FF Corse took 6 cars to Jerez Circuit in Southern Spain for 2 days of exclusive testing and driver coaching.
The weather was dry and sunny throughout the team’s stay and testing conditions were perfect with an open pit-lane and no traffic implications.
FF Corse‘s Toby Tarrant-Willis & Charlie Holllings held on to take 1st in Class and an amazing 3rd overall in the first round of the British Endurance Championship at Silverstone this weekend.
The FF Corse run car took pole position and Toby T-W held the lead for the first stint until pitting after 40 minutes. With the other cars in class able to run much longer stints between refueling the pressure was on Charlie & Toby to work their way back up the order, whilst trying to conserve fuel.
The battle raged for the next two hours, with the lead see sawing at every pit stop. Eventually the FF Corse crew extended enough of a lead that they were able to stop for their final fuel stop (one more than their rivals) and resume in first place, a position they would hold and extend to the end.
The next round of the Championship is at Donington on April 21st.
FF Corse drivers Rupert Martin and Alex Martin visit Imola this weekend for round 2 of The European Ferrari Challenge Series.
The Dextra Lighting sponsored drivers will race at the circuit for the first time and will be competing in the Trofeo Pirelli pro-class race (Alex Martin #9) and Coppa Shell – gentlemen drivers (Rupert Martin #149)
The races are televised live this Sunday on Motors TV
FF Corse driver Gary Eastwood took two wins in the first two rounds of the Ferrari Open at the weekend. The races, held at Norfolk’s Snetterton Circuit at the weekend, were the debut of the FF Corse aero kit and saw Gary’s 458 Challenge lap 3 seconds a lap faster than last year’s previously held lap record.
Mick Dwane added further success to the FF Corse team; finishing 2nd overall in race 2 and setting fastest lap along the way in his Ferrari 458 Challenge.
Jacques Duyver also drove a fantastic race. After pitting for rain tyres on the warm-up lap of race 2 and starting from the pit-lane, he battled his way through the field to 3rd position overall, setting the fastest pace in the rain. Midway through the race the track dried out and finally his wet tyres went off, although he still battled on for a 5th plaace finish overall and 2nd in class.
FF Corse stalwart Ian Hartley had a frustrating weekend. After setting the pace for class two in testing he was the innocent bystander in a first corner incident in race 1, which damaged his rear wing and eliminated him from the race.
The next round of the Ferrari Open is at Silverstone on April 28th
FF Corse have relocated at Silverstone to the Silverstone Hangar, formerly famed as the Silverstone indoor kart track and more lately the home of A1 GP, before they closed their doors at the end of 2008. The facility has a purpose built workshop, office and a secure storage facility for all FF Corse client managed cars.
The new HQ enables all FF Corse preparation activities to take place under one roof, with access even to loading and unloading of the race trailers able to take place in the dry. The storage area backs onto the Silverstone security venue, which is manned 24hrs a day and the alarm system boasts red care and monitoring facilities usually reserved for banks.
The extra space available can also provide FF Corse members with additional long or short term car storage to members.
An official opening to the new unit will be held over the weekend of September 14th – 16th, to coincide with the Silverstone round of the Ferrari Challenge. All FF Corse members and associates will be welcome to visit and attend.
An official opening to the new unit will be held over the weekend of September 14th – 16th, to coincide with the Silverstone round of the Ferrari Challenge. All FF Corse members and associates will be welcome to visit and attend.
The charity event in it’s 4th year and organised by FF Corse member Gary Eastwood will take place at Brands Hatch on August 2nd this year. The event offers passenger rides to injured members of the armed forces and will again be supported by FF Corse and the technical support provided to free of charge to participating FF Corse drivers.
Last year Matt Neal, of Honda British Touring Car fame, joined us for the day and undertook rides in Gary Eastwood’s Ferrari 458 Challenge.
Drivers wishing to take part in this year’s event are welcome and should please contact Andy O’Dowd at FF Corse on 01327 857601 or email aodowd@ffcorse.com to register.
FF Corse drivers Gary Eastwood, Mick Dwane & Jacques Duyver all achieved podium results in Ferrari Open, held at Brands Hatch over the Jubilee bank holiday.
Gary Eastwood had the best result of the trio of FF Corse drivers with pole position and a dominant win in race 1. In race 2 he looked set to repeat this and maintain his 100% winning record for the season until a rare spin, whilst leading in very tricky wet conditions, dropped him to 4th place in the proceedings. The result promoted Mick Dwane to the head of the Class 4 to take his first class win of the year and Jacques Duyver finished a remarkable 2nd overall on the podium in his Ferrari 430 Challenge.
The race meeting was the culmination of a very busy weekend for Jacques, who had also competed in the Britcar round on the Saturday with Charlie Hollings in his FF Corse run Ferrari F430 Challenge. Unfortunately for the pairing, after qualifying 2nd in class their race was delayed after a collision with another car and the resulting trip into the gravel led to a delayed pit-stop, putting the team out of contention.
The Ferrari Open’s next outing is to Spa-Franchorchamps next month – the week after the Ferrari Challenge race meeting
In the highly competitive arena of the European Ferrari Challenge, FF Corse drivers Alex Martin & Rupert Martin achieved their best race finish results of the season – so far.
Both drivers were visiting the highly technical and challenging, Mugello circuit in Northern Tuscany for the first time and the great results are testament to their ongoing commitment and improvement.
Alex, racing in the professional Trofeo Pirelli races, faces the serious challenge of racing against some top-line professional drivers. Despite this he was consistently able to Challenge in the top 10 of both races and came home with a respectable 9th place finish overall in each race.
Rupert Martin, driving in the Coppa Shell (non-professional, gentlemen drivers) finished half way up the field with an impressive 15th & 16th finish in the races.
The next round of the Championship is at the Hungaroring at the end of the month and then onto the more familiar circuits of Spa-Franchorchamps and Silverstone.
FF Corse made a stunning debut in the British GT Championship at Snetterton the previous weekend with Gary Eastwood and Ryan Hooker.
The Ferrari 458 Challenge driver pairing took two pole positions, and two race wins in the GTC class, finishing 9th overall in race two ahead of some quicker GT3 opposition.
The FF Corse driver pairing are due to complete the last two rounds of the British GT Championship with the next round taking place at Silverstone over a 3hr race on September 8th & 9th.
FF Corse drivers Mick Dwane, Ian Hartley & Gary Eastwood all achieved podiums in both races at the Donington Park round of the Ferrari Open, held last weekend
Gary achieved two second places overall, maintaining his lead in the Championship and Mick finished third on both occasions.
Ian Hartley, completed his first races for almost a year and finished an excellent 2nd and 3rd in the F430 Challenge class.
Next Round: Castle Combe, August 27th (Bank Holiday)