An action packed programme welcomed fans and visitors at Northamptonshire’s Silverstone Circuit this Saturday, with Qualifying sessions for the categories competing in the FIA GT championship and the first races of the European Series of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli.

The Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB completed an extraordinary start in the Ferrari Challenge Coppa Shell this weekend, with an excellent display in Qualifying and a breath-taking 1-2 achieved in Race 1. The team has four cars, with two of them competing under the Team Vertu Racing banner and two in Ferrari Challenge Dealer team GB livery, driven by Ferrari clients who are taking part in the world’s most prestigious racing series for gentleman drivers.

Team Vertu Racing driver, Mike Cantillon in Car 128, who already won Race 2 at Monza last month, finished first and capitalized on his pole position achieved yesterday during a thrilling Qualifying 1 session. He maintained his pole position throughout the race, which included some laps under the safety car due to an incident which occurred in the early stages of the race. After a return to green flag racing, Mike drove a spectacular race and crossed the finish line with a comfortable 10 second lead.

Even more exciting was the race of his team mate, Jamie Constable in Team Vertu Racing car 127. Jamie, who started in sixth position, performed an incredible recovery gaining consistent pace and finishing second after overtaking the Spaniard Angel Santos in the very last minute of the race, securing the first 1-2 of the season for Team Vertu Racing. “Absolutely fantastic!” commented Enrico Bertaggia, Ferrari GB’s Motorsport Director. “I am very, very happy about today’s result but even more about the excellent Qualifying sessions yesterday which means Mike and Jamie will both start tomorrow’s race from the front row of the grid.” 

The performances of the other Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB’s drivers were equally impressive, with Jean-Marc Bachelier in Car 127 finishing 4th after starting in an excellent 7th place but quickly moving up the grid to challenge for another podium position. Throughout the whole race he kept looking for the right moment to overtake Angel Santos, which would have meant to a very special 1-2-3 for Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB. In the second race of his career, Jack Gerber in car 126, also demonstrated his raising confidence and gained another two positions, finishing 13th after starting 15th on the grid.

In the paddock area, the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB also hosted Ferrari clients and VIP guests to the team hospitality units which really set the standard in the pitlane. In an unique and exciting marketing collaboration with Vertu, KitchenAid and Meridian, the team’s guests were able to spend the weekend in luxury, enjoying the finest Italian hospitality – with exquisite cuisine freshly prepared by KitchenAid’s guest chef, entertained by Meridian Audio’s state-of-the-art home entertainment systems, and provided with an opportunity to see Vertu’s incredible range of luxury, handcrafted mobile phones, including the very appropriate and exclusive limited edition Racetrack Legends Series which feature engravings of historical and significant motor racing circuits on the phone’s titanium casing.

The Ferrari Challenge is back on track tomorrow, Sunday 20th April for Race 2, with Team Vertu Racing again on pole position with Mike Cantillon (car 128) and Jamie Constable (car 127) sharing the starting grid.

The Ferrari Challenge is also supporting the FIA GT at Silverstone this weekend, where ten Ferrari F430 GTC, competing in six different teams, will be making their debut in the first season’s race of prestigious championship on Sunday.