The Iconic Marque Returns to the Site of Some of Its Historic Race Triumphs
The North American leg of Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli is set to continue this weekend with the third round of the 2021 season at Watkins Glen International. With 45 racing entries, a further 11 participating in the Club Challenge lapping experience and the attendees of the Club Competizioni GT program, the paddock is once again full of GT racing Ferraris.
A Historic Venue. The famed Watkins Glen circuit in upstate New York has been the site of numerous historic and important victories, dating back to when the circuit acted as the home of Formula One in the United States. With Grand Prix wins in 1975 (Niki Lauda), 1978 (Carlos Reutemann) and 1979 (Gilles Villeneuve), as well as the most recent GT win in 2019 earned by Toni Vilander and Daniel Serra, Ferrari has amassed a significant history at one of the most iconic venues in the U.S. The Ferrari Challenge made its most recent stop in 2018, when Cooper MacNeil (Ferrari of Westlake) secured back-to-back wins on his way to earning the 2018 Trofeo Pirelli class championship and Thomas Tippl (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) secured an incredible ninth consecutive victory in the Coppa Shell category.
Championships Continue to Develop. On the back of perfect weekends thus far, MacNeil continues to be the sole entry in the Trofeo Pirelli category and thus leads that category. Meanwhile, Jason McCarthy (Wide World Ferrari) was promoted to Trofeo Pirelli AM1 and preliminarily leads the category over Martin Burrowes (Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale) by six points before their first races since this reclassification. McCarthy departing Trofeo Pirelli AM2 has promoted Brian Davis (Ferrari of Palm Beach) to the head of the AM2 category, leading John Megrue (Ferrari of Long Island) by 11 points. In Coppa Shell, Todd Coleman (Ferrari of Denver) leads Dave Musial Jr. (Ferrari of Lake Forest) by six points, while Lance Cawley (Ferrari of Atlanta) leads the Coppa Shell AM category.
Club Competizioni GT Returns. After starting the season at VIRginia International Raceway in March, returning to Europe for a round at the world temple of speed, Monza, Club Competizioni GT will make its North American return at Watkins Glen. Open to Ferrari GT racing cars from the past 30 years, this weekend will mark the North American debut of the Ferrari 488 GT Modificata as the first North American delivery will be completed at Watkins Glen.
Schedule. Two days of testing sessions wind up, as drivers have eight hours per day in available track time. Official sessions will begin Friday with practice. Race 1 qualifying kicks off at 9:35 a.m. ET Saturday, ahead of the first set of races starting at 1:35 p.m. Sunday follows the same format, with qualifying at 9:35 a.m. and races beginning at 1:35 p.m. All qualifying and race sessions will be livestreamed at live.ferrari.com.