Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli took to the track for the opening qualifying session of the weekend. The intense heat and humidity that has defined the weekend thus far has returned for the morning sessions, putting drivers under additional physical challenge as they search for ultimate lap time and pole position.
Trofeo Pirelli. Cooper MacNeil (Scuderia Corsa – Ferrari of Westlake) claimed pole position for race 1 at Homestead, an important step to confirming his status as the 2019 Trofeo Pirelli champion. The American driver set a time of 1:24.573 on his second lap, a time that beat the entire rest of the Trofeo Pirelli category by over 1 second. Martin Burrowes (Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale) claimed the second spot with a 1:25.730, followed by Benjamin Hites (The Collection) a further four-tenths behind.
Trofeo Pirelli AM. Dave Musial (Ferrari of Lake Forest) took the top spot in qualifying at Homestead-Miami Speedway, setting a time of 1:26.485. That time was good enough to beat out Ziad Ghandour (Boardwalk Ferrari) by 0.269 seconds, an important result for the championship standings, if he is able to carry his qualifying effort into the race. The duo led the rest of the Trofeo Pirelli AM category by a further two tenths, a chase that was led by Neil Gehani (Continental Autosports) with a time of 1:26.920
Coppa Shell. Mark Issa (Ferrari of Atlanta) once again took pole position in the Coppa Shell category, demonstrating seriously impressive speed by out-qualifying Brian Davis (Ferrari of Palm Beach) by over half of a second. Brian Davis finished a further half second again above Dale Katechis (Miller Motorcars) who took the third starting position. The back half of the Coppa Shell category was significantly more competitive, with just three tenths covering third through fifth positions, starting with Dale in third and then continuing to Michael Watt (Ferrari of Atlanta) and Claude Senhoretti (Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale) who ended up in fourth and fifth respectively.
Coppa Shell AM. A new entry to the Ferrari Challenge community Roberto Perrina (Ferrari of Seattle) took a shock pole position at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a 1:26.935, just besting series regular Jay Schreibman (Cauley Ferrari) by just over one tenth of a second. The duo showed a remarkable turn of speed, setting times that were only three tenths off of Mark Issa’s Coppa Shell pole lap. Bradley Horstmann (Foreign Cars Italia) took third position with a 1:27.404.
Schedule. Ferrari Challenge action will continue this afternoon with race 1 at 1:20PM (all times in ET). Trofeo Pirelli class competitors will take to the track first for their 30 minute race, followed by their Coppa Shell counterparts at 2:10PM, who will also enjoy 30 minutes of racing action. Podium celebrations will conclude the day at 2:45PM.