Pinoy to race at Ferrari Challenge in Malaysia

Vincent Floirendo gets ready to compete in the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli 2014 in Malaysia. (inquirer.net)

In another racing history first, the Philippine flag will be flying high at the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli 2014 when our country’s representative, Vincent Floirendo, takes the wheel.

Floirendo will begin the first Asia Pacific round on his Ferrari 458 Challenge from Feb. 21-23  in Sepang, Malaysia.

The Ferrari Challenge has been one of the most successful one-make racing series in the world.  Over 2,400 drivers of 48 nationalities in 1,600 Ferrari Challenge cars have competed in these races since 1993.  This year, the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli will run across three series in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.  For the Asia Pacific region, other contenders are from Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea.

“We congratulate Vincent Floirendo for taking up this exciting and history-making challenge for the Philippines.  Ferrari and its official dealers are the only ones allowed to enter cars in this racing series.  We will support him all the way and hope this inspires more Filipino drivers to participate in motor sports,” said Marc Soong, executive director of Autostrada Motore Inc., the official importer and distributor of Ferrari cars in the Philippines.

The Ferrari Challenge is dedicated to non-professional drivers in different classifications:  the Trofeo Pirelli, Trofeo Pirelli Pro, Coppa Shell and for the first time this year, the Gentlemen Cup for drivers over 50 years old.  Mr. Floirendo will be competing in Trofeo Pirelli.

The 46-year old businessman and family man, who originally hails from Davao, is no stranger to the race track.  Mr. Floirendo is two-time Driver of the Year of the Yokohama Philippine

GT Championship Series, winning the championship in 2011 and 2012.  He is also a veteran racer in karting, circuit and Formula 3 competitions.

Also making its debut in this series is the 458 Challenge Evo, a package of aerodynamic improvements such as Manettino dial, CCM2 Brakes, dual clutch gearbox and more.

All the Ferrari 458 Challenge cars for the competition must have the Evo Kit.  Cars will be produced in Italy and flown directly to the race track in Asia.  Ferrari is also flying in its technicians and engineers for each race to prepare and manage all the cars over the racing period. (motioncars.inquirer.net)