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.”
