Ferrari Challenge Japan

Miki Koyama, a young female professional driver who also competes in the Super GT 300 class, achieved a pole-to-win victory.

The traditional one-make race “Ferrari Challenge,” which began in 1993, is a race for gentleman drivers, or amateur racers. This year, the “296 Challenge” cars, with speeds comparable to the GT3 category, were introduced. A two-day round usually involves one race per day, with a winner in each. Furthermore, within the same race, drivers are divided into classes based on their skill. First, there is the top class, Trofeo Pirelli, and the entry-level class, Coppa Shell, which are then further divided into Expert and Amateur (Am), for a total of four classes.

In the professional Trofeo Pirelli, young female professional driver Miki Koyama, making her Ferrari Challenge debut, took pole position and, with perfect tire management, achieved a brilliant pole-to-win in her debut with the 296 Challenge. Tadao Uematsu, who had qualified in third place, came up short, but finished in second place, just seven seconds behind the leader.

In the Trofeo Pirelli Am, which saw a five-car field, Motohiko Isozaki, who also competes in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe and won his class championship in the Coppa Shell Am, took pole position, but spun on the fifth lap and fell back. Kanji Yagura prevailed in a turbulent final stage to take his first win since Round 1 at Suzuka last year.

Happy first win in the Coppa Shell Am class

Norikazu Shibata was delighted to achieve his first victory.

In the Coppa Shell, which saw four cars enter, Phil Kim, who finished second in the rankings last season, took pole position with a qualifying time comparable to his Trofeo Pirelli Am. He achieved a pole-to-win at his favorite Suzuka Circuit. Sixteen cars were entered in the Coppa Shell Am, the most of any race this year. Ryutaro Saito took pole position in qualifying, but spun on lap 12 and dropped back. Norikazu Shibata, in his second year competing, took the lead and drove a consistent time over the final two laps to claim his first and most satisfying victory.

The first Ferrari Challenge Japan race for the 296 Challenge was a race that saw dramatic first victories in two classes. Rain is forecast for Race 2 on April 6th (starting at 9:45am), which will also be the venue for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix final, so there may be another dramatic development.

PHOTO／Ferrari SpA