Eric Cheung became World Champion by winning the Ferrari Coppa Shell AM Finals at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. The Formula Racing driver was grateful for the mistake made by Roland Hertner, the leader of the race who after having passed him, slid off the track while he was already comfortably in the lead.
Cheung got off to a great start from pole and immediately took the lead, but a few corners later, at Acque Minerali, Hertner launched his attack on the Formula Racing driver, passing him and immediately taking the lead.
In the early stages of the World Final, Hertner showed greater confidence on a track still wet from the torrential rains that fell on Imola yesterday. Cheung, on the other hand, seemed to suffer from the conditions, so much so that he ended up coming under pressure from Jan Sandmann (Kessel Racing).
The first three, at least in the first part of the race, immediately pulled out a gap of a few seconds to Zois Skrimpias (Ineco – Reparto Corse) in fourth. On the third lap, there was drama as Hertner, who was pulling away from Cheung and Sandmann, ended up off the track, and was forced to retire after getting stuck in the gravel.
Race Direction sent the Safety Car out to allow the track marshals to move Hertner’s 296 Challenge, which had stopped at Acque Minerali, and at that point, Cheung found himself once again leading the race ahead of Sandmann.
The Formula Racing driver started to push hard once the Safety Car had returned to the pits to try to build a good margin on Sandmann and Skrimpias, his direct pursuers. The mission was perfectly accomplished, because the two rivals began to progressively lose ground.
In the final part of the race, however, Sandmann broke the ice and gradually started to get closer to Cheung, at the same time breaking free from Skrimpias, who was now in third place. The Kessel Racing driver increased the pace, taking advantage of a much drier track than in the initial stages.
In four laps Sandmann managed to catch Cheung, but with just one minute of racing and an extra lap left, the race leader managed to cross the finish line first, with a margin of only two-tenths of a second over his rival. Skrimpias completed the podium after a solo race, while Henrik Kamstrup and Andreas Koenig wrapped up the Top 5.
Norikazu Shibata, with another solo race in sixth, preceded Shintaro Akatsu and Hassan Dabboussi, both fighting for seventh place, which however ended up in the hands of the Ineco driver. Andrea Levy and Stephen Earle completed the Top 10.
Ferrari World Finals – Coppa Shell AM – Final classification
