Ferrari Days 2009 Monza

Unfortunately, all the drivers had to deal with extremely bad weather conditions, grey skies and a severe rain, which nevertheless, did not deter the competitive spirits.

The first race of the Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge’s European division grid “A” + “B”, for cars drum and disc braked, was won by Mr. “John B” (#100) behind the wheel of a 1980 Ferrari 512 BB LM, followed by Christian Traber (#101) in a sister-car, and Darius Ahrabian (#111) with an extraordinary F40 LM (1982) in its first year of eligibility. All three cars competed in the “B” Grid.

Christian Traber’s Ferrari 512 BB LM (chassis 35525) was sponsored by European University, and had raced at Le Mans in 1981. Entered by Rennod Racing, it was driven by Jean Xhenceval, Pierre Dieudonné, and Jean-Paul Libert, and finished 9th overall, covering 4370,941 km.

“John B’s” car (chassis 28601) was entered in the 1980 Monza 1000 Kilometres by the Scuderia Supercar Bellancauto. Driven by Spartaco Dini and Fabrizio Violati, it started from the 25th position, but did not finish the race. In the same season, the car was went to Le Mans and was driven by Spartaco Dini, Fabrizio Violati and Maurizio Micangeli. The BB was going well until Dini stuffed it into the Armco, earning it the distinction of becoming the first Ferrari to retire after only 1 hour 18 minutes.

In the same race, Massimo Sordi (#44) won the “A” grid driving the 1957 Maserati 200 SI, followed by Nicolas Zapata (#42) with the 1956 Ferrari 625 TR, and Plinio Haas (#50) with the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta.

On Sunday the final race of the Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge, went to Darius Ahrabian behind the wheel of a 1992 F40 LM, ahead of Swiss Historic and Mister “John B”, both with 1980 Ferrari 512 BB LMs.

In the grid A event, Massimo Sordi won again the race followed by Nicolas Zapata and Ginacarlo Galeazzi (#40) with the Ferrari 500 MD TR (1956).

The next event for the Shell Ferrari Historic Challenge will be held on 27th June at the French track of Le Vigeant.

Italian and European Ferrari Challenge
Trofeo Pirelli and the Coppa Shell

We’d like to remind the reader that the Ferrari F430 Challenge car can achieve 0-60mph in 3.1 seconds, and it can also complete a lap at Fiorano (Ferrari’s test track) in a time comparable to that of the Ferrari Enzo. This car has come to epitomize Ferrari’s philosophy of transferring F1 content to its road cars. The F430 Challenge car uses more technology from Formula One, particularly with regard to the braking system. It uses carbon-ceramic material (CCM). The car also uses an electronic gearbox. This gearbox works exactly as the one used aboard the Grand Prix car, and it offers the same gear-changing times as the road-going F430 (150 ms) in much more extreme track conditions. Unlike a GT car gearbox, it is fitted with its own oil cooler to reduce operating temperatures and prolong the life of the engine under racing conditions. It has a weight of just 1225 kg (excluding fuel). The E-Diff has been replaced by a mechanical differential and the EBD has been replaced with a mechanical system. The Ferrari V8 engine is able to produce 490 hp at 8500 rpm, and the torque is 343 lb ft at 5250 rpm.

The first races of the 2009 season with the F430s, part of the Italian and European Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, began March 28th, at the Monza circuit.

The first race of the Italian Trofeo Pirelli racing series, was won by Nicola Gianniberti, who was driving for the Ineco/Ram Team and was followed by Giorgio Sernagiotto (Motor/Piacenza) and Marco Mapelli (Rossocorsa). In the same event, the Coppa Shell Gentleman Drivers Benedetto Marti (Motor/Piacenza) won the race ahead of Eric Prinoth (Ineco/MP) and Stefano Gai (Rossocorsa).

The race of the Trofeo Pirelli European series was won by the Austrian driver Philipp Baron (Baron Service), followed by the Czech Robert Pergl (Scuderia Praha) and the German Björn Grossmann (Autohaus Gohm). In the Coppa Shell the Hungarian Csaba Spitzmueller (Warm Up) won ahead of the Frenchman Jean-Marc Bachelier (Motor/Piacenza) and his fellow countryman Tibor Valint (Warm Up).

The second race of the Trofeo Pirelli Italian racing series, dedicated to the F430s, was won by Riccardo Ragazzi in a car entered by Scuderia Ineco/MP. Ragazzi won ahead of Giorgio Sernagiotto (Motor/Piacenza) and Marco Mapelli (Rossocorsa). Among the Gentleman Drivers in the Coppa Shell, Benedetto Marti (Motor/Piacenza) gained an excellent double-win ahead of Stefano Gai (Rossocorsa) and Vincenzo Sauto (Ineco/MP).

Meanwhile, in the second run of the European series in the Trofeo Pirelli, Austrian Philipp Baron (Baron Service) confirmed his abilities with a victory ahead of Frenchman Nicolas Misslin (Stradale Automobile) and the German Björn Grossmann (Autohaus Gohm). At last, Csaba Spitzmueller, after winning the first race, won the Coppa Shell, ahead of Tibor Valint (Warm Up) and Frank Gelf (Eberlein Kas).

The European Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli will be back on the track on the weekend of 12th April at the Portuguese Algarve circuit, on the same days as the penultimate race of the A1GP Championship and the F1 Clienti Maranello department’s activities. The Italian series of the single-marques Championship will meet for the second race during the weekend of 3rd May at the Mugello circuit.