Ferrari of Washington), third in points. Halfway into the race, McWilliams closed on Whittal and pressured him into a spin to gain the position to finish third.

In Coppa Shell Am, Roy Carroll (Foreign Cars Italia) sought redemption after starting first and leading the race before a Coppa Shell car knocked him from the lead after the halfway point. Carroll was fortunate to drop only to third behind Gabe Hrib (Ferrari of Atlanta) and class points leader, Roger Monteforte (Ferrari of Central New Jersey). Within minutes, Carroll stormed back past the two to his rightful spot atop the leaderboard for his second win of the season. Hrib and Monteforte rounded out the podium.

488 Challenge Evo. Massimo Perrina (Ferrari of Seattle) is one win and one day closer to officially being named the 488 Challenge Evo Trofeo Pirelli champion. Saturday saw Perrina finish first for the eighth time of 2024 by nearly 20 seconds after starting from the pole position, as he has in every race this year. Jason McCarthy (Wide World Ferrari) and Logan Broughton (Ferrari of Lake Forest) were left to duel for the second- and third-place finishes, and that they did. While Broughton held the advantage, McCarthy whisked past him on the final lap for runner-up.

In the Coppa Shell class, last-minute drama unfolded for the top-three as Gregory Hopkins (Foreign Cars Italia) ultimately came away with the win. While he built a substantial gap, that lead was no longer coming to the white flag as an issue saw him finish just tenths ahead of the field.

Finishing second was Matthew Dalton (Ferrari of Long Island), who battled to keep his championship rival, Gerdas Venslovas (Continental AutoSports), at bay throughout the race. He did so by less than .02 seconds at the finish line to Venslovas in third. The title will come down to these two drivers on Sunday, as Dalton entered Indianapolis with only a six-point lead over Venslovas.

Sunday Schedule.

The final race day for Ferrari Challenge in North America takes place on Sunday, starting with Coppa Shell at 1:30 p.m. ET. Trofeo Pirelli follows at 2:20 p.m., and champions will be crowned in the 488 Challenge Evo classes following its race at 3:10 p.m.

All Ferrari Challenge races will stream live on the Ferrari YouTube channel and FerrariRaces.com.