Ferrari Challenge Montreal/Canadian Grand Prix Report

June 12, 2011

The third round of the North American Ferrari Challenge presented some of the closest racing yet between Enzo Potolicchio (Ferrari of Ft. Lauderdale) and Cooper MacNeil (Ferrari of Houston). Potolicchio took first in both races, but not without a spirited battle with MacNeil, especially in the second race, when the two traded lead positions three times.

The last switch came near the end, when MacNeil’s spinout turned the lead back to Potolicchio. That kind of racing brought the crowd to its feet as they cheered the drivers through this duel. The fight for third place was also fierce, with Mark McKenzie (Ferrari of Houston) fighting off Harry Cheung (Ferrari of Silicon Valley) and John Farano (Algar Ferrari) to snag that position in the first race, and then Cheung taking it in the second race by keeping Farano behind him.

Among the F430 Challenge drivers, Juan Hinestrosa (Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale) beat Ryan Ockey (Ferrari of Ontario), with Christopher Ruud (Ferrari of Silicon Valley) coming in third.

As a special treat for Challenger drivers, Stefano Domenicali, Team Manager of the Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team – in the neighborhood for the Canadian Grand Prix -- handed out the trophies on Saturday.

The North American Ferrari Challenge racers face a new challenge with the fourth round, which will be a support race for the Honda Indy® Toronto™, July 8-10. That makes it the first-ever Ferrari Challenge street race. The course runs on the streets surrounding Exhibition Place near Lake Ontario.