Ludwig and Gostner triumph in Portimão

At the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, on the first day of racing for the fourth round of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe, Luca Ludwig (MERTEL Motorsport) clinched a narrow victory in the Trofeo Pirelli, while Manuela Gostner (Ineco Reparto Corse RAM) secured the win in the Coppa Shell.

In the Trofeo Pirelli Am, Claus Zibrandtsen (Formula Racing) emerged victorious, and Zois Skrimpias (Ineco – Reparto Corse Ram) took the win in the Coppa Shell Am. Meanwhile, Fabrizio Fontana (Formula Racing) triumphed in the Trofeo Pirelli 488.

Present at the Portimão circuit as Race Advisor was Miguel Molina, official Ferrari driver and recent winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Hypercar 499P alongside Nicklas Nielsen and Antonio Fuoco.

Trofeo Pirelli. Luca Ludwig celebrated his first victory of the season, climbing onto the top step of the podium after finishing third and second at Jerez, triumphing over pole-sitter Giacomo Altoè (Emil Frey Racing), who recorded the fastest lap in qualifying with a time of 1’41”901. The decisive moment came at the restart following a Safety Car incursion, which was deployed after Dylan Medler (Pellin Racing) went off-track without any major consequences. The German moved into the slipstream behind Altoè before completing the crucial overtake and held onto the lead until the chequered flag. Ludwig also earned the bonus point for the fastest lap in the race with a time of 1’42”997, while Philipp Baron (Gohm Motorsport – Baron Racing Team) secured third place behind Altoè.

The Trofeo Pirelli Am featured thrilling duels, culminating in Claus Zibrandtsen’s second consecutive triumph. Starting from pole position, Zibrandtsen briefly relinquished the lead to Andrew Morrow (Charles Hurst) for a few laps. However, the Danish driver fought back to reclaim the top spot and crossed the line first, also achieving the fastest lap of the class. Hendrik Viol (Scuderia Praha Racing) took third place to complete the podium.

Coppa Shell. Manuela Gostner made it two wins in a row following her victory at Jerez. She delivered a determined performance, starting from pole position after setting a qualifying time of 1’43”439 in the morning. Gostner narrowly clinched victory ahead of Henry Hassid (Kessel Racing) and John Dhillon (Graypaul Nottingham) in a tight finish.

The race saw a red flag early on, caused by an incident at the start that fortunately left the drivers unharmed. Following the restart, the leading trio engaged in a prolonged battle. Ultimately, Gostner's skillful defence held off Hassid, who posted the fastest lap of the race at 1’45”237 to finish runner-up, while Dhillon secured third place.

A fiercely contested battle up to the chequered flag in the Coppa Shell Am saw Zois Skrimpias edge out Eric Cheung (Formula Racing), who started from pole position. The Greek driver, having reached the head of the race, successfully fended off Cheung's overtaking attempts, securing his fourth win of the season. Jan Sandmann (Kessel Racing) took the third step of the podium, setting the fastest lap of the class with a time of 1’45”593.

Trofeo Pirelli 488. Fabrizio Fontana achieved another triumph in the class dedicated to drivers at the wheel of the 488 Challenge Evo. Starting from pole position, Fontana not only clinched victory but also recorded the fastest lap of the race. Tommy Lindroth (Gohm Motorsport – Baron Racing Team) finished in second place, while Aleksei Komarov (Scuderia Praha Racing) secured his first podium of the season, crossing the line in third.

Programme. Sunday, 7 July will see a repeat of the first day’s schedule. The qualifying sessions begin at 9 a.m. with Coppa Shell Am, followed by Trofeo Pirelli and Trofeo Pirelli Am at 10 a.m., Trofeo Pirelli 488 at 10.45 a.m., and finally Coppa Shell at 11.15 a.m. The second races of the weekend will start at 2 p.m. with Coppa Shell Am, 3.15 p.m. for Trofeo Pirelli and Trofeo Pirelli Am, and conclude with Coppa Shell and Trofeo Pirelli 488 at 4.30 p.m.