Racing

Ferrari Shell Historic Races Move to Montreal from Atlanta and Infineon

Road Atlanta at Braselton, GA was the scene of the third Ferrari Challenge race and second Ferrari Shell Historic race of the season and no one in attendance was disappointed, least of all Peter Giddings (Maserati 250F), Chuck Wegner (Maserati 200 SI) and Jon Shirley (Maserati 300S) who consistently won first, second and third respectively, in both drum brake races Sunday.

Also on the “not-disappointed” list was Roberta Fata (F430) who seems to have become the “man to beat.” Fata took first place in both Challenge races, followed respectively by John Farano and Zac Brown, second and third in the first race, and by Jay Lee and Mark McKenzie in the second race.

Going into Infineon, Fata ranked first for in the championship standings with 90 points versus 88 points for last year’s champion Mike Zoi in second and John Horejsi in third with 70 points.  A tight duel between Fata and Horejsi seemed to be indicated as all eyes turned to the West Coast.  But what happened? 

From out of the blue, our featured "rookie" driver from e-News Issue 14, Scott Tucker, roars in for two-in-a-row firsts, besting John Horejsi (2nd) and Mark McKenzie (3rd) in the first race and again Mark McKenzie (2nd) and John Horejsi (3rd)!  Can it get any more exciting than this?  Now the standings for top five, going into Montreal are John Horejsi,  Roberto Fata,  Mike Zoi, Mark McKenzie and Scott Tucker.  

Infineon Raceway, not far from Muir Woods National Monument -- the redwood forest location depicted in Hitchcock’s movie, Vertigo -- proved to be a vertiginous Challenge race experience and we can certainly expect dizzying results in our next Challenge races in Montreal!  Check out the Ferrari Challenge website for more details.

In the Historic Challenge series at Braselton, the roster of winners for the disc brake races offered a bit of variety although the Ferrari 512 in one form or another was consistently represented on the podium.  The first race was won by Lawrence Stoll (512 M Sunoco) followed by Chuck Wegner (512 BB/LM) in second and Jim Fuchs (512 BB/LM) in third.  In the second race Fuchs moved up to first, followed by John Giordano (512 S) and John Goodman (512 BB/LM) in second and third.

Both drum brake races at Braselton were dominated by Peter Giddings (Maserati 250F), Chuck Wegner (Maserati 200 SI), in second, and Jon Shirley (Maserati 300S), in third.

At Infineon, Peter Giddings (Maserati 250F), again proved the consistent Historics champion, with two firsts in the Drum Brake category, leading Jeff O'Neill (Maserati 250F) and Peter Greenfield (Alfa Romeo 8C/35), first and second respectively, in the first race. Peter Greenfield (Alfa Romeo 8C/35) and Peter LeSaffre (Maserati 300S) followed Giddings first and second in the final race.

Todd Morici (512 BB/LM) dominated both of Infineon's Disk Brake races, shadowing Lawrence Stroll (512 M Sunoco), second, and John Goodman (512 BB/LM), third in the first race, and John Goodman, second with John Giordano (512 S), third in the final race.

Both Challenge race series now move to the 2.709-mile, 15-turn Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, on June 6-8.  We are certain the excitment will continue in both Challenge and Historic Challenge racing as all participants vie for championship points and the standings continue to shuffle.

Come see more than 30 Ferrari owners and their F430 Challenge cars compete.  In addition, you can also enjoy the sights and sounds of nearly 25 Historic Ferraris, competing in the Historics.  You’ll see the mythical 250 Testarossa, three 250 GTOs, the extremely rare 312PB and an exciting cadre of 512s that include a 512M, a 512S and several 512BB/LMs.  

Are you a current Ferrari owner?  If so, you can participate in the GT Club and relax, eat and mingle with other Ferrari owners in the VIP Hospitality enclosure.  Then in whatever spare time remains, take in some of America’s most beautiful natural wonders that are located all around Infineon.