Gilbert Yates is the new Trofeo Pirelli champion in the Ferrari Challenge UK. The Charles Hurst team driver was mathematically assured of the title thanks to victory in Race 1 at Silverstone in the final round of the season. Mike Dewhirst's (Dick Lovett Swindon) success keeps the fight in the Coppa Shell open, where Robert Rees still remains in the lead.
Qualifying 1. In Trofeo Pirelli, championship leader Gilbert Yates (Charles Hurst) threw down the gauntlet in pursuit of the title, cementing pole with an impressive 2:04.585 best lap time. In Coppa Shell, Mike Dewhirst (Dick Lovett Swindon) once again demonstrated his quality, posting the fastest lap time of 2:07.252 to secure pole position.
Trofeo Pirelli. Andrew Morrow (Charles Hurst) placed early pressure on poleman Yates, who worked diligently to consolidate his lead. After 10 minutes, the two Irishmen had built up a significant 10-sec gap ahead of third-placed 2022 Ferrari Challenge UK champion Lucky Khera (Graypaul Birmingham), a position he eventually surrendered in an early retirement.
Unchallenged from behind, the showdown for the title commenced. Despite the best attempts of reigning champion Morrow, it was Yates who delivered a consummate drive to cross the line in first place following a race-long battle between the pair. His latest victory secured the 2024 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli UK championship in what has been an incredible debut season for the Irishman.
Coppa Shell. Dewhirst had his work cut out as he started the race from the pit exit following an unscheduled visit to pit lane during the formation lap when the pits were closed. Championship leader Robert Rees (Dick Lovett Swindon) assumed his place at the front of the grid. Undeterred, Dewhirst worked hard to ascend through the order, passing Darren Howell (JCT600 Leeds), Steve Dopson (Dick Lovett Swindon) and Peter Hunter (Stratstone Manchester) in the first 10 minutes of the race to move up into the podium places.
Further ahead, returning Coppa Shell driver Stuart Marston (Maranello Sales) quickly rediscovered his form and pressed on, closing the gap to Welshman Rees in the battle for the lead. Further back, Dewhirst sensed an opportunity, laying down his fastest laps of the race to close the gap to the pair.
With just minutes remaining, Marston slipped down the inside of an unsuspecting Rees at Stowe to secure the lead, followed by Dewhirst shortly after. As the race drew to a conclusion, it seemed as though Marston would hold on for the win, but an indomitable Dewhirst pushed past on the final lap to clinch first place and secure his fourth win of the season. His comeback victory closes the gap to Coppa Shell championship leader Rees to just 8 points.
Silverstone, Sunday 15 September 2024
The chequered flag fell on an exhilarating finale to the 2024 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli UK championship series this weekend at Silverstone. After Gilbert Yates (Charles Hurst) mathematically sealed his championship victory in the Trofeo Pirelli series during Race 1, the stage was set for Dick Lovett duo Mike Dewhirst and Robert Rees to battle it out for the coveted 2024 Coppa Shell title.
Qualifying 2. In Trofeo Pirelli, Gilbert Yates continued his fine form to post the fastest lap time of 2:04.418, securing his eighth pole of the season. In Coppa Shell, it was Saturday runner-up Stuart Marston (Maranello Sales) who achieved pole, just 0.3 secs ahead of fellow 2023 returnee Paul Simmerson (Graypaul Birmingham).
Trofeo Pirelli. Yates quickly found pace in the early stages of the race, building a narrow one-sec advantage ahead of fellow Irishman Andrew Morrow (Charles Hurst). The race settled, until an incident between Morrow and Haymandhra Pillai (Jardine Colchester) demoted the pair to third and fourth respectively. Their incident handed the advantage to Yates, who by the halfway point led second placed driver Pranav Vangala (HR Owen) by nearly 20-secs.
Morrow pushed hard to catch back up to Vangala, laying down serious rubber in an attempt to close the gap. But the HR Owen driver was determined to keep his podium spot and pressed on to consolidate his position in the order. As the race concluded, it was Yates who completed the perfect race weekend sealing his 5th win of the season as Ferrari Challenge UK Trofeo Pirelli champion.
Coppa Shell. Robert Rees (Dick Lovett Swindon) delivered a trademark electric start and leapt up the order to secure pole position before the beginning of Farm Curve. Polesitter Simmerson retaliated quickly, passing the Welshman less than a lap later to retake the lead. Further down the order, Mike Dewhirst (Dick Lovett Swindon) quickly charged towards the podium places. Before he had the chance to arrive at Rees’s bumper, the Welshman suffered a spin. His misfortune sent the championship leader to the bottom of the order handing the advantage to title rival Dewhirst.
Dewhirst, spurred on by the possibility of championship victory, pushed his Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo to the limit in an attempt to move up the order. Ahead of him sat a determined Marston who refused to concede his position. With just a few laps to go, the pair caught race leader Paul Simmerson and the resulting three-car battle proved advantageous to Dewhirst, who cut past Marston with just a minute remaining to secure second.
On the final lap, it looked as though Dewhirst had pulled off an incredible comeback to secure the Coppa Shell championship title in his debut season. But an irrepressible Rees refused to surrender, and in the final throws made a move to pass Peter Hunter (Stratstone Manchester) and rise up into fifth. Rees’s last-lap heroics secured the Welshman enough points to win his first Ferrari Challenge UK Coppa Shell title in an intra-dealer championship battle which has thrilled spectators throughout the season.
Next season: The racing calendar for the 2025 Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli UK championship was announced Saturday evening, where drivers will visit four locations in the UK, as well as a new European track for the series. The season finale will take place at Silverstone as part of Ferrari Racing Days.
