Ferrari Challenge North America Drivers Duel for Inaugural 296 Challenge Victories

There was no shortage of Ferrari racecars or on-track action during the 2024 Ferrari Challenge North America season-opening race at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Saturday. 

More than 70 Ferraris across the Trofeo Pirelli, Coppa Shell and 488 Challenge Evo classes took part in afternoon races at the 3.426-mile circuit. Competitors in Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell also sought history, fighting to be the first winners behind the wheel of a 296 Challenge in the car’s global racing debut.

Trofeo Pirelli. Drivers endured a last-lap shootout in the Trofeo Pirelli race, which saw Dylan Medler (The Collection) and Brian Cook (Ferrari of Seattle) claim victory in their respective classes. Although Medler lost his seven-second lead due to the late yellow flag, he set sail at the restart to finish first overall ahead of Roberto Perrina (Ferrari Seattle) and Joe Rubbo (Ferrari of Long Island). However, contact between Perrina and Jason McCarthy (Wide World Ferrari) during their entertaining battle midway through the race led to a post-race penalty for the former driver, leading to Rubbo’s advancement to second place and Dave Musial Jr. (Ferrari of Lake Forest) to third. 

In Trofeo Pirelli Am, Cook was victorious although not without excitement as he battled Matias Perez Companc (Ferrari of Central Florida) for the lead. Cook sealed his win after Companc suffered damage in an incident with a different class competitor, but finished second on the podium. David Musial (Ferrari of Lake Forest) finished third-in-class.

Coppa Shell. Two red flags made for an unpredictable Coppa Shell race, which saw Sureel Choksi (Ferrari of Denver) win from the pole position, although only after Yahn Bernier (Ferrari of Seattle) controlled most of the race’s green flag laps. While Eric Marston (Ferrari of Westlake) finished runner-up, he was penalized post-race for knocking Bernier off track in the battle for second before the first red flag was flown. Ray Acosta (The Collection), whose team worked overnight to repair his Ferrari after an incident on Thursday, repaid the crew with a second-place finish, while Chuck Whittall (Ferrari of Central Florida) finished third. 

In Coppa Shell Am, Talal Shair (Ferrari of Central New Jersey) scored the win with teammate Jeffrey Nunberg finishing third. Darren Bernstein (Ferrari of Washington) finished between the pair in second. 

488 Challenge Evo. In Race 1 for Ferrari 488 Challenge Evos, competing in a dedicated category for the 2024 season, Massimo Perrina (Ferrari of Seattle) paced the field en route to the win. After competing in Trofeo Pirelli earlier in the afternoon, Jason McCarthy returned to end his day on the podium in second place and Marc Muzzo (Ferrari of Ontario) following suit in third. In the Coppa Shell class, Matt Dalton (Ferrari of Long Island) took the first victory of the season, with Gary Ott (Ferrari Philadelphia) in second and Guerdas Venslovas (Continental AutoSports) in third.

Sunday Schedule. The final trio of races on Sunday will take place for Coppa Shell at 1:20 p.m. local time; for Trofeo Pirelli at 2:10 p.m.; and 488 Challenge Evo at 3 p.m. All races can be streamed live on the Ferrari YouTube channel.