Kessel Racing leaves Valencia with the success of Rick Lovat in the Shell Cup

The 25th season of the Ferrari Challenge took place at the "Ricardo Tormo" circuit in Cheste, a village near Valencia. The races on Spanish soil saw the start of a new era for the 488 Challenge in the single-brand trophy of the Prancing Horse. Around 40 cars from the old continent, as well as some 458 Evos, gave life to a thrilling weekend with the first laps of the brand new 8-cylinder turbo berlinetta of the Prancing Horse, a new protagonist in the Ferrari Challenge. Kessel Racing's team in Valencia was made up of fresh faces and likeable past drivers with six cars in the Shell Cup with Fons Scheltema, Rick Lovat, Murat Cuharadoglu, Claudio Schiavoni, Deborah Mayer and Peter Goerke at the wheel. After testing and the free practice sessions on Friday, Saturday saw the program of the first round come to life with qualifications and race one, thirty minutes long, as usual, as has been the case for the last seasons. The race was won by Johnny Laursen (Formula Racing), ahead of Lovat, second, who had a lengthy duel with Cheung (Formula Racing). Schiavoni got a superb fourth place finish, Scheltema finished in seventh position, Cuhadaroglu in ninth, Deborah Mayer in fourteenth, while Goerke finished in sixteenth position. The second race, which brought the Spanish weekend to a close, saw the dominance of Rick Lovat, who got pole position and then went on to lead the race from start to finish with the chasers finishing far behind. Scheltema finished his weekend in Valencia in 6th place, Schiavoni came 8th and Cuhadaroglu came 14th, ahead of Goerke and Deborah Mayer. The next event with the Ferrari Challenge Europa will be held at the Monza National Race track the second weekend in June. RONNIE KESSEL (Team Owners): "It was a great weekend that was characterised by high commitment what with having to get to grips with an amazing car that is the 488 Challenge, which we knew nothing about until Valencia. Lovat got off to a good start with two very tense races. The other drivers were not bad either, so we expect a lot from them during the season. See you at Monza, our home track, in less than a month. We're hungry to produce great results there too, so that is exactly what we're preapring for."