# Ferrari Challenge

The Ferrari Challenge is a single-marque motorsport championship that was created in 1993, initially catering to owners of the 348 Challenge who wanted to race their cars. The first European season took place in 1993, with a North American series added in 1994. It now encompasses four official series in Europe, North America, Japan & The United Kingdom. Competitors from each series are brought together at the annual World Finals (Finali Mondiali) event.
In the course of more than 30 years of history, the one-make championship has featured eight cars from the Maranello marque: in addition to the Ferrari 348 Challenge, Ferrari F355 Challenge (debut in 1995), Ferrari 360 Challenge (Since 2000), Ferrari F430 Challenge (Since 2006), Ferrari 458 Challenge (Since 2011), 458 Challenge Evo (Since 2014), Ferrari 488 Challenge (Since 2017), 488 Challenge Evo (Since 2020) and the Ferrari 296 Challenge (Since 2024).

## Series

Currently there are four distinct series, in Europe, in North America, in the UK, and in Japan. The Ferrari Challenge is managed by Ferrari's Corse Clienti department.

### Ferrari Challenge Italy

The now defunct Ferrari Challenge Italy used a two-class format in which distinguished between professional competition drivers in the Trofeo Pirelli (lit. "Pirelli Trophy") and amateur "gentleman drivers" in the Coppa Shell (lit. "Shell Cup"). This format has now been transferred to the Europe Challenge series. It was originally launched in 1993, with backing from Pirelli.

### Ferrari Challenge Europe

The European series is a four-class championship, the classes are:
* Trofeo Pirelli
* Trofeo Pirelli Am
* Coppa Shell
* Coppa Shell Am

### Ferrari Challenge North America

The North American also features the Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell class system. This championship was inaugurated in 1994. It is organized by Ferrari North America and sanctioned by IMSA.

### Ferrari Challenge UK

Starting with the 2019 season, the regional Ferrari Challenge UK series has been launched, contested at some of the UK's most iconic tracks, from Silverstone to Brands Hatch, Oulton Park to Snetterton.

### Ferrari Challenge Japan

Starting with the 2023 season, the calendar of the Prancing Horse single-make series has been enriched with the second regional series, the Ferrari Challenge Japan, which includes five rounds taking place at the tracks of Fuji (two rounds), Autopolis, Suzuka and Sugo.

### Ferrari Challenge Asia-Pacific

The Asia-Pacific was organised from 2011 to 2022, inaugurated in combination with the growing interest and sales for Ferrari in Asia. The seasons included events in Japan, China, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. The Asia-Pacific also featured the Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell class system.

### Ferrari Challenge Australasia

2025 saw the launch of an Australian-based series with five rounds held at Australia's four largest motorsport venues. The series launched with a mix of 296 Challenge and 488 Challenge EVO equipped teams.

### Finali Mondiali

From 2013, the major Ferrari Challenge series have combined to host a World Final common event for all championships. This event culminates in a race containing as many of the competitors across all series in both Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell as can fit, with Ferrari declaring the winners to be "world champions". The following table has the winners of each event:
| Year | Circuit | Trofeo Pirelli | Coppa Shell |
| 2013 | Mugello Circuit | Pro: Philipp Baron | Am: Giosue Rizzuto |
| 2014 | Yas Marina Circuit | Pro: Max Blancardi Pro-Am: Ricardo Pérez de Lara | Am: Massimiliano Bianchi |
| 2015 | Mugello Circuit | Pro: Matteo Santoponte Pro-Am: Alessandro Vezzoni | Am: Erich Prinoth |
| 2016 | Daytona International Speedway | Pro: Carlos Kauffman Pro-Am: Sam Smeeth | Am: Thomas Löfflad |
| 2017 | Mugello Circuit | Pro: Fabio Leimer Pro-Am: Jens Liebhauser | Am: Johnny Laursen |
| 2018 | Autodromo Nazionale Monza | Pro: Nicklas Nielsen Pro-Am: Fabienne Wohlwend | Pro-Am: Christophe Hurni Am: Ingvar Mattsson |
| 2019 | Mugello Circuit | Pro: Adam Carroll Pro-Am: Emanuele-Maria Tabacchi | Pro-Am: James Weiland Am: Ingvar Mattsson |
| 2020 | Misano World Circuit | Pro: Florian Merckx Pro-Am: Han Sikkens | Pro-Am: Roger Grouwels Am: Michael Simoncić |
| 2021 | Mugello Circuit | Pro: Luka Nurmi Pro-Am: Christian Brunsborg | Pro-Am: Ernst Kirchmayr Am: Peter Christensen |
| 2022 | Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari | Pro: Thomas Neubauer Pro-Am: Marco Pulcini | Pro-Am: Franz Engstler Am: Joakim Olander |
| 2023 | Mugello Circuit | Pro: Thomas Fleming Pro-Am: Franz Engstler | Pro-Am: Axel Sartingen Am: Martinus Richter |

## Champions

| Year | Europe | Europe | North America | North America | Asia-Pacific | Asia-Pacific | UK | UK |
| Year | Trofeo Pirelli | Coppa Shell | Trofeo Pirelli | Coppa Shell | Trofeo Pirelli | Coppa Shell | Trofeo Pirelli | Coppa Shell |
| 2003 | Pro: Ange Barde | | | | | | not held | not held |
| 2004 | Pro: Ange Barde | | | | | | not held | not held |
| 2005 | Pro: Michael Cullen | | | | | | not held | not held |
| 2006 | Pro: Ange Barde | Am: ?? | | | | | not held | not held |
| 2007 | Pro: Michael Cullen | Am: Loyd La Marca | Pro: Mike Zoi | | | | not held | not held |
| 2008 | Pro: Max Blancardi | Am: Michael Cantillon | Pro: Roberto Fata | | | | not held | not held |
| 2009 | Pro: Nicolas Misslin | Am: Jean-Marc Bachelier | | | | | not held | not held |
| 2010 | Pro: Philipp Baron | Am: Wido Rößler | | | | | not held | not held |
| 2011 | Pro: Max Blancardi | Am: Jean-Marc Bachelier | | | | Am: Alex Au | not held | not held |
| 2012 | Pro: Alessandro Balzan | Am: Aleksey Basov | | Am: Damon Ockey | | Am: Alex Au | not held | not held |
| 2013 | Pro: Sergiy Chukanov | Am: Dirk Adamski | | Am: João Adibe | Pro: Pasin Lathouras | Am: Eric Cheung | not held | not held |
| 2014 | Pro: Daniele di Amato Pro-Am: Ezequiel Pérez Companc | Am: Massimiliano Bianchi | | Am: Christopher Ruud | Pro: Eric Cheung | Am: David Tjiptobiantoro | not held | not held |
| 2015 | Pro: Björn Großmann Pro-Am: Martin Nelson | Am: Jacques Duyver | Pro: Emmanuel Anassis Pro-Am: Mike Zoi | Am: Jean-Claude Saada | Pro: Stephen Wyatt Pro-Am: Wei Xu | Pro-Am: Xin Jin | not held | not held |
| 2016 | Pro: Björn Großmann Pro-Am: Sam Smeeth | Am: Thomas Löfflad | Pro: Carlos Kauffman Pro-Am: James Weiland | Am: Joe Courtney | | | not held | not held |
| 2016 | report | report | report | report | | | | not held | not held |
| 2017 | Pro: Daniele di Amato Pro-Am: Jens Liebhauser | Am: Johnny Laursen | Pro: Brett Curtis Pro-Am: Chris Cagnazzi | Am: Richard Baek | Pro: Philippe Prette Pro-Am: Ken Seto | Pro-Am: Makoto Fujiwara | not held | not held |
| 2017 | report | report | | | | | | not held | not held |
| 2018 | Pro: Nicklas Nielsen Pro-Am: Chris Froggatt | Pro-Am: Christophe Hurni Am: Murat Cuhadaroğlu | Pro: Cooper MacNeil Pro-Am: Ross Chouest | Pro-Am: Thomas Tippl Am: John Megrue | Pro: Philippe Prette | Pro-Am: Tani Hanna Am: David Dicker | not held | not held |
| 2018 | report | report | report | report | | | | not held | not held |
| 2019 | Pro: Louis Prette Pro-Am: Emanuele-Maria Tabacchi | Pro-Am: Tani Hanna Am: Henrik Jansen | Pro: Cooper MacNeil Pro-Am: Neil Gehani | Pro-Am: Mark Issa Am: Bradley Horstmann | Pro-Am: Philippe Prette | Pro-Am: Makoto Fujiwara Am: "Andrew" Moon | Jamie Clarke | Toby Flannagan |
| 2019 | report | report | report | report | report | report | | |
| 2020 | Pro: Emanuele-Maria Tabacchi Pro-Am: Frederik Paulsen | Pro-Am: Roger Grouwels Am: "Alex Fox" | Pro: Cooper MacNeil Pro-Am: David Musial | Pro-Am: Bradley Horstmann Am: Justin Wetherill | not held | not held | Lucky Khera | Jamie Thwaites |
| 2020 | report | report | report | report | not held | not held | report | report |
| 2021 | Pro: Michelle Gatting Pro-Am: Sergio Paulet | Pro-Am: Ernst Kirchmayr Am: Willem van der Vorm | Pro: Jeremy Clarke Pro-Am: David Musial, Jr. | Pro-Am: Michael Petramalo Am: Tony Davis | | | | |
| 2021 | report | report | report | report | report | report | | |
| 2022 | Pro: Doriane Pin Pro-Am: Ange Barde | Pro-Am: Franz Engstler Am: Alexander Nussbaumer | Pro: Jeremy Clarke Pro-Am: David Musial, Jr. | Pro-Am: Michael Petramalo Am: Tony Davis | Am: Yudai Uchida | Pro-Am: Kazuyuki Yamaguchi Am: Shigeru Kamiue | Lucky Khera | Jason Ambrose |
| 2022 | report | report | report | report | report | report | report | report |
| 2023 | Pro: Eliseo Donno Pro-Am: Franz Engstler | Pro-Am: Axel Sartingen Am: Motohiko Isozaki | Pro: Matthew Kurzejewski Pro-Am: Justin Rothenberg | Pro-Am: Cameron Root Am: Lisa Clark | | | | |
| 2023 | report | report | report | report | | |

## One-make racing

The Ferrari Challenge uses a single model from the manufacturer's road car range, suitably modified to make them safe for competition use. The lineage began with the 348 Challenge in 1993, followed by its successor, the F355 Challenge, and the 360 Modena was introduced in 2000. The F355 remained eligible during 2000 and 2001. The 360 Challenge version was the first competition-orientated version to be marketed to the public. The F430 Challenge was phased in during a transitional year in 2006, with the same being the case for the 458 Challenge in 2011. The F430 introduced carbon-ceramic brake discs for the first time and gained 80 hp (60 kW) over the 360CS, which has reduced lap times to approximately three seconds shy of the F430 GT2. The 458 Challenge is the first to have driver controlled aids such as traction control, stability management and adjustable ABS brakes.

### Ferrari Challenge racing cars

The 296 Challenge is the most recent in a line of Ferraris used in the Ferrari Challenge series. The lineage is as follows:
* Ferrari 348 Challenge (1993–1995)
* Ferrari F355 Challenge (1995–2000)
* Ferrari 360 Modena Challenge (2000–2006)
* Ferrari F430 Challenge (2006–2011)
* Ferrari 458 Challenge (2011–2013)
* Ferrari 458 Challenge Evo (2014–2016)
* Ferrari 488 Challenge (2017–2020)
* Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo (2020–2023)
* Ferrari 296 Challenge (2024-Present)
All the cars used in the series are track only, although some 360 Challenges have been made road legal in Australia, with extensive modifications. However, due to new legislation, this is not possible anymore. The 360 Modena Challenge used in the series should not be confused with the 360 Challenge Stradale, which was a road-legal, track day oriented version of the 360, similar to the 430 Scuderia.

## Racing simulators based on the series

In 1999, Sega's producer Yu Suzuki created Ferrari F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa, a video game based on the Ferrari F355 Challenge series.
In 2008, System 3's Mark Cale created Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli, the official game of the Ferrari Challenge featuring the licensed Ferrari F430 Challenge Italian, European and North American 2007 series.
In 2012, Ferrari Challenge appeared in Test Drive: Ferrari Racing Legends.