25 March 2018
Melbourne, 25 March 2018 - There was no wet drama at today’s Race-2 of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Asia Pacific Series first round at Melbourne. In stark contrast to Saturday’s heavy downpour, it was clear blue skies this morning where Danindro led from start to finish. It was a fierce battle the moment the lights turned green. Speed of the approaches can catch the best drivers out and Formula One race starts from past years support that fact. And that was exactly what had transpired at Turn 1 which saw lots of drama as the 488 Challenge race drivers battled to get ahead. Turn 1 contact involving several drivers ended the race for some including local driver Martin Berry. Many cars sustained damage in the pile up, which saw Tani Hanna from Lebanon take evasive action and make up plenty of spots after starting rear of grid. Both he and Hector Lester from Ireland had strong races recovering well.
Trofeo Pirelli. Indonesian Rama Danindro once again dictated the pace in his 488 Challenge car. The action in the lead pack was intense with Danindro, fellow compatriot Renaldi Hutasoit, and American James Weiland all dicing, and Italian Philippe Prette showing his championship winning form fighting his way up into the lead pack. Hutasoit managed to overtake Weiland after 2 laps and fought hard till the final lap for the top step of the podium but couldn’t find the extra gear to overtake fellow countryman Danindro. Alex Au, a returning driver from Hong Kong, was knocked out of a top 10 finish after another car came into contact with his car mid-race, which lead to the safety car coming out. Danindro showed his experience with yet another perfect restart, building a comfortable margin to the chequered flag. Behind them, Weiland was in third position until the safety car re-emerged. Prette then seized the slight advantage and Weiland was eventually relegated to fourth.
Coppa Shell. The race was just as competitive for the Shell drivers. With yesterday’s class winner Vincent Wong from Hong Kong leading the group, there was a tight battle for first and second places with Tiger Wu of Chinese Taipei and Eric Zang of China. Wong had to retire after a collision in lap 3. Zang then powered ahead to come in first, with Tani Hanna second and Yanbing Xing taking the third spot.
Shell Am. David Dicker from New Zealand took his first victory in the Ferrari Challenge at the Melbourne circuit, holding off his rival Min Xiao from China by more than 3 seconds. Yesterday’s winner Andrew Moon from Korea finished third on the podium. Dicker was also the winner of the Gentlemen Cup and Kanthicha Chimsiri from Thailand taking the Ladies Cup.
Schedule. The next round of the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific will be held at Hampton Downs in New Zealand from 13th – 15th April.