Fcna Wgi Preview 2022 05 20

Watkins Glen Next Stop for Ferrari Challenge North America

The Third Round of the 2022 Season Heads for the Historic Road Course in New York State

Ferrari Challenge makes its third stop of the 2022 North American championship this weekend at Watkins Glen International, one of the most historic and demanding circuits in all of North America.

Stretched over 3.45 miles, the circuit in its current form took shape in 1992 but prior iterations date to 1956 and the course was home to the Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix from 1961-80, where Ferrari took three wins. Over 60 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo cars will take part in racing action throughout this weekend, with a further 30 participating in Club Challenge and Club Competizioni GT lapping sessions.

Trofeo Pirelli: After an up-and-down weekend last time out for many in the class, the outlines of the championship content that will define the rest of the 2022 season are starting to come into focus. At the head of the field is relative newcomer Manny Franco (Ferrari of Lake Forest), who sits on a healthy 12-point margin heading into the weekend. He leads Jason McCarthy (Wide World Ferrari), who despite a best finish of third to date has used his consistency to accrue 34 points and just edge out Marc Muzzo (Ferrari of Ontario) in third.

Muzzo’s season also has followed the rollercoaster of Trofeo Pirelli as he took a double-podium result with one win at Circuit of The Americas in March but failed to replicate those results in a difficult Daytona International Speedway weekend last month. Further back, Jeremy Clarke looms after he followed a torrid weekend at COTA with a first- and second-place finish at Daytona and is a further two points behind Muzzo in fourth.

In the Trofeo Pirelli AM class, Alfred Caiola (Ferrari of Long Island) also has a healthy lead, by 15 points above Todd Coleman (Ferrari of Denver). Caiola’s three podiums are the most of anyone in the category and has him in a relatively comfortable spot with two race weekends complete. Last year’s Coppa Shell champion, Dave Musial Jr. (Ferrari of Lake Forest), currently has residence in the third position in the Trofeo Pirelli AM championship, one point behind Coleman, but he ended his Daytona weekend with a win and will be looking to carry that momentum into the Watkins Glen weekend.

Coppa Shell: Brian Kaminskey (Ferrari of Long Island) is off to an incredible start and paces the championship, with a podium in every race run so far. He leads Michael Petramalo (Ferrari of Seattle) by 13 points, with Paul Kiebler (Ferrari of Central New Jersey), who was advanced after the Daytona round from Coppa Shell AM to Coppa Shell, another point back.

In Coppa Shell AM, Anthony Davis (Continental Autosports) leads the championship with 36 points after Kiebler’s promotion. With podiums in three out of four contests and one win to his name, Davis is certainly a strong contender. He is followed by Lisa Clark (Ferrari of Beverly Hills), who trails by a single point and has leveraged consistency and maximizing opportunities to find herself in the midst of a championship hunt. Dan Cornish (Ferrari of Austin) is in third, again on the back of consistent results and two podium finishes to date.

Club Competizioni GT Returns: Another feature of the Ferrari Challenge Watkins Glen weekend is the return of the Club Competizioni GT. Crafted to allow drivers from all over the world to enjoy their Ferrari GT race cars on track, the club previously joined the North American series at COTA and also Daytona. This weekend, six examples of the Ferrari 488 GT Modificata will take to the circuit in dedicated lapping sessions totaling up to more than hours of on track. Subsequent stops for the club include Japan’s Suzuka circuit in June and Indianapolis and Germany’s Hockenheim in July.

Schedule: Official practice began Friday. Qualifying and racing dominate both Saturday and Sunday, with all sessions streamed live on live.ferrari.com.