The Ferrari Challenge Europe Trofeo Pirelli returns to the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit over the weekend of 18 and 19 July for the second round of 2020. Like the inaugural meeting at Imola (on 4 and 5 July), the public won’t be present. This is in compliance with the provisions of the Spanish and motoring authorities supplemented by Ferrari’s “Back on track” protocol to ensure the safety of participants and staff.
Trofeo Pirelli. Emanuele Maria Tabacchi (Rossocorsa), the leader in the standings on 34 points after a one-two in Imola, is favourite at Barcelona. Fabienne Wohlwend (Octane 126), second by 10 lengths and Thomas Neubauer (Charles Pozzi), fourth in the ranking, will be trying to stop him from breaking away. Michelle Gatting (Scuderia Niki), who performed very well in the first round, won’t be competing at Barcelona. Matús Vyboh (Scuderia Praha) will appear in the Trofeo Pirelli Am. He will be trying to repeat his double victory at Imola. The Slovak will have to fend off the attacks of his closest pursuers, Frederik Paulsen (Formula Racing) and Olivier Grotz (Formula Racing), among the surprises of the first round. Roman Ziemian (Octane 126) will also be present. Frederik Espersen (Forza Racing) makes his seasonal debut at Barcelona, while Hanno Laskowski (Riller & Schnauck) will have his world premiere at the wheel of the 488 Challenge Evo.
Coppa Shell. The top three in the standings are ready to slug it out at Barcelona, starting with the record holder, Austrian Ernst Kirchmayr (Baron Motorsport), followed by the two Dutchmen Roger Grouwels (Kroymans Automotive) and Fons Scheltema (Kessel Racing). The battle promises to be very exciting also because the trio are only separated by five points. Expectations are high for the return of James Weiland (Rossocorsa), reigning World Champion in the Coppa Shell. The leading drivers in the Coppa Shell Am will all be present, with Michael Simoncic (Baron Motorsport), author of a one-two at Imola, “Alex Fox” (SF Grand Est Mullhouse) and Laurent De Meeus (HR Owen). After participating in the first round at Imola Dusan Palcr (Scuderia Praha), Miroslav Vyboh (Scuderia Praha), Matthias Moser (Scuderia Gohm) and Willem Van Der Vorm (Scuderia Montecarlo) will be looking for a better result. “Boris Gideon” (Formula Racing) also makes his seasonal debut.
Programme. The event kicks off on the Catalan track on Friday with the first free practice sessions from 9:30am to 12:30pm and from 3:30pm to 6:30pm. The second free practice early on Saturday morning will be followed by qualifying, where the drivers will battle it out against the clock. Race-1 of the Coppa Shell is scheduled for 5pm while the Trofeo Pirelli sets off at 6:20pm. On Sunday, qualifying will start at 10am. Race-2 of the Coppa Shell is scheduled for 2pm while the Trofeo Pirelli sets off at 4:20pm.
Streaming. Direct will also be provided on the Ferrari Races website (live.ferrari.com), which will offer extensive coverage of the event.