Ferrari GB on pole and the podium at Silverstone

It was a weekend of thrills and spills as the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli season started at Silverstone (5, 6, 7 May) with a pole position and podium finish for the GB team.

In the first round of the 2006 season, the UK played host to a field of more than 50 Ferrari F430 Challenge cars making their Championship racing debut and the British crowds saw a weekend of adrenaline-filled racing through sunshine and showers.

Ferrari Challenge racing combines the excitement of wheel-to-wheel racing with the luxury of Ferrari hospitality and lifestyle as the drivers compete on Grand Prix circuits across Europe.

In the first of the four Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli races, Ross Kaiser (car 27) was fourth on the grid, while Phil Andrews (car 28) was on row 6. As the race started Kaiser pushed hard and in the rain set a furious pace, recording the fastest time in sector three but was unfortunate to come off the track and end Saturday with just one point and a damaged car. Phil Andrews climbed steadily from 12th on the grid and brought the car home in 9th place in difficult track conditions.

The second race of the weekend was the Shell Cup, with Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB driver Borislav Maleti? (car 89) starting from row 12 on the grid and successfully completing his first competitive race as a Ferrari driver ahead of nine drivers.

Throughout Saturday evening and into Sunday morning the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB worked flat out to repair the damage to Ross Kaiser’s car and ensure that the pole position he had earned for the race would not go to waste. At 0745hrs on Sunday, after working through the night, the car was race-ready and joined the grid for the race at 0850hrs. This time Ross led from the front until the mandatory 60 second stop. He finished the race in 3rd place and scored the first podium of the season for the GB team. Phil Andrews made more progress with the car which he drove for the first time on Friday and rose from row 7 on the grid to finish 6th, with 10 points in the driver’s championship.

In the final race of the weekend Borislav started on row 14 and finished inside the top 20 a satisfying result and scored valuable points in the Shell Cup.

The race weekend also provided the first opportunity for Ferrari clients and guests of HR Owen (London), Graypaul (Nottingham) and Maranello Sales Ltd (Egham) to see at first hand the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB in action with pit tours and driver briefings all in the finest Ferrari style – despite the unique English weather.

Ferrari GB Managing Director Massimo Fedeli said ‘This weekend at Silverstone we have made a good start to the 2006 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli European Championship with a pole position and a podium finish as we hosted the British round of this prestigious racing series.

Our three drivers fought hard on the track, backed up by the dealer team who worked through Saturday night to re-build car 27 car after it was damaged in the first race.

I am very proud of the spirit shown by the team in our first race together and look forward to welcoming our drivers and customers to the next round at Valencia next month.

Our guests and drivers also enjoyed the hospitality in the new Ferrari GB suite at Silverstone which will also host our clients during the Grand Prix this summer.’

The team has now started to analyse the race data captured at Silverstone and continue the preparations for the next round when the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli heads to Spain and the ancient city of Valencia for Round 2 (2, 3, 4 June).