Ferrari racing days at Silverstone.

Ferrari celebrated another fantastic Ferrari Racing Days at Silverstone this weekend, with some incredible on-track displays from the F1 Clienti and XX programmes, as well as a full schedule of thrilling races from the 458 Challenge European Series and the Pirelli Ferrari Open.

Scuderia Ferrari Test Driver, Marc Gene, entertained the crowds on Sunday with a special tyre-shredding demonstration and high-speed laps in a F2009 F1 car. Marc was also on-hand to assist Ferrari’s VIP F1 Clienti with telemetry analysis and debriefs of how to extract the maximum performance from Ferrari’s historic F1 cars that are still so popular with Ferrari fans and clients even today.

The Ferrari 458 Challenge series also competed on the full Grand Prix circuit, as the fifth round of a European series that concludes at the Ferrari World Finals at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi in December. In the Trofeo Pirelli Pro series, Italy’s Daniele Di Amata driving for Motor Piacenza took victory in Race 1 on Saturday, with XX from TEAM taking the chequered flag on Sunday. In the Trofeo Pirelli AM series, David Gostner from the Ineco-MP Racing team took his first victory of the season, while the winner of the Coppa Shell race for Gentleman drivers was Massimiliano Bianchi from Kessel Racing. Race 2 winners were Sam Smeeth in the Trofeo Pirelli AM series, who actually finished ahead of Alexander Martin (Motor Piacenza Team) in the Trofeo Pirelli Pro category, while Massimiliano Biancho repeated his success in the second Coppa Shell race and taking maximum points during the weekend.

The Ferrari Owners Club GB also had a packed grid of Ferrari Challenge cars in the Pirelli Ferrari Open, with several examples of the F355 Challenge, 360 Challenge, 430 Challenge, 458 Challenge and also some GTC and GT3 versions of Ferrari’s iconic mid-engined race cars. The Ferrari Owners Club were out in force, with over 1,000 Ferrari cars packed into the Stowe circuit, making an incredible display of Ferrari’s heritage, with several examples of Ferrari F40, F50, Enzo, and other models from the Prancing Horse’s illustrious back-catalogue. The Ferrari Owners Club GB also took to the main Silverstone Circuit on Saturday for a celebratory parade lap to commemorate setting the Guinness World Record for the Largest Parade of Ferrari Cars at Ferrari Racing Days in 2012.

Francesco Balli, Regional Manager for Ferrari North Europe, commented: “It has been another fantastic celebration for Ferrari here at Silverstone this weekend, with so many of our friends and clients here to enjoy the racing and displays from the F1 Clienti and XX programme. It was also a privilege and an honour to work with Rays of Sunshine and BEN to give 50 very deserving children a special thrill with a passenger ride in a 458 Spider. Ferrari Racing Days is a great opportunity for fans and clients to share their passion for Ferrari and experience everything the Prancing Horse has to offer.”

Ferrari also presented Graduation Certificates to 10 young Ferrari Apprentices who have recently completed a 3-year Apprentices and have now secured full-time employment as a Ferrari Service Technician at an official Ferrari dealership. Steve Nash, CEO of the Institute of the Motor Industry, joined Francesco Balli to present the Apprentices with their graduation certificates.