European Ferrari Challenge success at Monza

Sam Smeeth

FF Corse driver Sam Smeeth came away from his Monza debut last night smelling of Champagne and leading the European Ferrari Challenge Championship (Pirelli – AM class)!

The weekend was a sensational start to the year with Sam lining up third overall on the grid  for both races (with class pole in race 1) . In the first race a lack of front grip hampered progress and Sam battled hard to bring the car home 4th in Class. Amends was made in race two with Sam taking a commanding AM class win in the top tier Trofeo Pirelli race.

Meanwhile FF Corse team-mate Jacques Duyver was also having a fantastic debut in the European Ferrari Challenge series. In the separate Coppa-Shell races, Jacques qualified 3rd for his first race at Monza, matching Sam’s achievement earlier in the day and raced well to also get a taste of Champagne with a 3rd place podium position, setting fastest lap en-route.

The weekend’s success in Italy leaves FF Corse/Stratstone Ferrari at the sharp-end of the Teams’ Championship and in second place overall. The next round of the Championship is at Mugello (IT) on May 16th-18th.

sam smeeth -podium

More photos from the European Ferrari Challenge race can be seen in the FF Corse online website gallery section.

 

 

 

 

Debut Success For The 2014 FF Corse Aero Updates – Britcar Endurance Championship (Silverstone)

DSC_8826

FF Corse drivers David Mason & Calum Lockie, made a successful start to the 2014 British Endurance Championship at the weekend in their Ferrari 458 Challenge GTC.  

Racing at Silverstone, the GTC Class driver pairing were fastest in Free Practice, before taking pole position for both races and winning the second race with fastest lap. The team also finished second in the first race, again with fastest lap, to take a healthy lead in the Championship after the first two races.

The team were racing with their latest specification car, featuring a new 2014 FF Corse Aero-upgrade package. Both drivers reported significant improvement in the levels of grip with the latest updates, a figure that was further backed up with improved lap-times and reduced levels of tyre wear throughout testing and the race weekend.

DSC_8865a

The next Britcar Endurance Championship round takes place at D0nington Park on April 12th.

Photo Gallery – click here

 

 

 

 

 

Hat-trick of wins in GT Cup Donington opener

John Seale

The Donington GT Cup Race was a winning weekend for FF Corse driver John Seale who secured a hat-trick of wins in the GTC class. There was no stopping John Seale who won the Pit-Stop Race with Jamie Stanley on the Saturday and then the two sprint races on Sunday. FF Corse driver Ivor Dunbar also had a successful weekend and took pole position for the first race and followed that up with two podium finishes on the Sunday.

(more…)

Busy Track-day with the FOC at Silverstone

DSC_9932

 

The sun came out shining and so did the cars for a track-day at Silverstone for FF Corse and the Ferrari Owners’ Club of Great Britain. It was a busy garage for the FF Corse team who were running 9 cars and their drivers for the day, which ran smoothly without a hitch in the Race-Car sessions and then in the open sessions.

 

(more…)

Five FF Corse cars at Brands Hatch Ferrari Open

camera pictures 340

 

In addition to the British GT round at Rockingham, FF Corse were also running 5 cars in the Pirelli Ferrari Open at Brands Hatch.  The FF Corse drivers dominated qualifying, by taking 5 of the top 6 spots in qualifying and two pole positions for Ivor Dunbar, from John Seale and Gautam Singhania.

The winning trend continued in the racing, although this time it was the turn of Gautam, racing for the first time in the UK, to take the wins.

To give it a truly international theme Lars Kinell and Tony Gisslen, from Sweden, were also making their Ferrari Open racing debuts, in their 458 Challenge cars.  Both drivers qualified in the top 6 and Lars, driving a standard non-aero car, duly took a well judged podium finish with 3rd spot in race one.

camera pictures 292

FF Corse Rocks at Rockingham BGT

gary pic 2

After the disappointment of Oulton Park, Gary Eastwood and Rob Barff bounced back to a fantastic high at Rockingham by securing their first win in The British GT Championship.

The Pairing qualified 7th on the grid and Gary drove an excellent first stint to climb into the lead of the race before his pit-stop.  Faultless pit work and an excellent team strategy allowed Rob Barff a healthy margin on leaving the pits. Rob subsequently controlled the race with great skill and pace to secure the win by a 16 second margin.

 

gary eastwood pic

FF Corse Fastest Ferrari in Combined Qualifying in the BGT at Silverstone

ge

FF Corse fastest Ferrari ahead of Silverstone three hour

Driver pairing of Rob Barff and Gary Eastwood secured the fourteenth fastest time for race four at Silverstone. The 458 Italia GT3 is carrying an additional ten kilos of ballast after its success last time out at Rockingham . The FF Corse run machine was the fastest Ferrari in the combined qualifying for the team’s home race.
“I felt I did a good lap and took a reasonable number of risks, it felt nice and clean and was quick.”

Team mate Gary Eastwood was looking good during his stint in second qualifying but missed his best time after making an error late in the lap. “I had a good lap going, it would have been a 2:03.8 and I would have been happy with that as it would be my quickest around here. I just saw it coming but pushed a bit too hard into Brooklands and Luffield and had to back out of it, it cost me half a second. You’ve got one lap with these tyres so it is what it is but we’re in with a good chance and it’s a long race tomorrow.”

Both drivers are predicting the safety car will play a part in today’s race. “The team will keep me in the car as long as they can but it’s a team effort so we’ll go with what works best.” Said Gary, who will be starting the race for the team from row seven.
“It’s a three-hour race though so qualifying really doesn’t matter”, said Rob. “As long as we stay on the lead lap there will be a safety car, so we’ll all be within 200 metres of each other and then we go racing. The one thing that Gary and I are good at is catching and passing people, which has been reflected in our past performances in the car.”

A podium finish will be the aim for the duo but points will be a good result as they seek to move up from joint sixth in the standings. All will play out on the track when the cars cross the line at 2:15 this afternoon to start the three-hour epic.

British GP Hospitality at Silverstone with FF Corse

F1GP

FF Corse have been offered an exciting opportunity to host members, guests and associates at Silverstone for the Formula 1 British GP on July 6th.

Guests will enjoy hospitality within a relaxed and informal private suite setting at the Woodcote complex. The facility has a terrace overlooking the circuit, providing the opportunity to get close to the action, as well as a  large  TV screen internally and table seating.

Also provided within the package is reserved seating in the Wellington Bridge grandstand, along with full catering, including hot breakfast, buffet lunch, afternoon tea and a complimentary bar throughout the day.

The price for full hospitality is £780 (inc VAT) per person with a 10% discount (£702) for FF Corse Members and their guests.

Click here to download pdf brochure

For further details and to book places please email events@ffcorse.com or contact Francesca Whalley on 01327 857601.

logo - events

Recent Race Reports – Double the success for the FF Corse Team at Spa and Silverstone

photo5

June 6th-8th was a successful weekend for FF Corse and at Spa-Francorchamps in the Britacr Endurance Championship.

David Mason and Calum Locke drove the 458 challenge car to the top position of the overall Britcar class championship by taking 3rd and 4th positions overall in the two races, increasing their championship points total to 296.

In the same weekend FF Corse drivers John Seale and Jamie Stanley took two podiums and a win in the GTCup Championship at Silverstone. As a nice cherry on top of the cake, John Seale also won the Sunoco Driver of the event award. The results enable John Seale and Jamie Stanley further to extend their championship lead in the GTC Class.

JS

Ferrari 458 GT3 – For Hire!

gt3

FF Corse now has an option for drivers to hire a 2014 spec Ferrari 458 GT3 for track-days, tests and races.

The car already has options held for the Silverstone GT Cup race meeting and the British GT finale at Donington. We are also investigating budgets for some winter testing and endurance races, including the Abu Dhabi 12hr, Dubai 24hr and Bathurst 12hr.

There is also a F430 Challenge car for hire, for full details of support packages and hire fees for both cars, please contact Anthony Cheshire on 01327 857601 or e-mail acheshire@ffcorse.com.