by Tara Pachmayer | Sep 21, 2016 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
Legendary driver Dale Earnhardt once described racing by saying, “It’s a never ending battle of making your cars better and also trying to be better yourself.” Despite the success that EMS Race Team driver James Weiland and his team from Boardwalk Ferrari have achieved this season, that lesson of always trying to improve remains at the core of everything they do on the Ferrari Challenge Circuit. Their trip to Singapore to compete at the Marina Bay Street Circuit this past weekend served as another chapter in that never ending learning experience.
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by Tara Pachmayer | Sep 15, 2016 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
EMS Race Team travels to Singapore this week in hopes of earning a podium finish in the fifth different country they’ve competed in this season. Coming off a strong performance in Sochi, Russia, driver James Weiland and his crew from Boardwalk Ferrari will be racing for the first time at the renowned track in Marina Bay, Singapore from September 16-18. The course will also play host to the Formula One’s Singapore Grand Prix during Ferrari Challenge weekend, adding energy and excitement throughout a tremendous venue for racing. With 23 corners weaving into and out of three long straight-a-ways, the street circuit in Singapore will require both extreme skill and focus to emerge victorious.
“We’re looking forward to racing in Singapore at Marina Bay,” Weiland said. “Our team competed in the Asia Pacific Series earlier this season at the Suzuka Circuit, so we know first-hand the type of talented drivers we will be racing against. My coach, Conrad Grunewald, and I spent time in Miami at the GPX Labs simulating the racing experience, and hope that will help prepare us for success during our first trip to Marina Bay. Win or lose, though, our goal as always is to improve as a team and get better with every race. If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a good chance at success.”
Similar to the F1 weekend in Montreal that coincided with the Ferrari Challenge Weiland and company competed in earlier this season, the F1 race festivities surrounding the event in Singapore is sure to make the trip even more special. Additionally, it will also provide a great opportunity to spread the word about the two charities who are featured on the EMS+ Ferrari Challenge 458 EVO—PETA Cruelty Free and Cornerstone of Hope. The more success that EMS is able to achieve in Singapore, the better chances are of introducing fans and drivers alike to the great role that each organization plays in our community.
“What we are most proud of when making trips like this to a new country we haven’t competed in before is the opportunity to spread the word about PETA Cruelty Free and Cornerstone of Hope to a group of people who may not have been introduced to their mission before,” Weiland explained. “With Singapore hosting the F1 race this weekend as well, the enthusiasm throughout Marina Bay expects to be great. So we’re humbled and honored to carry the flags for those two tremendous causes, and we’ll be even more excited if our team is able to carry those flags onto the podium when the races conclude on Saturday and Sunday.
In Sochi, Weiland drove the EMS+ Ferrari Challenge 458 EVO trimmed in purple, Nicky. This weekend he will be competing in the EMS+ Challenge car trimmed in red, Erin. For pictures and behind-the-scenes coverage of the Ferrari Challenge at Singapore, be sure to follow @emsRaceTeam on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Also, be sure to visit EMS Race Team’s Vimeo Page for on-track action following the trip.
by Tara Pachmayer | May 18, 2016 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
Mario Andretti once said that a racing car is an animal with a thousand adjustments.
During the 2016 Ferrari Challenge at Circuit of the Americas, EMS Race Team’s coaches and crew helped make every adjustment necessary to put their young thoroughbred in a position to succeed. By the end of the competition, Paris—the ems+ Ferrari Challenge 458 EVO—capitalized on the collective effort by securing a pair of first-place finishes in the Trofeo Pirelli AM class.
Rudy Courtade, along with Dave and Daryl Cameron, Andrew Prendeville and the rest of the Boardwalk Ferrari crew had Paris dialed in all weekend long. She started fast in practice and carried that momentum throughout each race. EMS Race Team driver, Jim Weiland, delivered two technically sound performances from there on an extremely challenging course to earn multiple victories amongst a deep and talented field.
“Circuit of the Americas is a long track which means there’s a lot of places to make mistakes,” EMS Race Team coach Conrad Grunewald said following the Race 1 victory at COTA. “So really putting a good a lap together here is rough. It takes a lot of focus and a lot of fine-tuning. This weekend, Jim’s doing a great job of that.”
According to Ferrari.com, Weiland and Paris were “unstoppable” throughout Race 1 as they led in class from start to finish. Meanwhile, teammates Matt Keegan of sister dealership Ferrari of San Francisco and Jean-Claude Saada of Boarwalk Ferrari finished 1-2 in the Coppa Shell division. The double victory for Boardwalk Ferrari/Ferrari of San Francisco led to a wave of enthusiasm in the garage on Sunday, and Weiland would ride that back onto the track for Race 2.
“It’s like a rocket-powered victory,” Boardwalk Ferrari team partner Ryan Negri said on Sunday in regards to Weiland and Keegan’s Race 1 wins. “The team is excited, the team is pumped up. It’s the first double-victory of the year for us. Jim has won here a couple times before, so we’re going to see if we can do it again today. It’s amazing.”
After finishing 1st in class and 7th overall in Race 1, Weiland did do it again by finishing 1st in class and 5th overall in Race 2. Paris earned pole position in qualifying for both races and held onto that spot throughout. She did her sister Erin proud, who won twice at COTA in 2014, while notching her first two victories on the Ferrari Challenge circuit.
“I really can’t thank my team enough for putting us in a position to achieve everything we did this weekend,” Weiland said. “Everyone chipped in and did a tremendous job. The competition was extremely stiff and it’s quite an honor to leave Austin with two first-place trophies especially considering how well my competitors drove.”
The Ferrari Challenge field at COTA was the largest of the season with over 40 drivers in each race. To help celebrate the victories, EMS Race Team’s reserve driver joined Weiland on the podium and garnered the majority of cheers. Courtade would also join Weiland on Sunday while accepting the Coppa Team Award for the event.
“We dedicated Race 1 to the PETA Cruelty Free campaign and were thrilled to help raise awareness for their effort with the win,” Weiland added. “We were equally excited to do the same in Race 2 for the Cornerstone of Hope, and we really encourage people to check out their websites and learn as much as they can about the contributions they make to our community. Celebrating wins like this with our team is a great experience, but it means so much more whenever people take the time to learn about those causes along the way.”
For more behind-the-scenes coverage of the Ferrari Challenge at COTA check @emsRaceTeam on Twitter and Facebook. Also be sure to visit EMS Race Team’s Vimeo Page for on-track video action.
By Brendan Bowers
by Tara Pachmayer | May 9, 2016 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
Circuit of the Americas opened for racing in October of 2012. Since then, the Austin, Texas track has gone on to host the Formula One United States Grand Prix, the Road Racing World Championships, American Le Mans Series and other high profile events along with the North American Ferrari Challenge. Current Ferrari Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel—who won the United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in 2013—is among the many elite competitors who has praised the challenging course.
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by Tara Pachmayer | Apr 13, 2016 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
Legendary Formula One driver and former world champion Jackie Stewart once said, “It is not always possible to be the best, but it is always possible to improve your own performance.” During the Ferrari Challenge at Sonoma Raceway, EMS Race Team did not follow their winning weekend in Japan with a victory in California. But the experience did help driver James Weiland and the crew from Boardwalk Ferrari continue to improve their performance heading into the Circuit of the Americas next month.
Making her second Ferrari Challenge appearance, Paris—the ems+ Ferrari Challenge 458 EVO—demonstrated an epic pace on early on. She posted a Pirelli AM class-leading lap time of 1:58.537 during Practice 3 before qualifying was rained out. Unfortunately, though, the high drama that followed didn’t break the way of EMS who finished P7 and P8 in Races 1 and 2.
“Seems like every time we post a good practice time on Facebook we get snagged somehow during the Race,” James Weiland joked afterwards. “It might be time for us to rethink that strategy. But in all seriousness, we were proud of the start we had in Race 1 and felt good about the way we responded to some adversity throughout the weekend. We really feel like we learned some things that will help us in May at Circuit of the Americas, so that’s definitely a positive takeaway for us.”
During Race 1, Weiland was leading for most of the way before being bumped out of first position in the hairpin. Paris subsequently spun in a chase that followed, before rejoining the pack and finishing 7th. In Race 2, Weiland was forced to go onto the grass to avoid contact with another competitor early on and never recovered. Although he was lucky enough to avoid the collision, the lost time made it too difficult to finish better than 8th.
“We didn’t have the same results as we did at Suzuka, but it was still some fun racing in Sonoma nevertheless,” Weiland added. “It’s always an honor for us to represent the Cornerstone of Hope and PETA Cruelty Free and we never take that opportunity for granted. We were also pleased with how well Paris ran during her practice sessions and at various times throughout each race. We continue to get better as a team from every experience, and hopefully we even earned a little bit of good luck heading into the next competition.”
That next competition on the Ferrari Challenge North American Series for EMS Race Team will be held on May 13-15 in Austin, Texas at the world famous Circuit of the Americas. For info leading up to the race, be sure to follow @emsRaceTeam on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Celebrities Show Up To Support in Sonoma
During the Ferrari Challenge weekend in Sonoma, multiple celebrities could be found taking in the action and supporting the drivers. Recording artist Adam Levine of Maroon 5 even stepped onto the track to kick things off at the starting line prior to Race 1.
Also in attendance was Kevin Dillon, the actor who played Johnny “Drama” Chase in the HBO hit-series Entourage. No word yet on whether or not Levine or Dillon have any competitive racing in their future, but they just might have the itch after watching the Ferrari 458’s roar around the track all weekend long.
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