Monza, 9 April

This weekend, the Monza circuit hosts the first round of the nineteenth edition of the famous one-make series, the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, which would seem like a fitting time to look back at when it all began. The car chosen to launch this dream was the Ferrari 348, in its TB and TS versions and it was actually at Monza, on the 28 March 1993 to be precise, that the first race of the Italian series of the championship got underway, thanks to President Montezemolo’s idea of getting Ferrari owners onto a race track.

A few years later, in 1995, here we are in Monza again, where the list of competitors featured one famous name, that of Giancarlo Fisichella, who already showing the makings of a champion, took a fantastic double win. “I was 22 years old at the wheel of a Ferrari in Monza, no wonder my heart was beating fast. Then, once I was out on track, with the engine running and I had engaged first gear, I only thought about winning. Pole position and the win in both races, it doesn’t get better than that. And on that podium, what a feeling!”


Move on to 1998, still at Monza of course, this time with the F355 Challenge. Among the competitors in this significant series, which with the passing of the years has seen both professional and amateur gentleman drivers on their racing debut all take part, was a former Formula 1 driver turned TV commentator, Ivan Capelli. “I did the race in Monza crewed with Eric Prinoth. He asked me to do it, as it was his first time and he wanted to have a sort of tutor and I was more than happy to accept this role, which meant getting back to driving a Ferrari on track and what is more at Monza! It was a wonderful experience: then as now in fact, the Ferrari Challenge is a really hard-fought championship.

“The F355 Challenge was pretty demanding to drive. It still had an H gate change and the chassis was certainly not as well balanced as those of today. You needed experience and had to be inventive in terms of how you drove it to get it on the limit. Furthermore, there was no telemetry to help you out and for youngsters making their debut it was rather complicated. I have been able to also try the other cars used for the Challenge, the 360 and the 430: regarding the latter, I actually raced a GT3 version. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to do more with these cars because I realised how much they have evolved over time. I am sure the 458 Challenge is an even better car, offering high performance worthy of real racers.”