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.”
