On the opening day of racing in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe at the Hockenheimring in Germany, Felix Hirsiger (Ineco – Reparto Corse RAM) secured victory in the Trofeo Pirelli race, while his teammate Manuela Gostner came out on top in the Coppa Shell. Wins also went to Hendrik Viol (Scuderia Praha Racing) in the Trofeo Pirelli Am and Jan Sandmann (Kessel Racing) in the Coppa Shell Am. On the historic German circuit, Ferrari official driver Davide Rigon served as Race Advisor for the third round of the Prancing Horse single-marque series.

Trofeo Pirelli. After thirty minutes of intense racing – including several incidents that triggered the Safety Car three times to restore order on the track – it was Felix Hirsiger who took victory, his third consecutive win, allowing him to close the gap in the standings to championship leader Jasin Ferati (Emil Frey Racing), who finished second today.

The Swiss driver from Ineco – Reparto Corse RAM, who started from pole after clinching it with a time of 1’37”654, led the race from start to finish, also setting the fastest lap of 1’39”244. Climbing the podium in third was Enzo Trulli (Radicci Automobili – Sanasi Racing Team), son of a former racing driver, making his debut in the Prancing Horse single-marque series.

Among the Am drivers, following the early exit of pole-sitter Marco Zanasi (Motor Service – Pinetti Motorsport), involved in a mid-race incident, it was Hendrik Viol (Scuderia Praha Racing) who took the lead. The Czech driver, who also set the fastest lap in class, came out on top after a thrilling head-to-head all the way to the final lap against Herbert Geiss (Maranello Motors – Pro Racing) and Hanno Laskowski (Emil Frey Racing).

Coppa Shell. With a determined start, Manuela Gostner took the lead and held onto it until the finish, despite a comeback attempt from Oscar Ryndziewicz (Kessel Racing), who recovered from eighth on the grid. Thomas Gostner (CDP – MP Racing) secured third place, also doing well to gain six positions from the start. The day’s pole-sitter, Ernst Kirchmayr (Kessel Racing), making his first appearance of the season in the Ferrari Challenge Europe, was involved in a first-corner incident but still managed to set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1’40”459.

In Coppa Shell Am, Jan Sandmann, who started from pole following a penalty to Andreas König (Emil Frey Racing) – dropped to third for impeding during qualifying – held off a comeback attempt from his closest challengers, who had seen distances reduced mid-race by a Safety Car following a harmless off-track excursion, and was first to cross the line. The German secured his first win of the season, along with the bonus point for the fastest lap. Finishing behind him were Sven Schömer (Penske Sportwagen Hamburg) in second and Charles Chan (Formula Racing) in third.

Schedule. The second race day at Hockenheim takes place on Sunday, 25 May, with qualifying sessions scheduled from 9 a.m. The Coppa Shell Am race will start at 2 p.m., followed by the Trofeo Pirelli and Trofeo Pirelli Am races at 3.15 p.m., and the Coppa Shell at 4.30 p.m.