Perfect Paulet & Record-Breaking Kaminskey | Ferrari Challenge Global Round-Up

SUFFOLK, United Kingdom — I thoroughly enjoyed watching all the action from the Ferrari Challenge series last weekend. The season openers in Ferrari Challenge Europe, North America, and the United Kingdom kicked off at the beginning of the week with the usual testing sessions. The North American drivers were at the members-only Thermal Club race track in California, while the United Kingdom and European series attended the historic Le Castellet circuit in France. There were many standout performances from the various Ferrari Challenge drivers, but Sergio Paulet, Johnny Kaminsky, and Bradley Yates grabbed all the headlines in the top classes. 

Ferrari Challenge Europe: Sergio Paulet dominates at Le Castellet

Ferrari Challenge Europe is one of the most competitive single-make series in the world, with a huge field of talented drivers all competing for their class wins. Sergio Paulet is a Trofeo Pirelli driver in the Ferrari Challenge Europe series, and he showed his class at Le Castellet. Paulet walked away with two overall victories in France, beating a very determined Gilles Renmans to the finish line. And when I say, “to the finish line,” I mean it. In both races, Renmans and Paulet were practically in a drag race to the checkered flag, which was surprising given the Spaniard was usually a couple of seconds ahead of Renmans during the race, but his pace seemed to drop at the tail end of the sessions.

In the lower classes, standout performances came from the likes of Lukas Azzato, Jan Sandmann, Fons Scheltema, and Andreas Konig. Azzato claimed not one, but two victories at Le Castellet, with Konig having a double podium weekend. Sandmann might have had the best race performance of the entire Ferrari Challenge Europe weekend. Although he only got 3rd in the Coppa Shell class during Race 2, his race-pace was phenomenal. Jan was carrying a 10-second time penalty in the final race of the weekend, but he was so far ahead of his rivals that Sandmann still held onto a podium position and would have easily won the race without the penalty.

Ferrari Challenge Europe Le Castellet Race 1 Class Podiums:

• 1st: Sergio Paulet (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 2nd: Gilles Renmans (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 3rd: Max Mugelli (Trofeo Pirelli)

• 1st: Michael Verhagen (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
• 2nd: Danilo Del Favero (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
• 3rd: Herbert Geiss (Trofeo Pirelli AM)

• 1st: Jan Sandmann (Coppa Shell)
• 2nd: Fons Scheltema (Coppa Shell)
• 3rd: Sven Schomer (Coppa Shell)

• 1st: Lukas Azzato (Coppa Shell AM)
• 2nd: Boris Gideon (Coppa Shell AM)
• 3rd: Andreas Konig (Coppa Shell AM)

Ferrari Challenge Europe Le Castellet Race 2 Class Podiums:

• 1st: Sergio Paulet (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 2nd: Gilles Renmans (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 3rd: Max Mugelli (Trofeo Pirelli)

• 1st: Michael Verhagen (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
• 2nd: Anders Bidstrup (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
• 3rd: Danilo Del Favero (Trofeo Pirelli AM)

• 1st: Eric Cheung (Coppa Shell)
• 2nd: Fons Scheltema (Coppa Shell)
• 3rd: Jan Sandmann (Coppa Shell)

• 1st: Lukas Azzato (Coppa Shell AM)
• 2nd: Andreas Konig (Coppa Shell AM)
• 3rd: Henrik Kamstrup (Coppa Shell AM)

If you want to follow along with Ferrari Challenge Europe this season, make sure to check out the updated schedule, results, drivers, and team information here.

Ferrari Challenge North America: Johnny Kaminskey breaks North American record

Johnny Kaminskey is one of the rising stars in the Ferrari ecosystem. Kaminskey is only 17-years-old, but he is already a race winner in the Ferrari Challenge North America series. Kaminskey won Race 1 at Thermal Club in California, but Manny Franco got the better of him in Race 2. Franco pulled off the move of the week when overtaking Kaminskey in a highly technical section of the private race track. But given Franco didn’t run a full season last year, it will probably be Kaminskey’s championship to lose in the Trofeo Pirelli class. Also, Kaminskey's Race 1 victory made him the youngest Ferrari Challenge winner in the North America series history.

In Coppa Shell, Mike Chen took both race victories, in what turned out to be a very easy weekend for the Ferrari Challenge driver. The same can be said for Blake Rosser, who also dominated at Thermal. But one of the underrated performances came from Nicholas Hoult. Hoult’s full-time job is being a famous Hollywood actor, but this weekend he showed enough potential to pursue his racing dreams. This wouldn’t be the first time an actor has transitioned into racing, with Michael Fassbender famously racing twice at the Le Mans 24hr within the Porsche ecosystem. Obviously, Hoult has a long way to go, as Fassbender competed in series like the European Le Mans before entering the hardest race on earth, but Ferrari Challenge North America could be a perfect place for Hoult to learn his craft before transitioning to a GT3 machine.

Ferrari Challenge North America Thermal Race 1 Class Podiums:

• 1st: Johnny Kaminskey (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 2nd: Manny Franco (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 3rd: Brad Fauvre (Trofeo Pirelli)

• 1st: Esteban Beckmann (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
• 2nd: Frank Chang (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
• 3rd: Kevin Gutierrez (Trofeo Pirelli AM)

• 1st: Mike Chen (Coppa Shell)
• 2nd: Chuck Whittall (Coppa Shell)
• 3rd: Bryan Waltersdorf (Coppa Shell)

• 1st: Blake Rosser (Coppa Shell AM)
• 2nd: Fabian Sperman (Coppa Shell AM)
• 3rd: Melissa Kozyra (Coppa Shell AM)

Ferrari Challenge North America Thermal Race 2 Class Podiums:

• 1st: Manny Franco (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 2nd: Johnny Kaminskey (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 3rd: Roberto Perrina (Trofeo Pirelli)

• 1st: Michael Mathes (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
• 2nd: Yahn Bernier (Trofeo Pirelli AM)
• 3rd: Matthew Diehl (Trofeo Pirelli AM)

• 1st: Mike Chen (Coppa Shell)
• 2nd: Garry Ott (Coppa Shell)
• 3rd: Michael Owens (Coppa Shell) 

• 1st: Blake Rosser (Coppa Shell AM)
• 2nd: Fabian Sperman (Coppa Shell AM)
• 3rd: Tim Duit (Coppa Shell AM)

If you want to follow along with Ferrari Challenge North America this season, make sure to check out the updated schedule, results, drivers, and team information here.

Ferrari Challenge UK: Bradley Yates gets the better of his father in France

One of the stories of the season will certainly be the family battle between Bradley Yates and his father Gilbert Yates. In both races, the Yates duo battled hard at the front of the grid, fighting every second for the class victory. There was clearly no love lost out on track, but Bradley struck the first blow in Race 1, beating his father who finished 3rd behind Manuela Gostner. This is Gostner’s first season in Ferrari Challenge UK, but she’s no stranger to the Ferrari Challenge ecosystem. Race 2 looked like it was going to be a fierce Yates battle until the end, but sadly, Gilbert’s car had a failure which caused his wheel to fly off in a dangerous high-speed incident. Thankfully, he seemed to be fine according to the broadcast, and his son, Bradley, once again won in Le Castellet.

Darren Howell and Christopher Beighton were the most consistent Coppa Shell drivers, with the duo both getting two podiums in France. Beighton secured the race win in Race 2, and a 3rd place in Race 1. Beighton looked quick all weekend, so grabbing a winners’ trophy in the last race was a suitable reward. 

Ferrari Challenge UK Le Castellet Race 1 Class Podiums:

• 1st: Bradley Yates (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 2nd: Manuela Gostner (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 3rd: Gilbert Yates (Trofeo Pirelli)

• 1st: Peter Hunter (Coppa Shell)
• 2nd: Darren Howell (Coppa Shell)
• 3rd: Christopher Beighton (Coppa Shell)

Ferrari Challenge UK Le Castellet Race 2 Class Podiums:

• 1st: Bradley Yates (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 2nd: Joseph Dean (Trofeo Pirelli)
• 3rd: Manuela Gostner (Trofeo Pirelli)

• 1st: Christopher Beighton (Coppa Shell)
• 2nd: Ian Morris (Coppa Shell)
• 3rd: Darren Howell (Coppa Shell)

If you want to follow along with Ferrari Challenge UK this season, make sure to check out the updated schedule, results, drivers, and team information here.