Monza – A wet but drying circuit greeted the drivers of the Asia-Pacific leg of the Ferrari Challenge as the earlier rain shower that made the North American race so entertaining abated. In the interest of caution, drivers performed two laps behind the Safety Car before being unleashed for a thirty-minute sprint at the
Temple of Speed, Monza.
Trofeo Pirelli. Philippe Prette (Blackbird Concessionaires) took an impressive Race-1 win, passing Renaldi Hutasoit (Ferrari Jakarta) as the race restarted with thirteen minutes to go. The battle for the lead would continue all race as Renaldi attempted a pass on the final lap on the exit to Parabolica. While he seemed to be closing the gap to Philippe, the line came too soon, and Renaldi finished three tenths behind. Philippe’s pass at the restart proved critical for his championship hopes as he started the weekend in third in the championship and his win has closed his gap considerably to the leaders. Martin Berry (Ital Auto Singapore) finished third.
Coppa Shell. Tani Hanna (Scuderia Lebanon) claimed victory at the Temple of Speed in Race 1. Tani was consistent, clean and untouchable by anyone in his class, winning by a margin of over ten seconds. The fight for second place proved dramatic, however, as Yanbin Xing (CTF Beijing) overcame Tiger Wu’s (Modena Motori) defenses and took second place, ultimately stretching his margin to four seconds over the Chinese Taipei driver. The class also proved responsible for the loan caution period of the race as Charles Chan (Blackbird Concessionaires) was tipped into a spin in Lesmo 1. The gravel proved too much for the stricken Ferrari 488 Challenge car, requiring a tow and safety-car interruption.
Coppa Shell Am. David Dicker (Continental Cars NZ) claimed the Coppa Shell AM championship simply by starting the race, but that did not stop him from claiming the class victory by seven seconds over Kent Chen (Modena Motori). His win did not come without some drama, however, as the Australian driver was initially dicing with Trofeo Pirelli AM and Coppa Shell drivers before a mistake dropped him back into close proximity to Kent. That was the last mistake he would make, however, en route to victory at the Temple of Speed. Andrew Moon (Forza Motors Korea) rounded out the podium, defending his position by 1.9 seconds over Evan Mak (Denker Group).
Schedule. The APAC championship will return to the circuit on
Saturday at 10.35 for qualifying followed by the second race of the weekend at 14.50
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