Hat trick for Andrea Piccini at Silverstone in Ferrari Challenge

Andrea Piccini achieved an incredible hat trick at Silverstone in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli on Sunday 20 April, with a sterling performance in a special Black&Decker liveried car which was presented to Les Ireland, President EMEA, by Massimo Fedeli, MD of Ferrari GB, to celebrate the excellent partnership between the two companies in supporting the most exclusive single make racing series.

Andrea, driving the black and orange Car 99, started from pole position with an excellent qualifying time of 1:56.354, beating the lap record set by Bruno Senna in 2007, he quickly established a 1.948 second lead in tricky conditions, with a cold and damp track which made driving on slick tyres a fine balancing act which caught out even some of the most experience Ferrari clients driving in the Trofeo Pirelli category.

Despite the difficult conditions, Andrea also managed to secure the fastest lap of the race, with an excellent time of 1:58.778, meaning that he achieved every driver’s ambition of pole, fastest lap and race win. As a guest driver, he made an appearance on the podium but does not take any championship points.

Les Ireland, President EMEA of Black&Decker, complemented the team and the driver for an incredible demonstration – as he only discovered the car had been entered into the race on his behalf when Massimo Fedeli presented it to him a couple of hours before it rolled onto the grid. “Ferrari GB is an excellent partner for Black&Decker and we love their enthusiasm and passion for motorsport,” Les commented. “They are the most professional team in the series, and we are proud to be associated with them. Andrea’s outstanding performance today is simply the icing on the cake.”

Massimo Fedeli, MD of Ferrari GB, said, “We would like to thank Black&Decker for their continued support of the Ferrari Challenge series and the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB in particular. Our surprise for them this weekend shows what can be achieved when Ferrari and our partners work together to achieve a common goal. It also helps to have a professional driver like Andrea who showed commensurate speed and skill to score a hat trick of pole, fastest lap and race win. An excellent result for us all!”

Andrea Piccini is 29 years old, and comes from Sansepolcro in Italy. He is a chief instructor for the Ferrari Pilota courses which are available for Ferrari clients who wish to learn what it takes to be a racing driver. He is currently driving in the FIA GT1 series in a Saleen S7R, and in 2006 he finished in 2nd place in the FIA GT championship in an Aston Martin DBR9.

Andrea Piccini’s drive was also supported by the Royal Navy and Macsteel.
The Royal Navy is a unique combination of land, sea and air capabilities merged into a single, adaptable and dynamic force, which is recognised and respected worldwide. Every day of the year, the ships, aircraft, Royal Marines and submarines of the Royal Navy, are hard at work defending the UK’s interests. To find out more about the Royal Navy, go to the official web site www.royalnavy.mod.uk.

The Macsteel Group is a leading steel service centre (processor) organisation in the United States, South Africa and the Middle East. Macsteel is also one of the world's leading international steel and iron ore traders, and a global top-5 operator of dry-bulk cargo ships in the 15,000 to 60,000 tonne deadweight category. The group employs some 8500 people in some 80 cities in 36 countries, and supplies steel into all of the major steel consuming markets of the world, targeting principally the domestic appliance, mining, piping, construction, automotive, and related industries.

The Ferrari Challenge now moves to the warmer climes of the south of France at the end of May, with another action packed weekend of Ferrari racing at the beautiful Paul Ricard circuit.