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R.FERRI MOTORSPORT RACING WITH FERRARI WINS 2015 PIRELLI WORLD CHALLENGE SEASON OPENER

By: R.Ferri Motorsport RACING WITH FERRARI News
March 7 2015

Austin, Texas – R.Ferri Motorsport RACING WITH FERRARI raced into the record books on Saturday as team driver Olivier Beretta made a dramatic last-lap pass to win the season-opening Pirelli World Challenge race at Circuit of the Americas in the #61 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3.

Making just his second career World Challenge start, the former Formula 1 timed the start to perfection and held on to third place as the 49-car field made a clean start through the iconic elevated turn one at the Circuit of the Americas.

“I was surprised at the start because I saw the Lamborghini jump but at the same time, I saw the red light and I had one tenth of a second to think and I stopped but didn’t want to stall,” said Beretta. “But then the red light went away and the race went green, so it was a confusing moment. I pushed and had a good start.”

After Beretta slotted in to third, the pole sitting car was judged to have jumped the start and was penalized, leaving Beretta to chase down the leading Porsche. Making the most of his Pirelli traction, Beretta stalked the leader and closed the gap each lap. After taking the white flag, he made an impressive move to take the point on the final lap and cross the finish line 1.6-seconds clear of the field after 49 minutes of green-flag racing.

“I pushed and had a good start,” said Beretta. “I kept pushing and the (leading) Porsche did a very good job. When I realized it was close to the end of the race, I said I ‘have to go, I have to find a way (around)’. I tried to do a qualifying lap. I took many risks, but in the end it paid off. I’m happy for the team, for Ferrari, for Remo (Ferri, team owner), and the guys did a very good job. The preparation and the set up was great from the engineer and the team. We have a good group and we just need to keep going. The season is very long, we have to enjoy the moment, and we have to keep going like this.”

The season-opening win marked a strong foot forward for the team, which scored third in the 2014 World Challenge championship standings and will look to once again be a competitive force in 2015.

“We had a pretty good season and learned a lot last year,” said Team Owner Remo Ferri. “So we took what we learned and tried to make it better. Today, I’m happy that we got the result. It’s a long season and I think there is a lot of work ahead of us. It’s the first race, so there’s a lot to do and a lot to work on. We have a very good car and Olivier did a fantastic job. The team worked very hard.”

With some 19 races yet to run before a champion is crowned, the experienced team owner knows that his group will need to stay focused on the future as the team prepares to return to competition again in race two on Sunday.

“The expectation for tomorrow is to be on the podium again,” said Ferri. “We always want to be Number 1, but we will take whatever comes. The most important thing is to bring the car home and score points. That’s how you win the championship. You can’t win every race even though you try but at the end of the day you must finish the race and bring points home.”

The 2015 Pirelli World Challenge GT season will resume on Sunday at 1:25 PM Central Time, with the race set to be streamed live on www.world-challengetv.com.

About R.Ferri Motorsport RACING WITH FERRARI: Led by Remo Ferri, R.Ferri Motorsport Racing with Ferrari is in its second full season of competition in the Pirelli World Challenge. Founded in 1991, R.Ferri Motorsport is a professional Canadian racing team headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and races in partnership with the Remo Ferri Group of Automobiles including Ferrari of Ontario, Toronto and Alberta. R.Ferri Motorsport also provides technical, racing, and logistical support for 6 Ferrari 458s that take part in the North American Ferrari Challenge along with other exclusive customer track events. Learn more at www.rferrimotorsport.com.

Team Sponsors:

Ferrari of Ontario/Ferrari of Alberta:

Canada’s premiere authorized Ferrari dealership group specializing in new and pre-owned sales, Classiche designation work, collision repair and factory trained service and original parts. Ferrari of Ontario and Ferrari of Alberta are part of the Remo Ferri Group. One of Canada’s leading sports and luxury automotive groups.

For more information please visit www.ferrariofontario.com

Posted by admin on in Miscellaneous News

CBRT Looks Back on their Debut in Trans Am at Sebring

Canada’s Best Racing Team made their Trans Am Series debut last weekend at Sebring.

By: CBRT Inc
March 5 2015

Canada’s Best Racing Team (CBRT) travelled to Sebring International Raceway last week for their first race in the Trans Am Series. The newly built Ford Mustang prepared by McColl Racing Enterprises received a great deal of attention from fans at the event due to its sleek design and well documented build on social media using the #mustangbuild hashtag.

Thursday’s practice session was an opportunity for driver, Joey McColm, to get a feel for the Ford Mustang, while Friday’s practice session led to some changes to the suspension and gearing in order to prepare for qualifying.

Although changes to the suspension had a positive impact, the gearing alterations caused the Mustang to hit the rev limiter when heading down the straightaway, resulting in a loss of speed. McColm qualified in 15th position for the start of the Foametix® Trans Am 100 on Sunday.

Additional modifications were made for the race, where McColm quickly moved to 9th position in just a few laps. The car was fast, but lost engine power just as McColm was advancing on another driver. The Pacmen Pit Crew worked hard to diagnose the problem with hopes that the car could return to the track; however, it was determined to be an internal issue so the car was parked to mitigate further damage.

“I still have a grin on my face from driving that car,” said McColm. “We had a great experience racing at Sebring where we found the Trans Am Series staff to be so welcoming and helpful. The team worked incredibly hard and we learned a lot about the car that weekend.”

This was the team’s first race as a member of the Green Sports Alliance, and as a partner with Bulk Nation, America’s Bulk Food Store. The CBRT Ford Mustang has now returned to Canada where preparations are underway for the upcoming Trans Am race on April 12th at Miami-Homestead Speedway.

Fans can follow the team online using the #WeAreRacers and #GoJoeGo hashtags.

ABOUT CANADA’S BEST RACING TEAM

Canada’s Best Racing Team (CBRT) is a Canadian company established in 2013 that currently fields teams in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and Trans Am Series. CBRT is a highly competitive team of professionals who are invested in the cars and drivers they put on the track. Committed to environmental responsibility, CBRT is a pioneer of sustainability in auto racing, while simultaneously promoting excellence, integrity, and loyalty to their fans. As a leader in marketing solutions, CBRT focuses on strategic partnership, activation planning and execution using social engagement strategies and relationship enhancing experiences to strengthen the connection between brands and their customers.

Posted by admin on in World Challenge

PWC set to open the 2015 Race Season in Austin Texas

The Pirelli World Challenge 2015 race season has begun at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin Texas. The season begins with a staggering 116 entries in 7 categories for this weekends races.

Practice has concluded for today and qualifying will begin Saturday morning at 8:00AM with GTS up first. ( Full weekend Schedule Posted Below )

COTA Entry List-116 Entries
GT: 19; GTA: 21; GT Cup: 10; GTS: 20; TC: 18; TCA: 12; TCB: 16
The following are the Canadian teams and drivers that are participating:

 

GT  61  Olivier Beretta Monte Carlo R. Ferri Motorsport  Ferrari 458 GT3 Italia

GTS  07  Max Riddle (R), Vancouver, BC  TRG-AMR Aston Martin Vantage GT4

GTS  38  Mark Wilkins Toronto, Kinetic Motorsports / Kia Racing Kia Optima

TCA  38  Samantha Tan (R)Gormley, Kinetic Motorsports Kia Forte Koup

TCA  49  Patrick Seguin Ottawa, Branden Peterson Racing Honda Civic Si

TCA  71 Paul Holton Tallahassee, FL Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si

TCA  72  Emilee Tominovich Clarksville, MD Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si

TCB  8  P.J. Groenke Toronto, P.J. Groenke Racing MINI Cooper

TCB  57  Andrei Kisel North Vancouver  Racing.ca MINI Cooper

TCB  58  Glenn Nixon Mission, BC  Racing.ca MINI Cooper

 

TCB 59 Wei Lu (R)Richmond,BC Racing.ca MINI Cooper

Saturday/Sunday Schedules

Qualifying – GTS – Saturday, 8:00am  ( All Times are Central Time )
Qualifying – GT/GTA/GT Cup – Saturday, 9:30am
Qualifying/Race – TC/TCA/TCB – Saturday, 10:30am
Race – GTS – Saturday, 12:20pm
Race – GT/GTA/GT Cup – Saturday, 2:45pm
Race – TC/TCA/TCB – Saturday, 4:15pm
Warm Up – GTS – Sunday, 8:45am
Warm Up – GT/GTA/GT Cup – Sunday, 9:15am
Race – GTS – Sunday, 10:20am
Race – GT/GTA/GT Cup – Sunday, 1:25pm
Race – TC/TCA/TCB – Sunday, 3:10pm
Posted by admin on in Miscellaneous News

Canadian Touring Car Championship Announces 2015 Schedule

CTCC 2015 SCHEDULE

May 15-17: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Bowmanville, ON) (GT-ST-T)

May 30-31: Shannonville Motorsport Park (Shannonville, ON) (ST-T)

Jun 12-14: Toronto Honda Indy (Toronto, ON) (GT-ST-T)

July 4-5: Circuit ICAR (Mirabel, QC) (GT-ST-T)

July 31-August 2: Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières (Trois-Rivières, QC) (GT-ST-T)

August 28-30: Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (Bowmanville, ON) (GT-ST-T)

September 19-20: Circuit ICAR (Mirabel, QC) (ST-T)

Posted by admin on in Miscellaneous News

Trans Am Foametix 100 Results from Sebring Fla.

Unofficial Race Results:

OverAll   Class

19th        11th        #29 TA Andrew Romocki, Mississauga, Ont. Rocanda/BC Race Cars Ford Mustang
16th        6th         #73 TA2 Kevin Poitras, Toronto, Ont. Post Plastics Ford Mustang
63rd       30th       #78 TA2 Harry Steenbakkers, Ottawa, Ont. OttawaWestDv/PowerSportsGarage Chevrolet Camaro
62nd      29th        #83 TA2 Joey McColm, Toronto, Ont. Bulk Nation / CBRT Ford Mustang