Weekend notebook: Ferrari victorious in six championships

Ferrari drivers starred during a packed weekend of racing in Europe, Australia and Japan. Alessio Rovera and Vincent Abril triumphed on Ferrari’s debut in the GT World Challenge Sprint at Brands Hatch, while Lilou Wadoux secured the win in the 4 Hours of Paul Ricard – round two of the European Le Mans Series. The Prancing Horse celebrated a double victory in the GT World Challenge Australia in Sydney, class wins in the Italian GT Championship at Misano and Super GT at Fuji, and a podium finish in Britcar at Silverstone.

GT WC Europe Sprint. Ferrari kicked off its challenge with a standout debut in the series opening round, recording overall and Pro class wins in Race-1 with Alessio Rovera and Vincent Abril in the 296 GT3 number 51 of AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors. Starting from the front row – with Prancing Horse driver Alessio Rovera lining up alongside poleman Thierry Vermeulen in the 296 GT3 number 69 of Emil Frey Racing – the Italo–Belgian team implemented an excellent strategy. After delaying their pit stop by one lap compared to their rivals, Abril returned to the track in first place, a lead he held to the finish, crossing the line just a few tenths ahead of the runner-up. The number 69 car, with Chris Lulham – Vermeulen’s teammate – was third over the line, losing time after running onto the grass while attempting to regain the lead. The result nevertheless secured victory in the Gold Cup class. Completing Ferrari’s success, four cars finished in the top five. Fourth place went to the number 14 of Konsta Lappalainen and Ben Green (Emil Frey Racing), while Maranello official drivers Arthur Leclerc and Thomas Neubauer took fifth in the number 50 car of AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors.

Jef Machiels and Marcos Siebert’s eleventh place overall in the number 52 of AF Corse – Francorchamps Motors was sufficient to win the Silver class.

Sunday saw another closely fought battle for the Ferraris at Brands Hatch – once again over a one-hour distance – though this time with less favourable results. The best came courtesy of Leclerc and Neubauer, who finished fourth, a mere seven-tenths off the podium after an excellent recovery in the final stages. Behind them were the number 14 of Green and Lappalainen, while – after a strong opening stint – the sister car, Emil Frey Racing number 69 with Vermeulen and Lulham finished ninth overall and second in the Gold class. 

With the Brands Hatch weekend behind us, the GT World Challenge now enters its busiest period. Preparations for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa begin with official testing in Belgium’s Ardennes region on 13 and 14 May, followed closely by the second Sprint Cup round at Zandvoort (16 to 18 May). The Endurance Cup will resume two weeks later with a three-hour race at Monza from 30 May to 1 June.

Alessio Rovera: “I have to say that we prepared well for my first time at Brands Hatch, and the team also trained and worked hard on pit stops. I want to congratulate everyone for their work, especially in Race-1. That win was a wonderful reward after a really intense contest, and it felt fantastic to celebrate on the top step of the podium with Abril. The British circuit itself is also incredibly exciting. I did everything I could in Race 2 in an attempt to pull off a comeback.”

European Le Mans Series. After a gripping race marked by extended periods of rain and multiple Safety Car deployments, Prancing Horse official driver Lilou Wadoux crossed the line first in the 296 LMGT3 number 50 of Richard Mille AF Corse – just 305 thousandths of a second ahead of her nearest rival. A smart team strategy and stints from teammates Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini allowed Wadoux to take over in the lead. The French driver showed great skill and determination to hold her position to the chequered flag. An excellent day for the Prancing Horse was completed by GR Racing’s third-place finish – with Michael Wainwright, Riccardo Pera and Tom Fleming in the number 86, just 1.364 seconds off the win – fourth place for Duncan Cameron, David Perel and Matthew Griffin in Spirit of Race number 55, which had led for a long time, and fifth for the AF Corse number 51 crewed by official driver Davide Rigon alongside Charles-Henri Samani and Conrad Laursen.

Other top-ten finishers included the number 57 Ferrari of Kessel Racing in ninth place, piloted by official driver James Calado, Takeshi Kimura and Ben Tuck and JMW Motorsport number 66, featuring Anthony Noble, Jason Hart and Gianmaria Bruni. The Ferrari number 74 of Kessel Racing, crewed by official driver Miguel Molina alongside Andrew Gilbert and Fran Rueda Mateos, was forced to retire mid-race.

The next round of the 2025 European Le Mans Series is the 4 Hours of Imola on Sunday, 6 July. However, before that, some ELMS teams and drivers will return to France for the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, on 14 and 15 June.

Le Mans Cup. The GT3 entries engaged in a hard-fought contest in round two of the Le Mans Cup at Le Castellet in France. Several crews took turns at the front before the result was finally settled in the closing laps. Two Maranello-built cars secured podium positions. The number 51 Ferrari of AF Corse finished runner-up with Eliseo Donno and Alessandro Cozzi. It overtook Kessel Racing number 17 with Lorenzo Innocenti and Andrea Belicchi, which had led until just minutes before the chequered flag and ultimately secured third. Fifth place went to Kessel Racing number 33, driven by Murat Cuhadaroglu and David Cleto Fumanelli, while Biogas Motorsport number 23 of Josep Mayola Comadira and Marc Carol Ybarra was seventh. The next event is on 12 June with the Road to Le Mans.

GT World Challenge Australia. The Ferrari 296 GT3 number 26 of Arise Racing GT enjoyed a triumphant weekend with back-to-back victories in round two of the GT World Challenge Australia at Sydney Motorsport Park. Elliott Schutte and Jaxon Evans dominated the races, starting both from pole position. They maintained their lead and crossed the line with commanding margins: 15 seconds on Saturday and 10 seconds on Sunday. The second Arise Racing GT entry – the number 77 Ferrari of Stephen Wyatt and Jordan Love – finished eighth and tenth. The GT World Challenge Australia resumes at Queensland Raceway from 30 May to 1 June.

Italian GT Championship. The opening round of the 23rd season of the Endurance series at Misano World Circuit saw class victories for Ferrari in the AM category, with Jason Ambrose, David McDonald and Francesco Castellacci in the 296 GT3 number 83 of AF Corse, and in GT Cup with the 296 Challenge number 169 of Stefano Gai and Fabrizio Fontana, also fielded by the Piacenza-based team.

Luigi Coluccio, Leonardo Gorini and Carlo Tamburini in the 296 GT3 number 98 of Easy Race secured the best overall result, taking fourth place – and second in the GT3 Pro-Am class – after a strong comeback from 11th on the grid. They finished ahead of the two sister cars from AF Corse: the number 62, driven by Leonardo Colavita, Ibrahim Badawi and Ajenjo David Vinales, which had initially crossed the line in fourth but was penalised for an irregularity during the driver change, and the number 51 of Lorenzo Ferrari, Mahaveer Raghunathan and Riccardo Ponzio, which also mounted an impressive comeback. After Ponzio’s brilliant start from fifth on the grid, the AF Corse crew lost ground due to a contact involving the Abruzzo-born driver, which dropped them to 14th. They then climbed back into the points, eventually finishing sixth – just ahead of the third AF Corse 296 GT3, the number 83 of Ambrose, McDonald and Castellacci, who secured victory in the GT3 AM class ahead of AF Corse's 296 GT3, the 50, driven by Simon Mann, Edoardo Borelli and Christoph Ulrich.

The fourth AF Corse Ferrari – the number 151, with Leonardo Megna, Edoardo Barbolini e Vincenzo Scarpetta - joined them on the class podium, finishing third in class. 

Andrea Levy, Ivan Mari and Mattia Bucci in Best Lap's 296 Challenge number 219 came second in the GT Cup AM 1st Division. Ferrari claimed another podium in the AM 2nd Division, with Matteo Marulla, Gian Marco Ercoli and Nicholas Risitano finishing second in the 488 Challenge Evo number 577 of Double TT Racing.

The next round of the Italian GT Championship is the Sprint series at Vallelunga from 23 to 25 May, while the Endurance series returns from 20 to 22 June at Monza.

Super GT. Ferrari claimed its first GT300 class win of the season in round two of Super GT, with the 296 GT3 number 6 of UNI-ROBO Bluegrass crewed by Yoshiaki Katayama and Roberto Merhi Muntan. The victory at Fuji Speedway capped a dramatic comeback, with the Ferrari starting from 27th and climbing to third in the closing stages. Mechanical issues for the two leading cars in the final laps cleared the way for the Ferrari number 6 to cross the line in first. The other Ferrari on the grid – the 296 GT3 number 45 of Ponos Racing with Kei Cozzolino and Takuro Shinohara – secured another strong result, finishing just off the podium in fourth. The next round is on 27 and 28 June at Sepang in Malaysia.

Britcar Endurance Championship. The Britcar Endurance Championship round at Silverstone saw the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo number 16 of FF Corse & Red River Sport – driven by Bonamy Grimes and Johnny Mowlem – take third place overall. The second Ferrari entry, the 488 Challenge number 21 of Steer Group with Andy Christopher behind the wheel, finished several laps down. The next event takes place at Snetterton on 31 May.