Ferrari Challenge Races Back to California This Weekend

The Golden State of California is ready to be painted red with back-to-back Ferrari Challenge North America races beginning this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

This marks tenth year that Laguna Seca, located a few miles from Monterey, has hosted the single-make series, and the weekend kicks off the second half of the calendar.

Ferrari Challenge has already been coast-to-coast, from The Thermal Club in Southern California to Sebring International Raceway in Florida and in between for the last round at Circuit of The Americas in Texas.

Laguna Seca comes on the heels of a busy week of racing for several drivers who crossed the Atlantic to take part in Ferrari Challenge Europe support races at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In fact, a handful of North America drivers showed well at Circuit de la Sarthe. Yahn Bernier (Ferrari of Seattle) topped Race 2 in the Coppa Shell class, while Mitchell Green (Ferrari of Westlake) finished second-in-class the day prior.

Fabian Sperman (The Collection) placed seventh in Coppa Shell Am Race 1 and improved to fourth in Race 2. Jay Logan (Ferrari of Austin) and Melissa Kozyra (Ferrari of Naples) also nabbed top-10 finishes in Coppa Shell and Coppa Shell Am, respectively.

The drivers will now return to their home soil and rejoin the Ferrari Challenge North America field at Laguna Seca, comprising of more than 50 entries, plus 30 cars in Club Challenge and 14 in Club Competizioni GT.

Northern Locals

Two top teams in Ferrari Challenge are welcoming a stint on their home coast– Ferrari of Seattle and Ferrari of San Francisco.

Both are represented across three of the four classes this weekend, and at this season’s midway point, they sit first and second respectively, in the Dealer championship standings.

In Trofeo Pirelli, a trio of Ferrari of Seattle drivers – Brian Cook, Roberto Perrina and Esteban Beckmann – will face off against the duo from San Francisco: George Grinzewitsch III and Brad Fauvre.

Both Perrina and Fauvre claimed podium finishes at last year’s North American finale event at Laguna Seca.

In Trofeo Pirelli Am, Bernier returns after a victory at COTA last month to solidify his championship lead and will run alongside Ferrari of Seattle teammate Michael Porter.

In Coppa Shell Am, Steve Check – victor of Race 2 in Monterey last year – and fellow driver John Lennon will race under the San Francisco banner.

Schedule and Streaming

Official on-track activity at Laguna Seca begins on Friday, after two days of testing on Wednesday and Thursday.

Qualifying begins for Ferrari Challenge on Saturday at 10 a.m. PST. The green flag for Trofeo Pirelli Race 1 drops at 2:05 p.m. and at 3:05 p.m. for Coppa Shell.

Qualifying 2 starts Sunday’s Ferrari Challenge action at 10:05 a.m., with the second Coppa Shell race at 2:30 p.m. and Trofeo Pirelli at 3:30 p.m.

All Ferrari Challenge races will stream live on Ferrari’s YouTube channel.