Ferrari Challenge Australasia excites at Phillip Island in Race 1

Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Australasia put on an outstanding performance at one of Australia’s most revered racetracks today.

Clear conditions at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit saw the personal best lap times set in practice come tumbling in Qualifying 1 as drivers continued to build their confidence.

Antoine Gittany (Ferrari Sydney) became the first driver to dip below the 1m30s marker yesterday with a best lap time of 1:29.004. Today, Cameron Campbell (Ferrari Richmond) and Enzo Cheng (Ferrari Sydney) joined him, but Gittany improved further with a blistering time of 1:28.444 in Qualifying 1 to lead the field out onto the track for Race 1.

Trofeo Pirelli. A confident start from Gittany saw the championship leader break away from the pack in the opening stages and continue to the chequered flag, setting the fastest lap along the way. Campbell started next to him on the front row after an impressive qualifying performance and showed consistent speed as the race got underway, securing his second place.

Third in the class was Jim Pollicina (Ferrari Sydney), though he began from sixth on the grid after a challenging qualifying session. Eager to move up the order, Pollicina found himself in an unfortunate tangle with Masahiro Taguchi (Ferrari Brisbane) on the opening lap, falling down the order to ninth. A strong recovery saw Pollicina fight his way into podium contention within 10 laps before grasping third place overall at the line.

Coppa Shell. Less than one second separated the first three drivers in Coppa Shell after Qualifying 1. Enzo Cheng (Ferrari Sydney) lead the way off the line. Behind him, Masahiro Taguchi (Ferrari Brisbane) and David Trewern (Ferrari Gold Coast) traded places in the first phase of the race, producing some excellent racing.

Cheng and Trewern were joint championship leaders going into Round 2. Today’s win for Cheng sees him edge ahead of Trewern in second place, while Taguchi firms his grip on third with more points to play for in Race 2 tomorrow.

Trofeo Pirelli 488. Perhaps the day’s most thrilling action was produced by the two drivers in the class for 488 Challenge Evo contenders. Jarrod Ferrari (Barbagallo Ferrari) and Michel Stephan (Ferrari Sydney) were almost impossible to split for the majority of the race. Ferrari started from pole in the class, but a decisive move from Stephan into the Turn 4 hairpin put him ahead. Ferrari put on a forceful chase and challenged Stephan for the lead on several occasions, but Stephen held his advantage to finish first in the class, just 0.3s ahead at the flag.

Tomorrow’s track action starts at 9.05am local time for Qualifying 2, followed by Race 2 at 12.40pm (local times, AEST).