Ferrari Challenge Season Continues at Road Atlanta

The Ferrari Challenge series will make its return to Road Atlanta for the first time since the 2020 season. The 2.54-mile (4.08 km) circuit has become a stalwart of American racing since its opening in 1970, chiefly now as the host of the Petit le Mans endurance race held every October where Ferrari won the opening edition in 1998. Defined by its dramatic elevation changes and challenging esses section, the Atlanta circuit has always been a distinctive challenge on the calendar, forcing drivers to carefully approach the limit and avoid any missteps.

Trofeo Pirelli: Matt Kurzejewski (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) currently occupies the top spot of the Trofeo Pirelli category after two race weekends. With Matt’s only non-podium finish coming in the first race of the season in Miami, the American driver is firing on all cylinders and will look to carry that momentum into this weekend’s action. He’s closely followed by Roberto Perrina (Ferrari of Seattle) who is only two points behind after a double podium in Miami and two fourth-place finishes in Texas. Perrina, however, will not attend the Atlanta weekend, leaving the door open to last year’s championship runner up Jason McCarthy (Wide World Ferrari) who currently sits in third, seven points behind Kurzejewski. The New York-based driver has yet to stand atop the podium, but has made three trips to the lower steps to accumulate 40 points to date. In the Am category Mac Muzzo (Ferrari of Ontario) leads the championship by just a single point, over Tony Davis (Continental Autosport) and Justin Rothberg (Ferrari of Palm Beach) who is six points adrift. Among the leading candidates, only Davis has proven to be able to generate consistent results, with both Muzzo and Rothberg suffering misfortune in Miami. All three drivers are also set to compete in Atlanta, making this an important weekend for the category.

Coppa Shell: In Coppa Shell, Cameron Root (Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo) is leading the charge on the back of his first-ever race win in Miami and a further podium finish in Austin in the Coppa Shell class. He leads Sureel Choksi (Ferrari of Denver) by eleven points, a notable margin at this early stage of the season, but largely driven by a poor race from Choksi on Sunday in Austin. Grey Fauvre (Ferrari of San Francisco), however, has been a revelation, surging to third place in the standings on the back of two wins in Austin after having not attended the opening round in Miami. But Fauve will not attend the Atlanta weekend, and so he will surely lose his spot in the top three during the course of the weekend. Dan Cornish (Ferrari of Austin) meanwhile leads the Coppa Shell AM class standings, though as he will not attend the Road Atlanta weekend leaving room for Lisa Clark (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) to retake the championship after this weekend as she trails by only five points. There is a bit of a buffer, however to Darren Bernstein (Ferrari of Washington) who is a further 13 points behind Clark and will need to continue his strong form to loft himself into second place in the championship. 

Schedule. Wednesday and Thursday will host the usual open testing sessions while official practice sessions will take place on Friday. Qualifying and race sessions will take place on both Saturday and Sunday and all Ferrari Challenge sessions on those days are available to be streamed live on Ferrari.com.