Ferrari Challenge North America - A perfect day for Mancinelli, Johnson and Keegan

Homestead, 5 November 2016 – It was a Saturday to remember at the Ferrari Racing Days in Homestead, where the first two races of the penultimate round of the Ferrari Challenge North America were held. The races, which were full of exciting and audacious overtakes, left the three remaining championship races wide open, with just the two races on Sunday and the World Finals to wait for at the end of the season.   Trofeo Pirelli. The Trofeo Pirelli race, held under the hot Miami sun, saw the guest stars of the weekend take centre stage. The overall victory went to Daniel Mancinelli, who was replacing the injured Gregory Romanelli in this event. The Italian driver for The Collection, who had already taken part in the Italian GT Championship in the 488 GT3 by Easy Race, put paid to the competition by winning ahead of the two drivers starting this weekend for Ferrari of Beverly Hills (Scuderia Corsa) team, Cooper MacNeil, and the fresh Pirelli World Challenge GTA champion Martin Fuentes. Kauffmann (Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale), the leader in class, only managed to secure fifth place, after a race that was blighted by a number of issues from the very start. The Venezuelan driver, aided by the withdrawal of Emmanuel Anassis, is still leading the standings.   Trofeo Pirelli Am. The Trofeo Pirelli Am was also an extremely tight race, with Steve Johnson (Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale) successfully overtaking classification leader James Weiland. The two drivers took the top two places in the race, confirming the rivalry ignited at the start of the season. With third place in the race and in the championship, Arthur Romanelli (The Collection) managed to keep behind Marc Muzzo, in a gripping, intense duel. Elsewhere, Francisco Longo (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) took sixth place in his first race of the season.   Coppa Shell. Coppa Shell offered another exciting, eventful race, which saw Matt Keegan (Ferrari of San Francisco) secure his third win of the season, provisionally ushering Jean-Claude Saada (who came third in the race on the Boardwalk Ferrari’s 458 Challenge EVO) into third place in the standings. Second place went to Karl Williams (Ferrari of Beverly Hills), who succeeded in making life difficult for the winner of the day. No great shakes in the race for championship leader Joe Courtney, who finished sixth, two places behind his biggest rival in the classification, Chris Cagnazzi (Ferrari of Long Island). However, Courtney nonetheless maintains a reassuring lead in the championship. Tomorrow they do it again, with the Coppa Shell and Trofeo Pirelli second races at 2pm and 3pm local time (7pm and 8pm CET).   [playlist4me id="315c4cc7-05db-42cc-b079-5b0a6614d4e9"]