Finali Mondiali Mugello Race Report

Wednesday – Ferrari Challenge Europe Round 7 Qualifying

In wet conditions, Tom secured double-pole in qualifying by setting the fastest and second-fastest times, meaning he would start from the front of the field for both Thursday’s and Friday’s races. James would start from 15th overall for both races, a solid qualifying result on the 37 car grid.

Thursday – Ferrari Challenge Europe Round 7 Race 1

Again, the Italian weather was not so kind on Thursday although the conditions suited Tom as he managed to get away at the front and open up a gap to second place within a few corners. Unfortunately, the wet weather also caused a few cars to spin; James was tangled up in an incident on the opening lap which prematurely ended his race due to damage. Tom rapidly extended his advantage but this was eradicated again with the appearance of the safety car. Tom made an excellent job of the restart and quickly opened up a gap to second place once again; with just 7 minutes remaining Tom had a 10 second advantage but the safety car was called out again, meaning that Tom’s hard work was undone once more. The safety car pulled in with just 1 lap remaining and it was ex Formula 1 driver Adrian Sutil hot on his tail. After swapping paint for a few corners, Sutil managed to gain the advantage on track and Donno, who had been running in third, followed him through, dropping Tom down to 3rd place.Donno’s points haul was sufficient to seal the drivers’ championship for 2023 meaning Tom finished second overall – a fantastic achievement in his debut season!

Friday – Ferrari Challenge Europe Round 7 Race 2

Determined to put the disappointment of Thursday behind him, Tom once again started from the front of the grid for Friday’s race and pulled out a 7 second lead during the first half of the race. Unfortunately, it was to be his team mate, James, who would bring out the safety car with 13 minutes remaining, after spinning out and becoming beached in the gravel trap. Tom once again found his mirrors full of Adrian Sutil, but he kept calm under the immense pressure and nailed the restart. The race came a slightly bizarre premature end by being red-flagged on the final lap, due to debris on the track which turned out the be banner that had broken loose in the windy conditions. This sealed the win for Tom – a wonderful way to round off the season by standing on the top step of the podium!

Saturday – Finali Mondiali Qualifying and Superpole

Saturday’s Superpole qualifying consisted of two sessions, where the top six from the first session went through to the second session in a bid to set the fastest time. Tom topped the timesheets in the second session, putting him on pole for Sunday’s race. James also put in a sterling effort, qualifying 17th overall on the 37-car grid, and 8th in class.

Sunday – WORLD FINAL

The race got off to a dramatic start with Tom being sandwiched and squeezed down to third position going into the first corner, but he managed to get the switchback and regain the lead coming out of the corner. There were then three separate incidents further down the field, resulting in a total of five cars finding themselves in the gravel or the barriers. Thankfully James made it through unscathed. After a few laps behind the safety car, the red flag was brought out to allow the marshals time to repair the barriers. After 40 minutes in pitlane awaiting the restart, the cars returned to the track behind the safety car once more, and Tom once again managed the restart perfectly to maintain the lead. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards the safety car was called out yet again, meaning the pressure was on for Tom to produce yet another superlative restart, which he did successfully. Whilst all of this was going on, James was putting in a sensational drive to avoid all the chaos occurring around him and climb up to 9th place overall. Astonishingly, with just under 7 minutes remaining, the safety car was brought out for a fourth time. Following yet another perfect restart, Tom had to keep the field behind him for 2 nail-biting laps to the chequered flag. Tom and the team could finally breathe a massive sigh of relief when Tom took the chequered flag to emerge victorious and become Ferrari Challenge World Champion! James put in an incredibly impressive drive to maintain 9th place overall following the restarts, meaning he rounded off his season with a hard-fought 4th in class.

The FF Corse team are incredibly proud of what James and Tom have both achieved in their debut season in car racing, having obtained their race licenses just a matter weeks before the season started. James had no previous racing experience of any sort, and yet he has consistently managed to finish ahead of far more experienced drivers, giving him a really solid foundation to head into the 2024 season with. Tom had raced karts previously, but has quickly adapted to his 488 and shown the motorsport world that he means business.

In our only two appearances at the World Finals, FF Corse has emerged victorious on both occasions! Our previous triumph was in 2019 with Adam Carroll behind the wheel.

We would like to thank the sponsors, our team members and our extended FF Corse family for all their support, and we can’t wait to do it all again next year!

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2023 World Champions!

After a hard-fought and intense race, FF Corse won the Finali Mondiali in Mugello this weekend to become the 2023 Trofeo Pirelli Ferrari Challenge World Champion!

After securing SuperPole on Saturday, Tom Fleming held the lead throughout the race to clinch a resounding victory, despite multiple safety car restarts.

The FF Corse team are incredibly proud of Tom’s achievement, making it the second time in the last two attempts that an FF Corse driver has lifted the coveted title.

And so, that’s the 2023 Ferrari Challenge season over. What we have achieved this year with James Owen and Thomas Fleming is remarkable. A little over 12 months ago, neither even had their race licences and just 3 weeks before the first round of Ferrari Challenge they were eligible to race. We’ve been through Mazda MX5s, Radicals, Porsche Boxsters, been from Anglesey and Mallory Park to Spa Francorchamps and Le Mans.

Their respective journeys have been so impressive and we thank them for their support, guidance, trust and faith in the team. They have made us better and they have done us proud. Tom and James, you are part of your team and we’ve loved every minute. Thank you. And thank you to all their family, friends and sponsors for the continued support of them and the team throughout.

And also we thank every member of the FF Corse team that took us through the season from those back at base keeping it all running smoothly to those who have spent many late nights and early mornings, doing their absolute best for Tom and James. It’s been emotional. Let’s go again. Forza!

Come and join us in 2024 in the new 296 Challenge!

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Finali Mondiali at Mugello

24th – 29th October – Finali Mondiali

The Ferrari World Final is a spectacular event to close the season, featuring the final round of Challenge Europe. The World Finals sees the Challenge Championships from each continent come together for Finali Mondiali, a one off race, to see who will be crowned World Champion.

In Trofeo Pirelli, Tom Fleming is currently sitting in 2nd place in the PRO championship standings, just 19 points behind the leader. A fantastic performance in his rookie season of car racing, having made the switch from karts. James Owen, also displaying his natural talent in his rookie season of racing with no previous experience under his belt, is currently 4th in the PRO-AM class championship standings, just 10 points behind 3rd place.

The two races of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe and North America will run on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th; Qualifying takes place on Saturday 28th, along with the new Superpole format to decide the starting grid for the Finali Mondiali, which will run on the morning of Sunday 29th, before the Ferrari Show.

Mugello once again hosts the big Ferrari event two years after the last Tuscan edition. Besides the 100 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evos entered in the racing competition, the programme includes the activities of the XX Programme, for cars not homologated for road use that are true technology laboratories, and F1 Clienti, which brings back on the track the single-seaters that competed in the World Championship with Scuderia Ferrari from the 1970s to the hybrid era. The two programmes include 57 and 19 cars, respectively, making 76 cars on the track, the highest number ever recorded for this event.

Thirty-nine production derivatives will feature in Club Competizioni GT, open to GT racing cars of the last thirty years, plus a model such as the 488 GT Modificata created specifically for this programme. All are due at Mugello in an event that also includes Club Challenge activities.

As usual, the Finali Mondiali Ferrari provides a unique opportunity to discover first-hand the latest additions to the road range, thanks to the static display of the Maranello manufacturer’s current models, and to celebrate success on the track.

After all, 2023 has already entered the history of the company founded in 1947 thanks to the overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Nürburgring with two cars, the Hypercar 499P – presented during the 2022 Finali Mondiali – and the 296 GT3, both of which will be on display in the paddock.