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Added on the 07/02/2018 14:24:55 - Copyright : Cycling news
The 2021 season of Ferrari Challenge North America is set to begin this weekend at Virginia International Raceway. A full paddock of over 50 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evos will be joined by participants in the Club Competizioni GT, also making its first stop of the 2021 season, at a circuit that makes its first appearance on a Challenge schedule since 2007.The paddock in Virginia is full of Ferrari, most notably the 40 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evos that are set to compete in the weekend’s races. The grid is set with an exciting mix of familiar faces and new names who will do battle over the circuit’s challenging 3.27 mile layout. Notable returnees include all of the 2020 North American champions. Cooper MacNeil (Ferrari of Westlake) makes his return and another run at the Trofeo Pirelli class championship, while Dave Musial (Ferrari of Lake Forest) will challenge for supremacy in the Trofeo Pirelli AM-1 category. Brad Horstmann (Foreign Cars Italia), fresh off securing his championship at Misano earlier in March will be in the middle of a very competitive Trofeo Pirelli AM-2 category that also includes the 2020 Coppa Shell AM champion Justin Wetherill (Ferrari of Central Florida).
Fans of endurance racing have rarely had so much time to look forward to the 24 Hours of Le Mans as they have this year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the French classic was moved from its traditional mid-June date to 19/20 September.There has only been one other delayed start in the almost 100-year history of the race: in 1968, the Le Mans 24-hour race was contested on 28/29 September due to ongoing unrest in Paris. The postponement of the race also has wide-reaching consequences for the Porsche GT Team. This includes changes to the schedule as well as the waiving of popular fan events such as the technical scrutineering in the town square and the drivers’ parade the day before the start.In mid-June around the summer solstice (20 June), the days are longest in the northern hemisphere. On the originally planned date for the 88th edition of the endurance race on 13/14 June, the vehicles would have driven in darkness for only 8.02 hours. On the new September date, the sun will set on the Saturday evening at 20:01. The first rays of light will appear on the Sunday morning at 07:44 – which means that the period of darkness is almost four hours longer than it would have been shortly before the official start of summer. In the fight twice around the clock on the Circuit des 24 Heures, teams will spend only around 12 hours in daylight.
Perfect weekend for Thomas Neubauer who scooped two pole positions and two wins in the Trofeo Pirelli. In Am class, a win in Race 2 for Frederik Paulsen.
Roger Grouwels and “Alex Fox” claimed the victories in Race 2 of Coppa Shell held this afternoon on the Barcelona circuit. A spectacular thrill-filled race full of overtaking which, once again, reshuffles the tight general standings.
The second round of the Ferrari Challenge APAC series at Sepang International Circuit came to a close under very hot and sunny conditions with track temperatures at a high of 45.5 degree Celsius. The 20 drivers in the field once again showcased great driving skills during an eventful Race 2.
Stage 2 brought major excitement early in the Dakar, thanks to a ding-dong battle amongst the leaders. In the end, however, it was Sebastien Loeb (Peugeot) who posted the fastest time, some 8 seconds faster than MINI’s Nani Roma. However, the biggest gains were made by Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (302) and Bernhard ten Brinke/Xavier Panseri (309).Ten Brinke/Panseri started the day in 8th position, but set about the task of completing the 342 km-long stage between Pisco and San Juan de Marcona with surgical precision. The Dutch driver brought his Toyota Hilux home just 01:20 behind the winner, moving into second position in the overall standings as a result.De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz, however, find themselves in the lead of the Dakar Rally after posting the 4th-fastest time on Stage 2, just 11 seconds behind teammates Ten Brinke/Panseri. This, together with their good performance on Stage 1, sees them topping the overall standings, 28 seconds ahead of Ten Brinke/Panseri in second place.Winners of Stage 1, Nasser Al Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel, finished Stage 2 in the tenth-fastest time after having to open the road. This turned out to be extremely tricky in the thick sand and fine dust, and the pair were happy to restrict their time loss to 07:37 on the day. On the flip-side this means they will be the tenth car on the road for Stage 3 – an ideal position from which to attack.
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