A beautiful day at Sonoma Raceway brought even better racing for Ferrari Challenge North America, concluding the series’ final West Coast swing of the season.
With a combination of first-time winners and incidents for championship contenders, the year continues to wind down in exciting fashion across all classes for Ferrari Challenge.
Trofeo Pirelli. After entering the weekend tied in the Trofeo Pirelli championship, Roberto Perrina (Ferrari of Seattle) sealed an advantage by winning Race 2 at Sonoma. Perrina leapt at the green flag and raced without a challenge to the victory. Despite the success, his rival Dylan Medier (The Collection) finished close behind in second place, with Matias Perez Companc (Ferrari of Central Florida) finishing third and maintaining third in the championship as well.
In Trofeo Pirelli Am, Brian Cook made it a double win for the Ferrari of Seattle team by winning his fifth race of the year and first of the weekend at Sonoma. It was not without pressure, however, as Brad Fauvre (Ferrari of San Francisco) finished within half a second of Cook and scored his best finish of the season, even after a fiery incident in qualifying on Friday. John Horejsi (Ferrari of Vancouver) climbed six places from the start to finish third.
Coppa Shell. Starting second, Yahn Bernier (Ferrari of Seattle) happened into the right place at the right time for a second consecutive race, resulting in a Coppa Shell weekend sweep. After the two leading cars went off track in front of his Ferrari 296 Challenge on Saturday, it was nearly identical on Sunday with polesitter Robert McWilliams (Ferrari of Washington) having a solo spin on Lap 2. Bernier inherited the top spot and finished ahead of John Viskup (Boardwalk Ferrari) and Rey Acosta (The Collection) in second and third, respectively.
After consecutive runner-up finishes in Coppa Shell Am, Jerri Walters (Ferrari of Vancouver) finally reached the top step of the podium for the first time this season. She made an expert pass with 10 minutes remaining on polesitter and championship leader Roger Monteforte (Ferrari of Central New Jersey), who found himself also in a solo spin in the closing laps while trying to regain the lead. As a result, Steve Check (Ferrari of Rancho Mirage) and Melissa Kozyra (Ferrari of Naples) completed the class podium.
488 Challenge Evo. The undefeated victory streak by Massimo Perrina (Ferrari of Seattle) came to a halt on Sunday, after he started first but was overtaken at the start by Titus Sherlock (Wide World Ferrari) and was then collected on a first lap collision that dropped him down the leaderboard. Sherlock, in his second race of the season, went on for the win after finishing third on Saturday.
Perrina’s rebound efforts towards the podium appeared strong, climbing to third before a brief off-track excursion moved him to fifth and ultimately fourth at the checkered flag. Grey Fauvre (Ferrari of San Francisco) followed Sherlock with a second-place finish, his best of the season, while Michael Porter (Ferrari of Seattle) held off Perrina for his first podium of 2024.
Once again in the Coppa Shell class, it was a last-minute showdown for the win. Matthew Dalton (Ferrari of Long Island) started from the pole position but was pushed aside in the Trofeo Pirelli incident at the start. He trailed Gerdas Venslovas (Continental AutoSports) in the closing laps, and was primed for the lead when Venslovas spun on his own on the penultimate lap. While Venslovas collected his Ferrari quick enough for second place, it was Enoch Hurd (Ferrari of Atlanta) completing the podium.
Up Next. Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts the next round of Ferrari Challenge North America, which marks the finale for the 488 Challenge Evo classes and the penultimate event for the 296 Challenge classes.
The round is set for September 11 – 15 at the Racing Capital of the World and all races, including replays from this weekend in Sonoma, are available on the Ferrari YouTube channel.