RACE

FERRARI CHALLENGE EUROPE ISSUE 5

P4 BEAUTY NOT SKIN DEEP P6 REPORT FROM SPA P8 NEXT RACE: SILVERSTONE

REPORT

A RELAXING SPA?
RACE REPORT ISSUE 5
Competing at the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit is a dream come true for every racing driver, whether in Formula 1 or a single-marque competition. Thats because the historic circuit, which is located in the beautiful Ardennes forest region of Belgium, is one of the worlds most challenging and exciting motorsport venues. With a fast, hilly and twisty track just over 7km in length, Spa is a highlight of the Ferrari Challenge Europe calendar, and a true test of a drivers ability. At the 2012 event, drivers from Italy, Russia, USA, Venezuela, Great Britain, Germany and many more besides all gathered to put themselves and their racing-specification Ferrari 458 Challenges to the test at this incredible race track. After all, if you can perform here, you can perform anywhere!

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2012 CALENDAR
01.03.12 22.03.12 03.06.12 01.07.12 15.07.12 16.09.12 07.10.12 TBA Monza (ITA) Imola (ITA) Mugello (ITA) Hungaroring (HUN) Spa (BEL) Silverstone (GB) Vallelunga (ITA) Finali Mondiali

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LETS GO RACING!
FERRARI CHALLENGE EUROPE
Round Five of the Ferrari Challenge Europe saw the Russian stranglehold tightened even further amid difficult raindrenched conditions at Spa-Francorchamps. In the Trofeo Pirelli, a competition for Ferrari owners with on-track experience, Alessandro Balzan, an Italian driver who races for the Ferrari Moscow team, is now 23 points clear after some astonishing racing in Belgium. Meanwhile, in the Coppa Shell, a series for less experienced racers, the championship leader Alexey Basov (also Ferrari Moscow) did enough to extend his lead in the standings to 42 points. So is it all over? Not yet... there are many questions remaining! First, can the two Bs Balzan and Basov maintain their composure going into the series finishing straight? Second, will the chasing pack consisting of such tremendous racing talent as Raffaele Giannoni, Giacomo Stratta, Bjorn Grossmann and Niki Cadei simply sit back and let the Russian team cruise to victory? There are plenty of points still to fight for, and there will undoubtedly be many more on-track twists in this memorable season. Following the action at Spa, the 2012 European Challenge will now visit Silverstone and Vallelunga, before the Finali Mondiali event brings together the best drivers from the regional series (Europe, North America and Asia Pacific) to compete for the ultimate Ferrari privateers prize.

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ITS BEAUTY IS NO
RACE R REPORT ISSUE 5

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he Ferrari 458 Challenge is an extremely powerful and beautiful looking vehicle, one which has thrilled the thousands of spectators of the Ferrari Challenge Europe this year. However, the cars stunning beauty runs more than just skin deep. Ferraris passion for excellence covers every aspect of design and construction, including the cars interior. Thats That s why Ferra Ferrari works with the very best partners from Italy

and around the world; companies who share our commitment to improvement and innovation. By supporting the Ferrari Challenge Europe, the Adler Group an international company that designs and develops components and systems for vehicle interiors can prove its reputation for technical excellence in a competitive environment on world-class racetracks. Coraggio, passione e determinazione courage, passion and determination. These

OT JUST SKIN DEEP

are the values that the Adler Group lives and operates by, and they are also three words that could be used when talking about Ferrari. The Adler Group may be better known for its research and innovation in the field of polyurethanes than for its high-speed performance on the racetrack, but the company certainly needs to be able to move fast. Responding swiftly to the changing needs of an extremely demanding market has launched the Adler Group into a sector-leading position in the decades since the companys foundations in 1953. Its ability to pioneer in areas such as active and passive safety, weight reduction and the environmental compatibility of materials, gives the Adler Group its competitive edge. Based in the Italian town of Ottaviano, located at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, Adler is a family-run company with a strong family atmosphere, much like Ferrari. For Adler, it is not simply about the business and the technology it is about people too. For the Adler Groups partners including Ferrari that means getting a personalised approach that perfectly responds to their operational requirements. The result of all this effort? When the 2012 Ferrari Challenge Europe event in Spa-Francorchamps kicked off this weekend, every driver was sitting comfortably, ready to focus solely on the race ahead. Thats just one more reason why these beautiful vehicles have provided so much exciting on-track action in the series so far this year.

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ARI XX AND F1 CLIENTI RAMMES IN ACTION AT SPA

by Maranellos Corse Clienti department. These testing sessions allowed drivers to make the most of the valuable advice offered by professionals on how to tackle the long and challenging circuit. Eight historic single-seaters were also brought to the Spa circuit: F2008 Raikkonen F2007 Massa F2007 Raikkonen F2005 Schumacher F2003-GA Schumacher F2002 Barrichello F300 Schumacher (1998) F1-89 Berger/Mansell (1989)

fter a successful weekend for the Ferrari Challenge Europe series, the Corse Clienti was back in action at Spa with two days of private sessions for drivers involved in the exclusive FXX, 599XX and F1 Clienti programmes. A total of 18 drivers took part in the XX Programmes, for owners of Ferraris FXX or 599XX, as part of the non-competitive activities run

The cars were prepared for the track by the Prancing Horses Reparto Corse as part of Ferraris exclusive F1 Clienti programme. Marc Gen, the Spanish driver who works with the Scuderia on promotional activities and on development of the car and has a great depth of F1 experience, was there as a coach for those behind the wheel of the historic single-seaters.

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RACE REPORT ISSUE 5

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TROFEO PIRELLI: SIX OF THE BEST FOR BALZAN

RACE 1 Alessandro Balzan kept his remarkable Trofeo Pirelli record alive with a controlled race one victory at a wet Spa-Francorchamps circuit, followed by a lights-to-flag domination in race two the second confirming his sixth consecutive victory. The Venetian, who drives for Ferrari Moscow and only joined the series at the second round in Imola, won both races at Spa as he did in Mugello and Budapest and has now recorded seven wins from eight starts. In terrible weather conditions at the spectacular Belgian circuit, Balzan had the upper hand over the entire field, producing two perfect drives. He was always on the attack despite the incessant rain which plagued this fifth round, to dominate the Trofeo Pirelli. Come rain or shine Balzan is always in front, it appears, and he has established a seemingly unassailable lead in the series. In race one, he was followed across the finishing line by his team-mate Bjorn Grossmann, his closest rival in the championship. The German finished second after some spectacular duels which confirmed the supremacy of the Ferrari Moscow team in Belgium. Grossmann inherited second place after Andrii Kruglyk of Ferrari Ukraina span wildly, just moments after setting the races fastest lap. Robert Pergl (Scuderia Praha) also inherited third place, finishing 22 seconds down, with a fast but frustrated Kruglyk fourth. RACE 2 In race two, Balzan made it an astonishing six race wins in a row, with his German team-mate again finishing second, but this time three seconds adrift. Behind the Ferrari Moscow drivers, Motor Malucellis Max Blancardi who has been moving up the order since the start of the season finished third after surviving a scrappy start to the fourth lap. Robert Pergl (Scuderia Praha) and Andrii Kruglyk (Ferrari Ukrania) had been fighting over third position, but on lap four the pair came together, allowing Blancardi to sweep past. Pergl then clashed with the British driver Alexander Martin, both drivers forced to retire on the spot. Kruglyk managed to avoid the Pergl/ Martin crash, but couldnt hold off Alexandr Skryabin (Ferrari Moscow), the pair finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

1st

The extreme wet weather made Spa the first event in the 20-year history of the Ferrari Challenge Series in which no slick tyres were used!

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96points

STAR DRIVER
Who else but the increasingly impressive Alessandro Balzan? After six wins in a row, the flying Venetian has what looks like an unassailable series lead, which he first took in Budapest in round four.

RACE 1 Race one in the Coppa Shell at Spa-Francorchamps was started behind the safety car because of the amount of water on the track and the victory went to pole man Daniele di Amato (CDP), the only man capable of breaking the dominance of Ferrari Moscow. The Russian team finished second, with Alexey Basov boosting his title chances by moving 42 points ahead of his nearest rival, Raffaele Giannoni (Motor/Piacenza). RACE 2 Race two rounded off the Belgian weekend in style and featured plenty of on-track

fighting and passing moves, which served to make the result far from clear right up to the final lap. But in the end, Basov was again first past the chequered flag, ahead of Giannoni and Giacomo Stratta (Forza Service), mirroring the order at the top of the series standings. Giannoni is now the only driver with a realistic chance of catching Basov in the Coppa Shell. Having come third and second at Spa he will be looking to go one better in round six and climb onto the top step of the podium at Silverstone in September as he faces the challenge of stopping Basov with two rounds to go. Patrick Gobbo (Rossocorsa Pellin) and Alexandr Skryabin (Ferrari Moscow) won the Coppa Giovani prizes at Spa, with Fons Scheltema (Kessel Racing) and Daniel Knzli (Kessel Racing) claiming the Coppa Gentleman honours.

Maximum available from the final two rounds... its not over yet!

COPPA SHELL: CLOSE TO GLORY

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RACE REPORT ISSUE 5

NEXT RACE
SILVERSTONE
16.9.12
Built on the site of a WWII Royal Air Force bomber station, Silverstone has hosted motor races since September 1947, when a local group of friends set up an impromptu race on the airfields runways. The first British Grand Prix was held there in 1948, and though it previously alternated with other venues, Silverstone has hosted the British Grand Prix every year since 1987. The circuit itself has seen several changes in its configuration, the most recent being the construction of the Arena circuit in 2010, a 25m project which increased the length of the track by 760 metres and included a new pit complex. KEEP AN EYE ON...

DID YOU KNOW? Silverstone Heliport holds the record for being the worlds busiest airport over the course of one single day. During the 1999 British Grand Prix, around 4,200 aircraft movements (landings or takeoffs) were recorded between dawn and dusk.
18 17 16 7 1 15 2 6 8

Silverstone, Great Britain Length: 5.901km Corners: 18

3 4 14 13 12 5 11 10 9

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PTS 184 161 91 85 79 76 73 42 30 28

Current standings
TROFEO PIRELLI POS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DRIVER A.BALZAN B.GROSSMANN N.CADEI S.GAI A.KRUGLYK A.SKRYABIN M.BLANCARDI D.CASO R.PERGL P.GOBBO NAT. ITA GER ITA ITA UKR RUS ITA ITA CZE ITA DEALER NAME FERRARI MOSCOW FERRARI MOSCOW MOTOR/PIACENZA FERRARI MOSCOW FERRARI UKRAINA FERRARI MOSCOW MOTOR/MALUCELLI CDP SCUDERIA PRAHA ROSSOCORSA/PELLIN

COPPA SHELL

BECKETTS Silverstones most famous section of track is a combination of three high-speed corners located one after the other. This Maggots-BeckettsChapel Curve complex requires five changes of direction all taken flat-out.
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POS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

DRIVER A.BASOV R.GIANNONI G.STRATTA D.DI AMATO R.DI AMATO D.ADAMSKI A.LEBED F.BAIZ F.SCHELTEMA A.VEZZONI

NAT. RUS ITA ITA ITA ITA GER UKR VEN NED ITA

TEAM NAME FERRARI MOSCOW MOTOR/PIACENZA FORZA SERVICE CDP CDP AUTOHAUS SAGGIO FERRARI UKRAINA ROSSOCORSA KESSEL ROSSOCORSA/PELLIN

PTS 177 135 111 103 103 53 52 51 48 41

STOWE Located at the end of the long Hangar Straight, drivers approach this sweeping right-hand corner at top speed. It has a relatively wide radius, but is deceptively long and also has a touch of negative camber which can throw drivers wide.
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