The Temple of Speed hosted the opening round of the Ferrari Challenge Europe. A packed field of 42 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evos fought for honours in the professional Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell for amateur racers at Monza.
Race 1 in the Trofeo Pirelli went the way of Scuderia Niki-Iron Lynx pilot Michelle Gatting. The ‘Danish Dame’ kept her cool at the start as ahead of her cars collided. Amongst the unlucky victims was pole sitter and debutant Luka Nurmi. From third place, Gatting quickly overtook John Wartique and went after Matùš Výboh. The Swede made a mistake through Lesmo 1, providing the perfect opportunity for Gatting to strike and claim victory.
James Weiland took the first win of the year in the opening race for the Coppa Shell.
Sunday’s Trofeo Pirelli race 2 saw 16-year-old Luka Nurmi take revenge for a disastrous start to his GT career on Saturday. At the drying Autodromo, he took a flag-to-flag win. Even a red-flag interruption after a heavy crash involving Ange Barde and Tommaso Rocca formed no threat for the youngest-ever winner in the Ferrari Challenge.
Coppa Shell honours were claimed by Alex Fox.
Photos by Alessio Romanò. Follow him on Facebook and Instagram, and visit his website.
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