Despite the threat of rain, the 488 Challenge Evo cars of the Ferrari Challenge UK were able to take advantage of a dry race from the first lap to the last and the spectacle was not lacking. We gathered comments from the protagonists at the end of the first race of the weekend at Snetterton.
H. Sikkens, first place, Trofeo Pirelli: "I am very happy to have won, Lucky is very fast and has kept me behind on several occasions in recent years so it is nice to be in this position at least once. I really like this track, I feel good here and it seems that the work in the simulator has paid off".
Lucky Khera, runner-up in the Trofeo Pirelli: "I struggled and didn't really have the pace, I was missing at least half a second a lap to chase down Sikkens. The start was good, but it was not enough, today he had more, but tomorrow I hope I can fight for the victory".
Andrew Morrow, third place Trofeo Pirelli: “It was a really hard race, I got by Graham early on, I was faster but once I got by it was hard staying there - it is easier following than it is being out in front. He never gave up, right to the end. It was a tight battle right to the last lap, but thankfully I made it”.
Jason Ambrose, first Coppa Shell winner: "I am over the moon after this win, although I know there are a few things I still need to work on to further improve my performance. Jamie and David are helping me to understand how to adapt better to the speed, but I am very happy. Sikkens is definitely the hero of the day, but I think I am the second one who can aspire to this role".
Jonathan Satchell, Coppa Shell runner-up: "I made a good start, unlike Oulton Park, a gap was created in front of me, I made the most of it and then managed to defend my position. At that point I created a bit of a margin over Simmerson and Rogers and was able to concentrate on my race pace, which was a lot of fun. It was a good day and the result is the right reward for that".
Paul Simmerson, third place Coppa Shell: "It was a tough race to be honest, I’ve got to say that Paul Rogers kept it really clean behind me, he was pushing me all the way really hard. There were a couple of times he dived up the inside. Once he actually over took me, but then he overcooked it so I doubled back and undercut him on the inside. I think at one point neither of us had any mirrors, mine got pushed in at the start. I had a good start, Paul got bogged down at the start and I drove down to gap on the outside. It was quickly closing and I overtook him with two wheels off the grass down the straight! But it was a really tough race, I wasn’t too bothered about those in front, I was bothered about keeping Rogers behind me”.