Mugello 26 ottobre 2019
The North American circuit of Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli came to a thrilling conclusion, with champions in Trofeo Pirelli, Trofeo Pirelli AM and Coppa Shell Am crowned in the season’s final race. Cooper MacNeil confirms as Trofeo Pirelli champion, Neil Gehani confirms in the Trofeo Pirelli Am category and Brad Horstmann clinches in the Coppa Shell Am championship.
Trofeo Pirelli.
Cooper MacNeil (Ferrrari Westlake) finished second but secured his second Trofeo Pirelli championship in Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli. In the final race of the season, after qualifying on pole, he managed a lead over chief championship antagonist Benjamin Hites (The Collection). As the race progressed, Cooper was unable to keep the talented young Chilean driver at bay as Benjamin swooped down the inside into turn 1. Despite his best efforts, Cooper could not regain the position, and another late Safety Car blunted any chance he may have had. Ross Chouest (Ferrari of Palm Beach) had a very capable drive, and clearly unlocked some speed, finishing third.
Trofeo Pirelli Am.
John Megrue (Ferrari of Long Island) took the win, but Neil Gehani (Continental Autosports) took the championship after a mid-race scrap with chief championship challenger, Ziad Ghandour (Boardwalk Ferrari). At the early stages of the race, Neil and Ziad ran one-two, but Ziad was able to make a pass into the lead at the first corner. In the process, however, the two made contact and Neil was bumped wide. He was able, however, to get a better exit out of the corner, and in the process of diving to the inside for the next corner, Neil’s left front corner hit Ziad’s right front corner and pitched him into a spin. The stewards determined that Neil was at fault and assessed him a drive-through penalty. But the time penalty still left him ahead of a still-running Ziad. Ziad’s car must have sustained some damage, however, and he fell back while Neil was able to continue to attack to the end, and thus finished ahead of Ziad and won the championship. Lost in the drama was an excellent race for Brent Holden (Ferrari of Newport Beach) who finished second. Third Dave Musial (Ferrari Lake Forest).
Coppa Shell.
Mark Issa (Ferrari of Atlanta) sustained damage early that forced him to retire. Brian Davis (Ferrari of Palm Beach) took the opportunity with both hands and took a commanding win in the category and finished eight overall. Lance Cawley (Ferrari of Atlanta) took second and Claude Senhoreti (Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale) finished third, both several laps off the pace.
Coppa Shell Am.
Brad Horstmann (Foreign Cars Italia) took the win and the Coppa Shell Am championship in the final race of the 2019 Ferrari Challenge season. His chief championship rival, Jay Schriebman (Cauley Ferrari) did everything he could to catch him, but it was not enough. With less than five minutes to go, Jay pushed too hard and spun, eventually beaching his Ferrari 488 Challenge car into the gravel. This means that Mark Davies (Wide World Ferrari) took second and Lisa Clark (Scuderia Corsa – Ferrari of Beverly Hills) took both the Ladies’ Cup and returned to the podium in third place.