Mugello; land of motorsport; ideal venue for the Ferrari Challenge World Finals; host of the last spectacle in the Maranello granturismo racing season. It was here, in the distant 1993, that the single brand began on the track owned by the Casa di Maranello, with the first meeting later renamed "All Ferraris on the track". For the 2017 Finals, the 25th anniversary of the Challenge was celebrated with an exhibition featuring several Kessel cars in the front row: 360 GTC, 430 Scuderia GT3 and 575 GTC, three glorious cars of the team were admired by the Maranello fans, before taking part in the closing parade on Sunday.
Kessel Racing bids farewell to the Ferrari Challenge 2017 after an extremely hard-fought and exciting season, on tracks across Europe with the usual level of commitment and an unequaled desire for victory. On Tuscan soil, the continental season ended, in addition to the World finals which have always given great emotions in all categories. In race one, held on Friday, Murat Cuhadaroglu was the best of the Grancia Team drivers, closing in his seventh position. Claudio Schiavoni and Fons Scheltema, respectively, finished seventeenth and nineteenth at the checkered flag. In the second race on Saturday, Cuhadaroglu improved his final position by finishing sixth, with Schiavoni thirteenth. Tough luck for Scheltema forced to retire after a few bends. At the end of the season at Mugello, Kessel was joined by Ferrari Long Island drivers; Christopher Cagnazzi in the Pirelli AM Trophy; and by Joseph Rubbo and Brian Kaminskey with the 458 EVO Challenge, for their last competitive appearance, on the occasion of the Mugello event.
Sunday, closing day of the long weekend, saw drivers compete for three World Finals with the 458 Challenge EVO, with Joseph Rubbo who won the last title driving the 458 Evo. Among the Shell Cup drivers, Scheltema and Cuhadaroglu finished ninth and thirteenth positions. With the Ferrari Challenge season concluded, there still remains a prestigious date in December with the 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi scheduled for the Yas Marina circuit.
Ronnie Kessel (Team Owner): "With Mugello, we close another season of the Ferrari Challenge, as always our point of reference. From the Challenge, many of our drivers' careers took off, after which they later distinguished themselves in Gran Turismo races. The Finals are always a wonderful event, where the Ferrari World meets up as if by magic, like last night at the gala dinner and today at the 70-year Ferrari celebration, where we proudly admired three cars developed and driven by my Father Loris. There is still an important appointment in our intensive calendar of 2017 races: Abu Dhabi, and then it will be time to start thinking about another year of racing.".