TWO PODIUM POSITIONS FOR FERRARI AT MILLER
Tooele, 24 August .– Last weekend was rather difficult for the Ferrari customers’ teams and their drivers engaged in the Pirelli World Challenge championship. In fact, they reached the podium only twice during the entire weekend, less than the drivers of Scuderia Corsa, NGT Motorsport, and R. Ferrari Motorsport got us used to.
Race 1. In Saturday’s race, first place went to the incumbent champion Johnny O’Connell, uncontested star at Miller on a Cadillac, who came ahead of the Nissans of JD Davison and Bryan Heitkotter. Ryan Dalziel, leader in the standing on a Porsche finished 5th, and Olivier Beretta was 12th on the 458 Italia GT3 number 61 of the R. Ferri Motorsport team, two places ahead of Duncan Ende who drove the twin car of the Scuderia Corsa. Things went better in the GTA class. However, the win went to Frankie Montecalvo (Mercedes), the main rival of Ferrari driver Henrique Cisneros who finished fourth with the 458 Italia of the NGT Motorsport team. Martin Fuentes, on the Ferrari of Scuderia Corsa, and Eric Lux on the second Mercedes took second and third place.
Race 2. On Sunday, there was only one change in the podium. O’Connell came ahead of Davison and the Bentley of Guy Smith, while Dalziel consolidated his leadership with a fourth place. Beretta finished tenth, while Ende crossed the finish line in 17th place. Once again, things went better in the GTA class in which Montecalvo dominated again ahead of Lux and the Ferrari of Martin Fuentes. Cisneros took another fourth place.
The situation. After this unexciting weekend, Dalziel leads the GT championship standings ahead of O’Connell and Beretta, while in GTA Cisneros has been overtaken by Montecalvo. The circuit of the next event, Sonoma, should be better suited to the Ferraris; therefore, Beretta and Cisneros are expected to make a comeback. The point differences in the standings are very small and the field is still wide open.
Text and photograph by: Ferrari
