Montreal Ferrari challenge race

I was at the Canadian Grand Prix this past weekend and watched the Ferrari challenge series there. I noticed the cars were all ran by Ferrari dealerships across North America. Are individuals (with enough $$$) permitted to enter their own teams in this series or is it only for authorized Ferrari dealerships competing?

 

You buy the car and pay the dealerships to run the cars. I believe it is around 25k a weekend not including crash damage.

Beware though, there are a ton of awful drivers that simply have the cash and no training or sense.

There are some horror-show races on youtube; jalopnik; etc.

 

First thing you need to do is get an IMSA license
Once you have that you need to have a dealer sponsor you and you buy a Challenge car through them.

this is what you get for one complete season:

• Seven (7) race event entry fee
• Fuel -- per series regulations
• Pirelli Tires -- per series regulations (8 tires for 2 races per weekend)
• Memorabilia item
• Official SABELT Challenge suit
• Trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd finishing positions and special achievement awards
• Special race and season awards
• Three (3) hospitality tickets for Daytona - one (1) driver and two (2) guests. Two (2) hospitality tickets - one (1) driver and one (1) guest - for 4 race events (Interlagos, Sonoma, Lime Rock, Mosport). One (1) hospitality pass for both F1 support races (Montreal and Austin). Other passes can be purchased upon request.
• Included are a complete set of brake rotors and brake pads
They will give you technical support with mechanics from the dealership as well as a transporter and driver
I think the season is 22K not including the car and any hospitality.

And yes it can get expensive. Just ask Lance Cawley.
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some of the facts/commentary above are more than a bit "off"

1) the cars are amazing to drive
2) it is expensive, is more expensive if you want to be competitive, and very expensive if you make the wrong kind of mistakes
3) the series is designed for (almost) entry level drivers and gentlemen/lady drivers. In reality, these cars are now faster than some full-on GT3 spec cars, so the implications can be severe
4) there are drivers on the grid who can, and have, competed successfully at the IMSA, PWC and other pro levels. There are also drivers who might be in their first year ever of being near a race track.
5) most of the "teams" are independent race teams, as running these cars is a professional level endeavor technically. Most of the independents run the dealer teams on behalf of the dealers and have strong partnerships. Scuderia Corsa (BH) and Risi (Houston) have their own in-house operations (but they also have IMSA and PWC programs as well)
6) the smart drivers hire a great professional coach and focus on learning, and test a lot
7) **** happens in any series, it can happen more and more quickly with fast cars and a broad bell curve of experience
8) by the time you add up the car, entry, support, tires, spares, et al, it's easily $40-45K a weekend. similar to Lambo ST, GT3Cup, and even IMSA ST depending on the program. Crash damage is extra.
9) Ferrari does a nice job of hospitality, and on most weekends you get a LOT of track time compared to other series....which is a big benefit. Of all the series I've run, Challenge proved to be the one my family liked to attend and enjoyed the most.
10) anecdotally, I've seen more vicious and crap driving in Spec Miata than in Challenge; the issue is in Challenge, more people see it and "idiot crashed a Ferrari" makes for better headlines.

If you have questions and want a real perspective, ask someone who races in the series or contact one of the teams.

 

Thanks for clearing that up.
I went to a presentation hosted by Algar and FNA a couple of months back and was commenting from memory.
You seem to bit a bit more knowledgeable.

 

Do it for 4-5 years and you get to know it, good and otherwise. All good, no worries.

 

Best bullet point. Must caveat though, the spec miata folks have "less to lose" in terms of financial costs etc in comparison and hence probably why they tend to be more "vicious" and/or "crappy"

 

It was fun watching them
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A lower cost and intensity option from what I understand; just as an FYI OP.

Challenge Car Racing

 

@enthropy...can you explain the difference between Pirelli Trofeo & Coppa Shell??
is it the driver level?? because I noticed on the Pirelli Trofeo cars some had AM on the right rear (amateur?)...Thanks much appreciated!
as an aside this year in Montreal you also had Porsche Cup Cars running, 997 & 991 mixed...and while they were stunning to watch....the 458's V8's made a much more impressive noise

 

In Challenge North America, there are actually 3 sub-classes in each race

Trofeo Pirelli (TP decal on car) is for drivers with extensive experience (pro or in Challenge), who have an extensive record of being good and winning lots of podiums/championships, or who have or are actually professional drivers. Most of the drivers in TP are driving at lap times within 0.5 of each other. Race aggressively but competently.

Trofeo Pirelli Amateur (TPAM) is for drivers who are experienced, have demonstrated multiple podium wins, consistently fast times, and/or who have won a championship (or been near the top) previously. Lap times are consistent, a bit broader spread, and generally good race craft.

Coppa Shell (CS on car) is the biggest group. It ranges from very solid, capable and experienced gentleman drivers to people who are net-new to Challenge, let alone racing. This is where the bell curve is the broadest in terms of driver ability, experience and ultimately speed. This where lap times can be miles apart, and car control and race craft are range from really good drivers driving conservatively to rookies who are learning to drive in traffic.

In Europe, they run TP and CS as the 2 different classes, but have a number of sub-classes (eg. for drivers over a certain age, et al). Generally same idea.

As you probably noticed, there is a lot of overlap between the classes.

Porsche GT3Cup has a similar format, though it's broken up primarily by the young guns (GT3 Cup is definitely a feeder series) and the guys out for fun, plus they are broken up by the spec of cars (997, 991, and which sub-specs). In Ferrari, next year you'll likely see the new 488 running as a class breakdown against the 458 as the new cars are adopted.

hope this helps

 

no doubt. what's the saying, it's hard to do $20K of damage to a Spec Miata, or a Ferrari?

Also, and realistically, in Miatas, like IMSA ST, "using your elbows" is lower risk and has fewer implications. Touching wheels in a GT car at speed has huge implications.

CCR is a great "club" series, and enforce the contact rules. Much more so, it is less about pure competition and more about fun racing. Though even in Ferrari Challenge, the trophies are plastic....and no prize money.....but the attitudes can get very competitive. Different strokes...

 

clear as a bell.Thanks very much!
..yes you could see who was just driving around (in a good way) and who was pushing and pushing hard...same 3 drivers in both races were vying for podium and the remainder were fairly consistent as well....
everyone was fairly safe, no silliness, only a couple of blue flags and a few yellows mostly from single car errors...

 

Ferrari Challenge: the only series where we're told some cars may have passengers. Handy to know when we're responding to an incident.

 

Accredited "coaches" are allowed as passengers to provide in-car coaching during some practice sessions, not during races.

They must be licensed and approved by IMSA as coaches, and have the same safety gear (driver and car).

In reality, there is less and less ride-along coaching happening, and most of it with very new drivers. Most coaching now is provided via data and video analysis, and over the radio.

I do agree, it would be helpful for track staff to know if there is 1 or 2 occupants in a car. Had not thought of that but makes absolute sense!

 

I thought full costs including car was more like $1,000,000 per year to go first class with coaching etc

 

No way, that's nowhere near close, that's a 3x multiple.

Actual costs will vary....how much testing, crash damage, etc...do you want to keep a spare car (which is rare these days), but that figure is off the charts.

 

sorry, didn't notice the "with car".

 

You must have been looking at Scott Tucker's budget!