Ferrari | North America: Franco takes the double win, title goes to Clarke

The North American drivers were out on track for their final championship race of the season with the Trofeo Pirelli titles still up for grabs, while the Coppa Shell ones had already been assigned.

Four drivers were still in with a shout in both groups, so the race action saw it all to play for with Jeremy Clarke (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) leading the table from Jason McCarthy (Wide World Ferrari), Manny Franco (Ferrari Lake Forest) and Matt Kurzejewski (Ferrari Westlake).

Franco led from the get-go but put two wheels on the gravel, allowing McCarthy to take the lead, and when the latter set the fastest lap, the one extra point would have given him the title against Clarke. The chasing Franco then set fastest lap in turn two laps later, which took the title out of his hands. McCarthy then ruined every chance he had when he got it all wrong at the Villeneuve with 15 minutes remaining and his brief off-track excursion meant that Franco was back in front and the title was back with Clarke, who was struggling somewhat in fourth place.

Everything was set for a frantic final ten minutes, but a close encounter at the Tosa between Custodio Toledo (The Collection) and Todd Coleman (Ferrari of Denver) brought the safety car out and so the dash for cash finished in an anti-climax as the results were frozen. Coleman picked up a 25 second penalty for his action.

It is worth mentioning that McCarthy’s race had been an uphill struggle from the start however as at the end of race 1, he had his points cancelled due to a ride height irregularity. All this on and off-track action meant that the man who dominated the weekend – Manny Franco – lost out on the title by just one point.

#218 Manny Franco, Ferrari Lake Forest

Photo by: AG Photo / Manganaro

Still up for grabs in this race 2 was the title in the Trofeo Pirelli AM class, in which third place allowed Dave Musial Jr. (Ferrari Lake Forest) to get the better of his rivals, also because Coleman, as mentioned, was penalized, while Alfred Caiola (Ferrari of Long Island) finished right behind him.

The win went to Dylan Medler (The Collection), who completed a superb double in this Imola weekend, finishing sixth overall. Aaron Weiss (Ferrari of Central New Jersey) also had a good run for the second podium slot, finishing seventh at the chequered flag.

In the Coppa Shell, with Michael Petramalo (Ferrari of Seattle) already crowned champion at Mugello, the win went to poleman Omar Balkissoon (Ferrari Fort Lauderdale), 11th overall, who finished ahead of the 2022 champion and Yahn Bernier (Ferrari of Seattle). In this class there was also a big clash at the Villeneuve between Sureel Choksi (Ferrari of Denver) and Brian Kaminskey (Ferrari of Long Island), which brought about the retirement of the former and a 25 second penalty.

Another 25 second penalty was handed out to Rey Acosta (The Collection) in the Coppa Shell AM for sending Lisa Clark (Ferrari of Beverly Hills) into the barriers at the Tosa. After yesterday’s win therefore Clark finished her race at the back of the field. Champion Tony Davies (Continental AutoSports) took his fifth win of the year, with Richard Pineda (Ferrari of Washington) and Dan Cornish (Ferrari of Austin) alongside him on the podium.

FERRARI CHALLENGE - Imola: Race 2 North America