Ferrari Challenge continued its North American season at Road Atlanta for the third weekend of the 2023 season. After a weekend of cool and cloudy skies, Sunday was characterized by a notable increase in temperature and humidity as the sun broke through to illuminate the undulating and demanding circuit.
Trofeo Pirelli. Matt Kurzejewski (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) secured his second win of the weekend, surging past pole sitter Jason McCarthy (Wide World Ferrari) in the opening laps of the 30-minute contest. McCarthy was under notable pressure from Kurzejewski in the early phases of the race and also seemed to incur more tire wear than those behind him, but an essential mistake in the essess section ended up as the critical moment as he was well off the pace for the following few corners and Kurzejewski eased by. McCarthy did a good job from there, however, to hold off Dylan Medler (The Collection) who ultimately finished third, his second trip to the podium of the weekend and third for the season to date. In the Am category, Justin Rothberg (Ferrari of Palm Beach) secured the win ahead of Chuck Whittall (Ferrari of Central Florida) and John Horejsi (Ferrari of Vancouver) in third. Rothberg was largely unchallenged, winning by nearly 30 seconds at the end of the contest, but further back was an all out scrap as drivers tried to hold off the aggressors behind, to varying degrees of success. At the checkered flag, it was Whittall with two tenths over Horejsi.
Coppa Shell. David Voronin (Foreign Cars Italia) secured his second win of the weekend and of his career, once again leading Cameron Root (Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo) to the line after thirty minutes of racing. In the thirty minute contest, only twenty minutes were held under green flag conditions as a late spin into the gravel for Jerri Walters (Ferrari of Vancouver) brought out the safety car, which would ultimately take the field to the checkered flag. Root started on pole, but Voronin was able to eek by as the dual again included brief appearances from lapped traffic that largely avoided interrupting the heated battle at the front. Sureel Choksi (Ferrari of Denver) secured the third spot on the podium, after his own race-long battles. The result is sure to influence the championship standings as Voronin had previously sat third, nearly twenty points behind Root and five behind Choksi, though that gap will have closed on the back of this result. In Shell AM, it was Roger Monteforte (Ferrari of Central New Jersey) taking his first win of the 2023 season after his fine run to third in yesterday’s race. He was followed by yesterday’s race winner, Lance Cawley (Ferrari of Atlanta) who has proven to be at the sharp end of the Coppa Shell AM category grid. Jeff Nunberg (Ferrari of Central New Jersey) also made a return to the podium after last enjoying the champagne in Austin.
Schedule. The Ferrari Challenge championship continues at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in support of the Grand Prix of Canada, on June 16-18.