The third round of the European Ferrari Challenge was held in Budapest at the Hungaroring.

Both the FF Corse UK dealer entry cars of Sam Smeeth & Chris Froggatt also visited the race podium in their Ferrari 488 challenge cars, during the busy weekend.

Sam Smeeth was the first to achieve a result with a second place finish overall in race 1, having qualified on the front row for his debut at the circuit, despite having limited testing beforehand. In race 2 it was Chris who achieved success with a victory in the AM class, his first in the Ferrari Challenge.

The fourth round of the Ferrari Challenge will held next month at Paul Ricard (France) on July 22nd & 23rd. The races will be streamed live at http://live.ferrari.com/ and can also be seen on the Ferrari YouTube channel.

 

Donington – September 2nd

 

FF Corse drivers continued their winning form at the Donington Britcar round last weekend with Bon Grimes & Charlie Hollings taking two Endurance class wins and the effervescent David Mason & Calum Lockie taking the overall sprint honours.

The results see both driver pairings leading their respective class championships with 3 rounds remaining. 

The next round of the Britcar Championship is at Oulton Park on October 21^st.

Silverstone – September 1st – 3rd

The International GT Open Championship made their annual visit to the UK last weekend at Silverstone, with regular driver pairing of Ivor Dunbar & Johnny Mowlem sharing the FF Corse run Ferrari 488 GT3 for the race event. 

With eleven PRO/PRO entries, this high level European Championship is quickly turning into one of the most competitive GT championships in Europe. The car and team looked quick in practice, running near the top of the time sheets. Ultimately the races proved tough and progress was difficult thereafter. The first race saw both drivers perform well and record a well-deserved finish after 70mins of racing. 

The second race was held in very tricky damp conditions, with the cars running on slicks. Johnny suffered a quick spin on lap one after contact from another car, then performed well to make up places during the first half of the race, before the PRO/PRO combinations made their mark on the increasingly slippery circuit.

 

European Ferrari Challenge

April 26th – 29th 2018

 

In a repeat of last year achievements, Chris Froggatt scored an incredible double victory in the European Ferrari Challenge round at Silverstone this weekend. The victories now leave Chris leading the European AM Class after four of the fourteen races have been completed.

The dominance of the British drivers was backed up with podium finisher Jack Brown. Jack was making his debut in the European Ferrari Challenge. Driving the car in competition for the first time, Jack qualified on pole position for both races and drove a pair of solid races to finish as runner up in both, surely a future star in the making.

Also making his debut in the Ferrari 488 Challenge race was Laki Pantelis. Laki is generally more experienced in the world of classic car racing, having achieved a remarkable over 140+ podiums in various classic marques, including a victory in the recent Goodwood Members Meeting. Laki acquitted himself well with two trouble free runs in the races, despite limited testing and pre-event mileage.

John Sawbridge was back for his second race weekend in the Challenge and drove well in his stunning Sennaesque tribute livery. In the races John finished 4th in the first race and was running fourth in the second race, before losing a place after being hit and spun round in the closing stages.

Laurent de Meeus competing in the Coppa Shell Class, qualified an impressive 5th for race 1 and was racing well before an unfortunate off on the penultimate lap halted any further progress. In the Pirelli Pro-Class Sam Smeeth also achieved a couple of fourth place finishes after a couple of strong drives challenging for the podium.

Silverstone also saw an additional eleven new Ferrari 488 Challenge cars participate with FF Corse in the second round of the Club Challenge programme. The non-competitive track-day activity took place on the Thursday and was a huge success. The number of participants is now close to capacity on the remaining four European track events.

The next round of the Ferrari Challenge Europe and Club Challenge is at the fabulous Spa-Franchorchamps circuit in Belgium in two weeks time (May 10th – 13th).

FF Corse is delighted to announce that Tim Mullen has joined the organisation as Sporting Team Manager.

The Northern Irishman joins the UK’s largest Ferrari race and track-day specialist as part of a restructured leadership team and will be primarily responsible for overseeing race programmes in the GT Cup and Ferrari Challenge Europe.

He joins Team Principal Mark McLoughlin – ex-Business Manager, McLaren GT – and Operational Team Manager Jamie Collins – formerly Carlin’s GP3 Team Manager – with company founder Anthony Cheshire remaining as Managing Director.

Tim is the latest in a series of top-level hires from Silverstone-based FF Corse aimed at strengthening a racing department that has won two Ferrari Challenge Europe Championship titles in the past three seasons and creating a team capable of competing at GT racing’s highest levels in the near future.

Tim brings the experience gained in a long and distinguished career as a professional racing driver, coach and team manager to the Silverstone-based operation.

During a 19-year stint behind the wheel, he claimed the British GT and Formula Vauxhall Junior titles, was a race winner in the International GT Open and was a podium finisher in both the Le Mans 24 Hours and the European Le Mans Series.

A renowned driver coach with CRS during the team’s successful title-winning spell in Formula Renault UK, Tim moved into team management with Garage 59 in 2016 and oversaw numerous victories in the International GT Open and, last year, several class wins in the Blancpain Endurance Cup too.

FF Corse’s race season begins with the opening round of the Ferrari Challenge Europe, at Sakhir, Bahrain, on February 15-17.

Tim Mullen, Sporting Team Manager, said: “I’m excited to join FF Corse as Sporting Team Manager at a time of expansion for this business. When the chance to link up with Mark McLoughlin – who I’ve worked with before – and support him in helping to enhance the already superb reputation the company has established with Ferrari owners in motorsport, I couldn’t say no. There’s a wealth of skill and experience here already and the plan is to really tap into that to help drive things forward and create a team capable of competing against the best internationally. I can’t wait to see how we move forward together.”

Mark McLoughlin, Team Principal, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Tim to the team at FF Corse. As a driver he was someone I knew and respected and as a colleague within manufacturer GT programmes, that respect only grew. He has both the skills and the experience to help drive our race programmes in GT Cup and Ferrari Challenge Europe forwards and to be the bedrock of what we’re creating for the future; a team capable of building on our successes in Ferrari Challenge Europe and becoming a main contender in International-level GT racing. We have several other new members of the team who are joining shortly, which shows how serious we are with this aim, and Tim will be at the centre of this.”

 

We are looking to recruit an experienced motorsport truckie to lead a small team as part of our expanding Ferrari GT Race Programme,

The successful candidate will be a highly motivated individual who can work both as part of a team and on their own initiative responsible for the following:

• Loading of trucks for events (Including Races, Tests & Track days)
• General maintenance of trailers and tractor units, liaising with suppliers as necessary.
• Compliance with VOSA checks ‘PMI’s,  MOT’s, tail lift inspections & weight tests.
• Managing other staff involved in these duties.
• Transporting cars and equipment to events throughout the UK & Europe
• Ensure up-keep of trucks & pit equipment at events & base, including safety certification.
• Participate in garage set-up
• Management of tyres & fuel (at events and at the workshop)
• Ensure company image is maintained at each event
• Ensure vehicles are presented to the highest standard possible
• Work with the wider Engineering & Technical team to continually develop processes both at headquarters and whilst on events
• Plan well to ensure that all logistical movements are achieved within permissible guidelines

This is a full time position reporting to the Team Manager

Please apply with CV and covering letter or email, including salary expectations and required notice period, to [email protected]

FF Corse enjoyed a fantastic start to the Ferrari Challenge Europe season with four podium finishes at the Bahrain International Circuit and the lead of the Coppa Shell Am division.
 
After claiming his maiden victory in Coppa Shell Am (for drivers aged 50 or over) at the final round of the 2018 season, Laurent de Meeus picked up where he left off with a pair of second-place finishes for the Silverstone-based team.
 
The HR Owen driver topped two of Thursday’s five official test sessions and qualified fifth for Saturday’s opener.
 
A rocket start brought him up to second by the end of the opening lap, and with 23 of the race’s final 26 minutes being run behind the safety car, he easily maintained his position to the finish.
 
Sunday’s race was more dramatic. Having climbed to third from his starting spot of sixth, he was turned around by another driver at one-third distance and forced into the pits with damaged right-rear suspension.
 
Lightning repair work by the FF Corse mechanics got him back on-track inside five minutes, and with attrition decimating the Am field on Sunday, the Belgian was able to climb to second by the chequered flag; a result that gave him the championship lead.
 
In Trofeo Pirelli Am; a championship won by FF Corse in 2018, Jack Brown was joined by new team-mate Franck Ruimy in Bahrain, and twice qualified second.
 
After losing ground at the start, Jack quickly made up positions to climb back to second place by the chequered flag. Sunday’s race, however, was altogether more action-packed.
 
Starting eighth on the reversed-grid, the Briton tore through the field; setting the fastest lap of the race and fighting back to secure the runner-up spot. He lies second in the points table.

Franck was an impressive third-fastest in one of Thursday’s test sessions and drove consistently throughout his debut weekend in the Ferrari Challenge.
 
After qualifying his HR Owen – Aerium Ferrari 488 Challenge 11th and 10th, he finished the two races ninth and 10th to leave with 100 per cent reliability record.
 
The next round of both Coppa Shell and Trofeo Pirelli takes place at Valencia, Spain on March 29-31.
 
Laurent de Meeus (HR Owen), said: “I’m so happy with the results this weekend. Two second places were not expected. The races were very chaotic, but somehow I managed to find my position on the track and that was positive. I want to say a huge thank you to the team because after my collision with Corinna Gostner, I had a suspension failure, but they were able to repair it and that meant that instead of stopping, I could finish second, which makes me the leading driver in Coppa Shell Am.”
 
Jack Brown (Graypaul Nottingham), said: Jack: “It’s been a really good weekend. I must have fallen asleep at the start of Race One because I lost a lot of ground, but I overtook a lot of cars during the two races and banked solid points. Having not been in the car since Monza last year, I took a bit of time getting up to speed in the tests, but by Race Two, I was right on it and had fastest lap. My tyres went off a bit towards the end, but by that stage I had a healthy gap over third place and was able to control things. I can’t wait for Valencia, where I’m aiming for my first win.”

Franck Ruimy (HR Owen – Aerium), said: “It’s been a spectacular weekend. I went in with no expectations because previously I’d never raced anything like the Ferrari 488 Challenge, and certainly never anything with this amount of power, but I enjoyed it so much. The team were incredibly friendly, professional and patient with me and this is extremely important because it helped me to build my confidence, and the feedback and technology they use meant I could get updates in real time and put them into practice immediately. This helped me get faster and faster as the weekend went on. The bug has well and truly bitten and I can’t wait for the next event in Spain.” 

Tim Mullen, Sporting Team Manager, said: “It’s been a great way to start the season. To see Laurent, who is growing in confidence race-by-race, leading in Coppa Shell Am, is fantastic. Jack continued where he left off last year and is going to be a serious contender in Trofeo Pirelli Am if his drive in Race Two is anything to go by, and Franck did a consistent job on his first weekend in Ferrari Challenge. Every car finished every race, which shows not only that we’ve prepared them well, but that the drivers have done their job fantastically on-track. I’m especially impressed that the guys were able to get Laurent back on-track after he was hit. Instead of a DNF, that became a podium, and they can be very proud of themselves for that one.”

 

A three-car line-up will propel FF Corse’s charge to win a fourth overall GT Cup title in 2019.

 

The Silverstone-based team claimed both Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships in 2015 to add to the Teams’ title they’d previously achieved two years earlier.

 

Now, with an experienced line-up that includes a British GT title winner and several GT Cup regulars, hopes are high for more silverware this year.

 

David Mason and Ross Wylie line up in one of two Ferrari 488 Challenge cars fielded by FF Corse and are aiming to make it three significant UK titles in a row.

 

A regular race winner in the VW Cup, Ross switched to GT racing in 2014 and achieved instant success by winning the British GT4 Championship at the first attempt.

 

He added the overall Britcar Endurance title in 2017 and, after joining FF Corse, the Britcar Sprint Class 1 crown last year.

 

David was Ross’s partner during his 2018 championship successes with FF Corse and was the British Endurance Champion in 2014 and ‘15 as well as winning class titles in ‘16 and ‘17 with the team.

 

They are joined in a similar vehicle by Laki Christoforu, who is set to take on the series solo.

 

Laki has raced extensively in historic motorsport in GT and touring cars and has competed in contemporary machinery in the GT Cup and Ferrari Challenge Europe.

 

A father-and-son team fill the third entry as ex-British Formula Three Championship racer Graham de Zille teams-up with son Dan to race a Ferrari 458 Challenge.

 

Graham breaks a 25-year lay-off to contest the GT Cup while Dan, who competed in Formula Ford UK and the Porsche Carrera Cup GB has not raced since 2013 himself.

 

A seven-round calendar awaits GT Cup competitors in 2019; beginning and ending at Donington Park

 

The series is of a ‘pro-am’ nature with each weekend comprising a sprint race, and then a longer ‘enduro’ in which the ‘pro’ can partner the main-season driver, on each day.

 

GT Cup Calendar 2019

1 Donington Park – April 13-14

2 Snetterton – May 11-12

3 Silverstone – May 29-30

4 Snetterton – July 27-28

5 Silverstone – August 17-18

6 Brands Hatch – August 31-September 1

7 Donington Park – September 21-22

 

Tim Mullen, Team Manager, said: “It’s exciting to be heading into a new GT Cup season with three cars that I’m sure will be right up there and fighting for the title. In David Mason and Ross Wylie, we have a partnership that is already thriving at this level of motorsport and have to be considered title contenders. Laki is an extremely experienced driver with lots of wins and podiums to his name during his racing career, while having two generations of de Zilles sharing a car adds an extra dynamic. They’re both coming back from racing layoffs, but each one has been a front-runner in a variety of series, so once they’re up to speed, they could be tough to beat.”

 

FF Corse kicked off the GT Cup season with a magnificent double win and eight podium finishes at Donington Park.
 
Laki Christoforou and Adam Carroll won the GTC class in both of the weekend’s 50-minute endurance races while Laki added a pair of solo second-place finishes in the shorter sprint events in a Ferrari 488 Challenge.
 
A dramatic conclusion to Sunday’s pitstop race was the highlight of the weekend.
 
Laki started second and held his position throughout the opening stint, but with a 20-second success penalty applied to his car after its Saturday victory, Adam emerged from the mandatory driver change 21 seconds off the lead with half the race to go.
 
The former IndyCar and Formula E racer’s relentless charged paid off as he set the fastest lap and snatched the top spot with four minutes left to complete the double victory; one that put the pair second in the GTC points table for the Silverstone-based team.
 
Graham de Zille, making his racing comeback after a 26-year layoff, claimed a perfect sweep of third-place finishes; often battling with cars from faster categories.
 
With son Dan, his full-season co-driver, unavailable to race, 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 winner Matt Howson was drafted in at short notice to share the 458 Challenge car in the pitstop races; with four visits to the podium the result.

Richard Guy began the weekend in the GTO category in his Ferrari 458 GT3; qualifying seventh and advancing to sixth in Saturday’s sprint, but an engine issue stopped him before the end of the pitstop race and left him classified eighth.

He switched to a GTC-class 488 Challenge for Sunday and finished fourth in both races.
 
The next round of the GT Cup takes place at Snetterton, Norfolk, on May 11-12.
 
Laki Christoforou said: “It’s been a pretty perfect weekend. Two wins, two seconds and the car didn’t miss a beat all weekend. Although I have a lot of experience in historic racing, I’d never raced a modern car before last year and I’m still learning the style of driving more aggressively, but together with Adam, I think we made a very strong team. My laptimes were getting faster as the weekend progressed and I definitely felt the most comfortable by the last race. It’s a great way to start the season and lay the foundations for a championship challenge.”
 
Adam Carroll said: “It’s always good to get a couple of wins under your belt to start the season and this weekend we definitely had a strong package to help us achieve this. The second enduro was tough because of the success time we had to spend in the pits after winning on Saturday, and that meant I had to really knuckle down to catch the Lamborghini ahead of me, but we did it and it’s a fantastic start to the season. Laki did a great job and you could see how much more comfortable and confident he was by the end of Sunday. I think we can have a very good season.”
 
Graham de Zille said: “I really couldn’t have asked for more. This was my first race since 1993, so to come home with four podiums makes me very happy. Unfortunately Dan [de Zille] wasn’t available this weekend to share the car with me so we had to call Matt in at short notice, but together we worked well as a pair. Neither of us had raced this car before so we had to play with the set-up to get it how we wanted it and by the end I was able to get my laptimes down to somewhere around 1.5 seconds off him, which I’m more than happy with. I can’t wait for the next event now.”
 
Matt Howson said: “It’s been nice to race a Ferrari for the first time as it’s one of those cars you always want to race when you’re a kid, and brilliant to have the chance to race with Graham. I’ve known him for almost 10 years, having coached his son, Dan, and when it became clear Dan couldn’t race this weekend, I was happy to step in. FF Corse provide an extremely professional environment for a driver like Graham and together we worked to bring his laptimes down to about 1.5 seconds off mine, which was half what it had been on Saturday morning. To end up with two trophies for myself and four for Graham was absolutely a case of mission accomplished.”
 
Richard Guy said: “The weekend’s been absolutely fantastic, and FF Corse have been wonderful, as usual. I’d never raced the GT3 before, so I was hugely looking forward to getting to grips with it, and I definitely felt more comfortable as Saturday went on. Unfortunately we had a technical issue, so I switched to the 488 for Sunday and I certainly felt more comfortable with it because I’d had previous experience last year, and I was pretty happy with my laptimes in the longer race. I’m certainly planning some more rounds with the GT3 for the remainder of the year.”
 
Tim Mullen, Sporting Manager, said: “I’m delighted with the way we’ve started the season. Two wins, eight podiums and not a scratch on any of the cars from four races is a terrific return for the drivers and team, who have all worked so hard over the winter across our various race programmes. Seeing the way Laki, Graham and Richard really grew in confidence over the weekend was brilliant and is exactly what we aim to do by bringing in professional drivers like Adam and Matt. You could see how the laptimes improved for everyone that they’re going to give it their all this year. Unfortunately Richard had a technical issue with the GT3, but the guys were quick on the case, went back to HQ to get his Challenge car and he finished fourth in both races on Sunday. A great effort from everyone.”

 

FF Corse reigned supreme at Valencia as Jack Brown conquered torrential weather conditions to claim his first Trofeo Pirelli Am victory in the Ferrari Challenge Europe.
 
The British driver’s success, which followed two class pole positions, was backed up by a career-best fifth place in the same race by team-mate Franck Ruimy, and by Laurent de Meeus consolidating his Am points lead in the Coppa Shell.
 
Arriving at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo off the back of a pair of second-place finishes at the season-opener in Bahrain, Graypaul Nottingham driver Jack hit his stride in time for a dry Saturday morning qualifying, in which he qualified as fastest Am driver.
 
Relegated to fifth in class on the grid as a result of performance handicapping given to the top scorers at the previous event, he finished third after an entertaining eight-way fight for victory that featured some impressive passing moves.
 
Again setting the pace in Sunday’s wet qualifying session, Jack simply drove away from his rivals, showed extreme mental resolve to hold firm when several safety-car periods wiped out his advantage, and claimed his maiden victory.
 
Team-mate Franck Ruimy, taking part in only his second Ferrari Challenge Europe event, belied his lack of experience with the 488 Challenge car to fight his way from ninth on the grid to a career-best fifth in the race.
 
The HR Owen – Aerium driver retired the previous day when he was driven into by a Pro car he was fighting with and suffered broken right-front suspension.
 
Laurent de Meeus maintained his lead of the Coppa Shell Am points table with a hard-fought second place on a wet Sunday.
 
The Belgian, who twice claimed the runner-up spot in Bahrain, made it three podiums from four races with a strong drive from fourth on the grid in the treacherous conditions. The HR Owen driver had taken fourth place in Saturday’s dry race.
 
He holds an eight-point lead in the standings while Jack and Franck lie second and 10th in the Trofeo Pirelli Am table.
 
The next event takes place at the Red Bull Ring, Austria, on May 3-5.
 
Jack Brown, Graypaul Nottingham, said: “It’s such a relief to finally get the first win. It’s been coming for a while and I knew we had the speed to do it after qualifying on pole for the second race. The wet conditions were really tough, but the team gave me a great car, I was able to restart well after the safety-car periods and it just came. I’d been disappointed after Race One because we had much better pace than the cars we were chasing in the dry, but the nature of Valencia, with its switchbacks, means if you try a move and it doesn’t work, you’re instantly exposed to an attack from behind and I got shuffled back. The aim, naturally, is to keep on winning and close down the gap to the points leader. Of course I’ll take a grid penalty in Austria because of my win here, but it’s a track with good overtaking possibilities, so let’s see what we can do.”
 
Franck Ruimy, HR Owen – Aerium, said: “This weekend has been a superb experience. Before the start of this season, my entire race career was two Fun Cup races at Spa, so to get a top-five finish in only my second ‘proper’ event, feels amazing. The weather was great until Sunday and FF Corse have done an amazing job in helping me develop my skills and improve my confidence behind the wheel. That made a real difference today as when the rain came, I had the belief that I could be faster than the cars in front, and I was able to come through the order from an early spin and score some really good points. It made up for the disappointment of Saturday, when I was going strongly when I just got hit by another driver, which broke the car. I want the next round to be tomorrow so I don’t have to wait so long to get back in the car!”
 
Laurent de Meeus, HR Owen, said: “Valencia; beautiful city, beautiful track. It’s actually quite a technical track with lots of very difficult corners to negotiate. The rain on Sunday turned a very difficult track into a very, very difficult track, but I managed to stay clear of trouble and drove on to a third podium from four races this season. That’s a great result for me and keeps me at the head of the championship, but there’s a long way still to go and a lot of work still to do. I’m looking forward to our trip to the Red Bull Ring.”
 
Tim Mullen, Sporting Team Manager, said: “It’s been a very good weekend for us. Jack’s first win has been coming for quite some time and he thoroughly deserves to be on the top step of the podium. Franck also did a very good job; recovering from a spin in the wet to finish in the top five for the first time. This result will be a big boost for his confidence. Laurent drove very well in the Coppa Shell races; especially on Sunday where the track conditions were extremely difficult and caught out many other drivers, and he deservedly leads the championship. Thanks to everyone on the team for their efforts.”