Bahrain to host the 2019 season opener of Ferrari Challenge Europe
Bahrain International Circuit is set to host the first round of the 2019 season of Ferrari Challenge Europe, the most admired one-make car race series globally. The event will take place from the 14th to 17th February, as hundreds of Prancing Horse enthusiasts from across the Middle East and Europe will be in Bahrain to experience what is a true Ferrari festival, the ultimate showcase of automotive excellence through a series of track activities producing a long symphony of roaring engines.
The famous one-make championship with a legacy dating back to 1993, places dream cars and very special customers on the most beautiful racetracks in the world, featuring to date over 1000 drivers globally, as well as many memorable races and thrilling performances. The series of activities during the four action packed Ferrari Racing Days will also include the F1 Clienti and XX Programmes events that follow a separate calendar, occasionally overlapping with the dates of one of the three continental series of the Ferrari Challenge. These global initiatives provide Ferraristas with a platform to race in their single-seaters or “XX Programmes” laboratory cars on exciting and challenging tracks.
“The Ferrari Challenge takes place at some of the world’s most famous, state-of-the-art racing tracks and Bahrain International Circuit is certainly fit to be the first to feature in this season’s calendar,” said Giorgio Turri, General Manager at Ferrari Middle East.
“The Middle East is home for some of the most avid Ferraristas globally and hosting such a major event in the region brings a lot of excitement to our Ferrari community. In partnership with our local Bahraini dealership, Euro Motors, We will look to leverage this opportunity to involve our discerning clientele through a special edition of ‘Passione Ferrari’, the platform dedicated for our customers and prospects to indulge in the Prancing Horse experience on a world class racing track,” he added.
The Ferrari Challenge is divided into three continental series: Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. The European 2019 season will commence at Bahrain International Circuit, before heading to Valencia, Spielberg, Le Mans, Nürburgring, Imola and the Finali Mondiali in Mugello. This highly competitive racing series is sanctioned by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and features four categories suited for different levels of driving, including Trofeo Pirelli, Trofeo Pirelli Am, Coppa Shell and Coppa Shell Am.
Antonello Coletta, Head of Ferrari Attività Sportive GT said, “We are expecting another highly competitive Ferrari Challenge season with hard-fought races and packed head-to-head duels, which contributes to the growing popularity of this series. The European series is broadcasted in over 90 countries and continues to gain popularity amongst petrol heads and Ferrari enthusiasts in the Middle East, making the Bahrain International Circuit the perfect host for this season’s opening round”.
The series features the most powerful car in the history of one-make racing series, the 488 Challenge. The car is tailored for an incredible track experience thanks to 670 hp generated by the V8 3.9-liter engine derived from the 488 GTB, winner of the International engine of the Year Award in 2016. Compared to the production 488 GTB engine, the Challenge’s powertrain, in its architecture is exactly the road car engine but features specific engine mapping, optimised for racing performance, and shorter gear ratios providing up to an 11.6% increase in acceleration out of turns compared to its predecessor, the naturally-aspirated 458 Challenge EVO.
The most noticeable changes to the 488 Challenge compared to the production car are related to the aerodynamics. In order to achieve the technical objective of increasing the car’s aero efficiency while respecting the main design elements, the engineers worked closely with the Ferrari Styling Centre. The front radiator layout was reworked, inverting the rake so that they are now inclined towards the rear. This solution improves the air flow over the radiators in racing conditions whilst, at the same time, reducing drag. The new layout required new vents at the bottom of the bumper ahead of the wheels.
