A dry Snetterton race circuit was the crucible in what proved to be another exciting day of racing action as Race 2 in round three of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli UK series took place at Snetterton today.
Qualifying 2. In Trofeo Pirelli, Gilbert Yates (Charles Hurst) once again showed his skill behind the wheel of his Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo to set a second successive pole, posting a time of 1’52’’302. In Coppa Shell, Gary Redman (Graypaul Nottingham) followed suit and perfected his quickest dry lap to secure a lead time of 1’54’’906.
Trofeo Pirelli. Action quickly followed lights out as the second Race of the weekend commenced. Polesitter Gilbert Yates and Andrew Morrow (Charles Hurst) confidently established themselves in the dry track conditions and pulled away from the rest of the pack. Further down the order, Haymandhra Pillai (Jardine Colchester) applied pressure against a determined Pranav Vangala (HR Owen). The pair battled relentlessly for the duration of the race, before Pillai eventually turned the screw and passed Vangala to reach 3rd position in the order. However, a 5 sec time penalty against Pillai for an earlier indiscretion on Vangala motivated the HR Owen driver, who successfully cleared his Colchester rival with several laps to spare.
Upfront, Gilbert Yates did not suffer from the same tyre temperature issues which saw his car fade in the latter stages of Race 1, and masterfully guided his car to ensure that Morrow was kept firmly in the rear-view mirror. Yates crossed the line to secure his first win of the weekend, with honours even between the pair in a gripping battle for the 2024 Trofeo Pirelli title - with both drivers sitting on 69 points apiece.
Coppa Shell. For the second time this weekend, Robert Rees (Dick Lovett Swindon) propelled himself up the order from 2nd into 1st place before the entrance into turn one. Darren Howell (JCT600 Leeds) also made swift progress, moving from 6th to 3rd before the end of the first lap. Peter Hunter (Stratstone Manchester) was not willing to let Howell get past that easily, and contact following a battle between the pair resulted in an unfortunate puncture for the Manchester driver.
Further back, Mike Dewhirst’s (Dick Lovett Swindon) lap times continued to improve and, with 15 minutes to go, he capitalised on an opportunity to move past Howell and up into the podium places. Confidence abound, Dewhirst kept getting faster and quickly passed a spirited Redman to secure 2nd.
Rees appeared to have done enough to secure the race win, but an invigorated Dewhirst proved otherwise and caught him with just 2 minutes remaining, to bring home his second victory of the weekend in an impressive debut season. Rees leads the Coppa Shell standings on 88 points, with Dewhirst close behind on 77 points.
Next Race. The penultimate round of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli UK series takes place at Donington on Saturday 20 – Sunday 21 July 2024. Qualifying and Race sessions will be broadcast live via live.ferrari.com.