The Danish anthem rang out twice after the first race of the second round of the Ferrari Challenge at Spielberg. Michelle Gatting (Scuderia Niki – Iron Lynx) triumphed in the Trofeo Pirelli, while Christian Brunsborg (Formula Racing) was first over the line in the Am class. Both had started from pole.
At the green light, Michelle Gatting held off the attacks of Luka Nurmi (Formula Racing) and tried to set her own pace, but the Finn still passed the Dane on lap one to move into first. John Wartique (FML – D2P) and Matúš Vyboh (Scuderia Praha) followed behind. In the Am, Christian Brunsborg led a group of drivers including Hugo Delacour (Scuderia Monte-Carlo), Sergio Paulet (Santogal Madrid – MST Team), Marco Pulcini (Rossocorsa – Pellin Racing) and Nicolò Rosi (Kessel Racing).
On lap four, Gatting regained her lead with a brilliant pass against Nurmi when throttling down at the end of the straight. Meanwhile, a struggle raged in the middle of the pack between the Am drivers, with Alessandro Cozzi (Formula Racing), Roman Ziemian (FML - D2P) and Arno Dahlmeyer (Scuderia Niki - Iron Lynx) battling it out between seventh and ninth. The leading cars also fought many duels for second place behind Brunsborg, and during one of them, a contact between Cozzi and Dahlmeyer brought out the Safety Car on lap 10.
Gatting maintained her lead at the restart and was the first under the chequered flag for her second win of the season. Second place went to the young Nurmi, who turns 17 today, while John Wartique secured the last step of the podium ahead of Vyboh.
In the Am, Brunsborg took the winner’s laurels after leading for all 30 minutes of the race. The Dane crossed the line ahead of Sergio Paulet and Marco Pulcini, who benefitted from a mistake by Delacour. The French driver saw the podium slip away in the last lap, finishing in seventh place. Roman Ziemian, fourth, and Roger Grouwels (Kroymans – Race Art), fifth, took advantage of this, recovering well after starting from the back.