Ferrari Challenge | Imola, Coppa Shell & 488: Kirchmayr and Wietlisbach on top in qualifying

Qualifying was also wet for Coppa Shell + 488, the rain twice bringing a halt to the sessions with a flooded track. The first to set off from the pitlane were the Ferrari 488 competitors.

Qwin Wietlisbach (CDP - D&C Racing) set the fastest time in 2m00.983s, which was half-a-second quicker than the German Schoemer. Wietlisbach was the only man to get under the 2m01s mark, but the times were all high due to the massive amount of rain that was falling on the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari.

Schoemer, after securing second place, was the cause of the third red flag of the session 21 seconds from the end of Qualifying when he went off and remained stuck in the gravel with the 488 of the Ferrari Katowice team.

Fabrizio Fontana, in third, finished the session ahead of Komarov, Pittorri, Shair, Frascaro and Lindroth, who were the only other drivers to venture out on track, and the top 6 will now go on to dispute the Superpole.

Then it was the turn of the Coppa Shell competitors, expert Ernst Kirchmayr setting the quickest time in 1m58.642s, just a fraction ahead of Dhillon and Bernier.

Acosta and Nussbaumer, two more protagonists of the Ferrari Challenge at Imola, completed Qualifying in fourth and fifth place ahead of another Ferrari stalwart Fons Scheltema. The latter also went off the track at a certain point, but he was able to avoid the barriers.

The fourth red flag of the session was caused by Mitchell Green on the exit of the first Rivazza and he remained stuck in the gravel. The car was quickly removed and the session resumed a few minutes later.
The red flag then came out for the fifth time a few minutes later, when Abe (Formula Racing) ended against the barriers at the Tamburello chicane at high speed after losing control of his 296 under braking. At that moment, the rain was falling copiously, causing the session to be abandoned, and this also contributed to the error of the driver of the #170 Ferrari 296.