Ferrari Challenge caps epic weekend under the lights at Daytona

Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli concluded its epic weekend on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway with racing action, again under the lights.  This also marked the final time that the Ferrari 488 Challenge will compete, as the 488 Challenge EVO takes center stage starting in Round 2 at Road Atlanta.  In the mean-time, the Ferrari Challenge competitors put on quite a show, running caution-free for the full thirty minute duration of the event.

Trofeo Pirelli – Cooper MacNeil (Scuderia Corsa – Ferrari of Westlake) took his second win of the weekend, clearing away from his closest competitor Joe Rubbo (Ferrari of Long Island) by just over 18 seconds by the time the thirty-minute race came to an end.  That capped the perfect weekend for Cooper, who claimed pole position and fastest lap once again, in addition to the win.  Ross Chouest (Boardwalk Ferrari), after moving from Trofeo Pirelli AM to the Trofeo Pirelli category, claimed third place in class, but enjoyed battles throughout the race with several cars in the Trofeo Pirelli AM category.

Trofeo Pirelli AM – John Megrue (Ferrari of Long Island) capped off a dramatic weekend with another win in the Trofeo Pirelli AM category.  After pushing Cooper MacNeil for the duration of yesterday’s race before ultimately settling for second overall, the American driver consolidated his win in class, but could not find the extra turn in speed to match Cooper or Joe, settling in for third overall.  He was hounded by a resurgent Jean-Claude Saada (Boardwalk Ferrari), who made his return to Ferrari Challenge after a brief hiatus, but found his feet quickly to finish second in class.  The pair were chased home by Dave Musial (Ferrari Lake Forest) who was just a second behind the leading two in what is sure to be a highly competitive Trofeo Pirelli AM category in 2020.

Coppa Shell – Rich Baek (Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo) took a wild win in a class that was completely upended in the final lap after presumptive winner, Jason McCarthy ran dry and fell back to fifth in the category.  In the maylay, Brad Horstmann (Foreign Cars Italia) was able to jump to second and Jay Schreibman (Cauley Ferrari) claimed third as they crossed the line.  It was an incredibly close fight as Rich only managed to beat Brad by three tenths of a second at the checkered flag.

Coppa Shell AM – Justin Wetherill (Ferrari of Central Florida) confirmed his championship ambitions, driving a flawless race to earn his second win on the weekend, but it was the closest finish in the pack as he just beat out John Cervini (Ferrari of Ontario) by just over a tenth of a second as they crossed the stripe.  Dave Musial Jr. (Ferrari of Lake Forest) took his first ever podium in Ferrari Challenge in his first ever race weekend, and was right at the sharp end of the Coppa Shell AM category, just a second and a half behind the leading duo.

Schedule. Ferrari Challenge now cedes the Daytona International Speedway to the main event, the 24 Hours at Daytona which will begin at 1:30PM on Saturday and conclude at the same time on Sunday.  Challenge cars will return to action as a part of Ferrari Racing Days at Road Atlanta on March 6-8.