In its thirtieth year, the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe returns to the Hungaroring track this weekend for the third round of the season. Fifty Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo cars will battle it out on the circuit just a few miles from the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Trofeo Pirelli. In the premier class, the head-to-head between Doriane Pin (Scuderia Niki – Iron Lynx) and John Wartique (FML – D2P) will continue, with the Frenchwoman leading the general standings, seven points ahead of the Belgian. Finland’s Luka Nurmi (Formula Racing) lies further back, 13 lengths from the top. We should also mention Eliseo Donno’s debut for CDP – Best Lap. The driver, born in 2005, won the Italian Karting Championship 2021 in the Senior Rok category. In the Trofeo Pirelli Am, Ange Barde (SF Côte d’Azur Cannes – IB FAST) significantly extended his lead in the overall standings to 67 points with a one-two on his home circuit. Marco Pulcini (Al Tayer Motors) and reigning world champion Christian Brunsborg (Formula Racing) follow in second place with 35 points and will try to pick up the pace after an imperfect start to the season.
Coppa Shell. The Coppa Shell battle is even more heated, with Axel Sartingen (Lueg Sportivo – Herter Racing) ahead of Franz Engstler (Scuderia GT) by just one point. Manuela Gostner (CDP – MP Racing) is third after returning to the podium in France with second place in Race-2. After a victory and third place at Le Castellet, Roman Ziemian (FML – D2P) will attempt to continue his comeback. He is now in fourth, six points behind the Italian. Joakim Olander (Scuderia Autoropa) leads the Am class, the most crowded category with eighteen entries, following his victory and third place at the Paul Ricard. Peter Christensen (Formula Racing), the winner of Race-2, and Alexander Nussbaumer (Gohm Motorsport – Herter Racing), currently paired eight lengths behind the Swede, will battle for the lead. The class also features the arrival of Christian Herdt-Wipper (Saggio München) from the Coppa Shell.
30 years. The Ferrari Challenge’s thirtieth-anniversary celebrations continue with the special exhibition of cars that have competed in the Maranello one-make series. In Budapest, the Ferrari 360 Challenge, used from 2000 to 2005, will steal the show. The car comes with an eight-cylinder engine with a maximum power output of 400 hp, the same as the standard road car, but incorporating several modifications designed to radically improve performance in track use. Just over 300 examples of the 360 Challenge were produced for the one-make series and various FIA championships, using standard mechanical parts, but with its weight reduced to 1,170 kg (120 less than the standard 360 Modena), and with a top speed of over 295 km/h.
Programme. Round three of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli will kick off on Friday, 17 June, with free practice sessions, followed on Saturday 14th with Trofeo Pirelli qualifying, starting at 9am. Race-1 gets going at 1.30pm. Coppa Shell qualifying will begin at 11:40am and the Am at 12:10pm. The lights go out for the race at 4pm. On Sunday the programme and times are the same as Saturday. Qualifying and the races will be broadcast live with English-language commentary on Ferrari’s YouTube channel.