Ferrari Challenge
Encyclopedia
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| Category | GT racing Sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of circuit auto racing with automobiles that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built or related to road-going sports cars.... |
| Region | International International ----International mostly means something that involves more than one country. The term international as a word means involvement of, interaction between or encompassing more than one nation, or generally beyond national boundaries... |
| Established | 1993 |
| Championships | Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... Europe Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... North America North America North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas... |
The Ferrari Challenge is a single-marque
One-design
One-Design is a racing method where all vehicles or boats have identical or very similar designs or models. It is also known as Spec series. It is heavily used in sailboat racing. All competitors in a race are then judged based on a single start time...
motorsport
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
championship that was created in 1993 for owners of the 348 Berlinetta
Ferrari 348
The Ferrari 348 is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive V8-powered 2-seat sports car by Ferrari S.p.A., replacing the 328 in 1989 and continuing until 1995.- Overview :...
who wanted to become involved in racing. It now encompasses three official championships in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Competitors from each series are brought together at the annual World Finals event. Since 2007, the Ferrari Challenge exclusively used the Ferrari F430
Ferrari F430
The Ferrari F430 is a sports car that was produced by the Italian automaker Ferrari from 2004 to 2009, as a successor to the 360. It debuted at the 2004 Paris Motor Show...
model. However, a Challenge version of the brand new 458 Italia was recently announced.
Series
Currently there are three distinct series, but in 2001, the number of championships peaked at five, with three in Europe, one in the United States, and one in Japan. Since 2001, the Ferrari Challenge is managed by Ferrari's newly created Corse Clienti department ("customer racing").Ferrari Challenge Italy
The Ferrari Challenge Italy uses a two-class format in which distinguishes between professional competition drivers in the Trofeo Pirelli (lit. "PirelliPirelli
Pirelli & C. SpA is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. The company, the world’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer, is present in over 160 countries, has 20 manufacturing sites around the world and a network of around 10,000 distributors and retailers.Founded in Milan in 1872,...
Trophy") and amateur "gentleman drivers" in the Coppa Shell (lit. "Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
Cup"). It was originally launched in 1993, with backing from Pirelli. Its popularity has resulted in a 2007 entry list of ten teams represented by 37 drivers. It includes six events, plus the World Final, and shares some venues with the European series.
Ferrari Challenge Europe
Like the Challenge Italy, the European series is a two-class championship.
Ferrari Challenge North America
The North American series has just one class. This championship was inaugurated in 1994. It is organised by Ferrari North America and sanctioned by Grand AmGrand American Road Racing Association
GRAND-AM Road Racing or GRAND-AM is an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America...
.
Unofficial series
The Ferrari Challenge has inspired other national club-level championships that are not directly affiliated with Ferrari itself. The Ferrari Scandinavia Challenge is an unofficial championship with events in FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. It was created in 2001 and is not exclusive to the latest Challenge cars. The UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
has a similar unofficial series comprising three championships for older cars that is organised by the Ferrari Owners' Club.
One-make racing
Ferrari 348
The Ferrari 348 is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive V8-powered 2-seat sports car by Ferrari S.p.A., replacing the 328 in 1989 and continuing until 1995.- Overview :...
in 1993, followed by its successor, the F355 Berlinetta
Ferrari F355
The Ferrari F355 is a sports car built by Ferrari from May 1994 to 1999. It is an evolution of the Ferrari 348 and was replaced by the Ferrari 360. It is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive V8-powered 2-seat coupe...
, and the 360 Modena
Ferrari 360
The Ferrari 360 is a mid-engine midsize two-seater sports car produced from late 1999 until 2005. The 360 replaced the Ferrari F355 and was itself replaced by the fairly similar Ferrari F430...
was introduced in 2000. The F355 remained eligible during 2000 and 2001. The 360CS
Ferrari 360
The Ferrari 360 is a mid-engine midsize two-seater sports car produced from late 1999 until 2005. The 360 replaced the Ferrari F355 and was itself replaced by the fairly similar Ferrari F430...
(Challenge Stradale) version was the first competition-orientated version to be marketed to the public. The new F430 Challenge
Ferrari F430
The Ferrari F430 is a sports car that was produced by the Italian automaker Ferrari from 2004 to 2009, as a successor to the 360. It debuted at the 2004 Paris Motor Show...
was phased in during a transitional year in 2006 and is now used exclusively. The F430 introduced carbon
Composite material
Composite materials, often shortened to composites or called composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties which remain separate and distinct at the macroscopic or...
-ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
brake discs for the first time and gained 80bhp
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
over the 360CS, which has reduced lap times to approximately three seconds shy of the F430 GT2.
Ferrari Challenge racers
The F430 Challenge was the most recent in a line of Ferraris used in the Ferrari Challenge series. A Challenge version of the brand new 458 Italia was recently announced. The lineage is as follows:- Ferrari 348 ChallengeFerrari 348The Ferrari 348 is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive V8-powered 2-seat sports car by Ferrari S.p.A., replacing the 328 in 1989 and continuing until 1995.- Overview :...
(1993–1995) - Ferrari F355 ChallengeFerrari F355The Ferrari F355 is a sports car built by Ferrari from May 1994 to 1999. It is an evolution of the Ferrari 348 and was replaced by the Ferrari 360. It is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive V8-powered 2-seat coupe...
(1995–2000) - Ferrari 360 ChallengeFerrari 360The Ferrari 360 is a mid-engine midsize two-seater sports car produced from late 1999 until 2005. The 360 replaced the Ferrari F355 and was itself replaced by the fairly similar Ferrari F430...
(2000–2006) - Ferrari F430 ChallengeFerrari F430 ChallengeThe Ferrari F430 Challenge is a production-based race car built by Ferrari. The car is directly based on the standard F430 and uses the same 4.3L V8 engine...
(2006-2011) - Ferrari 458 Challenge (2011-)
All the cars used in the series are track only. The 360 Challenge used in the series should not be confused with the 360 Challenge Stradale
Ferrari 360
The Ferrari 360 is a mid-engine midsize two-seater sports car produced from late 1999 until 2005. The 360 replaced the Ferrari F355 and was itself replaced by the fairly similar Ferrari F430...
, which was a road-legal, track day oriented version of the 360, similar to the F430 Scuderia
Ferrari F430
The Ferrari F430 is a sports car that was produced by the Italian automaker Ferrari from 2004 to 2009, as a successor to the 360. It debuted at the 2004 Paris Motor Show...
.
Racing simulators based on the series
In 1999, SegaSega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's producer Yu Suzuki
Yu Suzuki
is a Japanese game designer and producer who has spent his entire career with Sega Enterprises. Often referred to as Sega's answer to Shigeru Miyamoto, he has been responsible for the creation of many of Sega's most important arcade games such as Hang-On, Out Run, After Burner II, Virtua Fighter,...
created Ferrari F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa
Ferrari F355 Challenge
Ferrari F355 Challenge is a racing game based on the actual race car and Ferrari event. It was developed by the AM2 division of Sega for arcades under supervision of producer Yu Suzuki, and was later ported to the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2...
, a video game based on the Ferrari F355 Challenge
Ferrari F355
The Ferrari F355 is a sports car built by Ferrari from May 1994 to 1999. It is an evolution of the Ferrari 348 and was replaced by the Ferrari 360. It is a mid-engined, rear wheel drive V8-powered 2-seat coupe...
series.
In 2008, System 3
System 3
System 3 could refer to:*IBM System/3, a low-end business computer manufactured between 1969 and 1985*IBM System/3X, a line of general business midrange computers manufactured from 1975...
's Mark Cale
Mark Cale
Mark Cale is the founder of video game publisher System 3.He is most famous for producing the fighting game International Karate, which was released on the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and Atari in 1987 and follow-up title The Last Ninja....
created Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli, the official game of the Ferrari Challenge featuring the licensed Ferrari F430 Challenge
Ferrari F430 Challenge
The Ferrari F430 Challenge is a production-based race car built by Ferrari. The car is directly based on the standard F430 and uses the same 4.3L V8 engine...
Italian, European and North American 2007 series.