Ferrari Challenge Europe headed to Austria’s Spielberg circuit a few weeks ago, for the season’s third round. Between the Tropheo Pirelli and Coppa Shell classes, over 50 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo cars lined up on the grid for what was a thrilling weekend in very changeable conditions.
While other competitors had the benefit of multiple days testing, diary clashes resulted in both Tom and James having had no running prior to the weekend. Less than ideal, but both are always able to quickly learn a new circuit, pick up the skills required and provide essential feedback to the team.
Race 1
James put in a very impressive qualifying result, putting him 6th in class on the grid for the start of race one. He felt like he had more to give and we were certain this may be his time to pick up his first podium. Having to take avoiding action into turn one at the start, James dropped back 4 places, sadly making a podium unlikely this time. The ‘comeback king’ was on fine form and managed to pull off a series of impressive manoeuvres, the last of which was on the last corner of the last lap to bring him home to finish 5th in the PRO-AM class.
Tom qualified 4th on the grid and managed to steer clear of the first corner incident which forced the pack to scatter to avoid a spinning car. Tom came out the other side of the chaos in P3, and soon managed to build a gap between himself and P4. Another podium and great points haul for Tom’s championship fight in the PRO class.
Following the race, Tom said “It was a tough race, especially for tyre management. Apart from a small collision, I made a good start. In general, I think I can say that the race was challenging for everyone, especially to not exceed the track limits and, because of this, our times were a little higher than usual. Anyway, it’s a positive day, with more points won for my team.”
Race 2
James again qualified 6th in the PRO-AM class for race 2, perhaps now he can bag a podium place… Tom also repeated his race 1 qualifying performance, starting P4. Qualifying, as is now a theme of this years’ championship, was plagued by yellow flags and stoppages, ultimately cutting short both Tom and James’ session with both feeling they could have extracted more from the session.
The heavens opened for race 2, and James started the race from P6 in class but he dropped a few places initially. However, he skillfully picked his way through the pack to return with another 5th place in the PRO-AM class.
Tom made an excellent start from 4th on the grid, immediately making up a place round the outside of the first corner to put himself ahead of former Formula One driver, Adrian Sutil. Tom pushed hard to gain on the car in P2 when the safety car came out due a car in the gravel. On the restart, Tom was again challenging for P2 but try as he may, he couldn’t find a way past. Tom then came under pressure from Sutil, after doing a sterling job to hold him off for several laps, Sutil eventually managed to pass Tom. In the closing stages of the race, Tom kept his tyres fresh and mounted an attack on Sutil to reclaim third. But he just couldn’t quite find a way past to secure that final podium place, so had to settle for 4th. A fantastic performance against a vastly more experienced driver!
James, in his first ever season of racing, currently sits equal 6th in the PRO-AM class, and Tom P2 in the PRO class in his first season of ‘big car’ racing. The fight is on and next up, Le Mans!
Photo Credit: Ferrari
