by Tara Pachmayer | Mar 13, 2019 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
EMS Race Team will return to Australia for the second-straight year to compete at the Melbourne Ferrari Challenge on March 15-17. Following races at Circuit of the Americas last weekend—and the Bahrain International Circuit to open the season in February—driver James Weiland and the crew from Ferrari San Francisco will now race the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit to raise awareness for PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation and Cornerstone of Hope. In Melbourne, Weiland will be racing PARIS the ems+ Ferrari 488 Challenge trimmed in red during a Ferrari Challenge event that will serve as a support race to the Formula One Grand Prix.
The Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit is a street course that loops around Albert Park Lake just south of central Melbourne. In addition to annually hosting the Formula One Grand Prix, the Melbourne track also plays host to the Supercars Championship. The great Ferrari F1 driver Michael Schumacher owns the outright lap record in Melbourne with a mark of 1:24.125 set in 2004. The venue has reported upwards of 300,000 fans in attendance throughout F1 weekend during past years and a tremendous turnout is expected once again. The last time EMS Race Team competed on the world-famous track in Australia during F1 weekend Weiland nearly captured two podiums, finishing P2 and P4 out of 27 drivers.
“We’re excited to be back in Australia,” Weiland said. “Our team had a great experience on and off the track last season and we couldn’t wait to get back. We’re also looking forward to correcting some things that didn’t go our way at COTA last weekend and giving our best effort as a team all weekend long.”
After qualifying P3 for Race 1 at COTA, EMS Race Team finished just off the podium in fourth position before a P9 in Race 2 in the Trofeo Pirelli class. This followed a Ferrari Challenge victory at Bahrain to start the season. That earlier experience is what Weiland and company hope to replicate as they travel around the world to represent three causes that are close to their hearts.
“F1 weekend in Melbourne is a great opportunity to help raise awareness for PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation and Cornerstone of Hope,” Weiland added. “The last time we came to Australia we were able to get them up on the podium and hopefully we’ll be able to do that again.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than three million members and supporters. Products proudly displaying the bunny logo are cruelty-free, meaning that they were produced without testing on animals. Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation’s mission is to provide educational support to at risk children through a combination of literacy, personal development and health and fitness programs designed to develop the whole child. Cornerstone of Hope, meanwhile, is dedicated to providing support, education, and hope for the grieving. Each mission is represented on EMS Race Team’s car, PARIS, and will be on display throughout F1 weekend in Melbourne.
For more behind the scenes Ferrari Challenge racing action, follow EMS Race Team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
by Tara Pachmayer | Mar 5, 2019 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
There’s a certain magic that ERIN and PARIS the Electronic Merchant Systems Ferrari 488 Challenges provide out on the racetrack. It’s a magic that can’t necessarily be measured by horsepower or seconds but you know it when you see it. This weekend, while competing at the Circuit of the Americas Ferrari Challenge in Austin, Texas, driver James Weiland was forced to race without those valuable members of the EMS Race Team fleet. The loaner car that was graciously provided by a friend and teammate was fully optimized by the crew from Boardwalk Ferrari / Ferrari of San Francisco—and Weiland is not one to ever make it excuses. But it just wasn’t the same without the familiar roar from the EMS machines.
On Saturday, Weiland qualified 3rd for Race 1 and was only a tenth away from 2nd. Unfortunately, he got passed a couple laps in before holding off the rest of the way to finish just off the podium in P4 among the always grueling Trofeo Pirelli class. On Sunday, qualifying didn’t go as well as the team hoped and they entered Race 2 in 9th position. Weiland would drive a clean race from there but finish P9 for the day. Despite the disappointing weekend, the attention quickly turned to Melbourne, Australia where the team will race later this week.
“There’s no excuses, we didn’t get the results we wanted at COTA,” Weiland said. “Our qualifying time gave us a chance on Saturday, but unfortunately we got passed during the race and missed the podium. There’s no time to dwell on any of that, though, because we’re on our way to Australia now and the focus of the entire team is on Melbourne.”
In Austin, EMS Race Team took another opportunity to help raise awareness for PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation and Cornerstone of Hope. For those who watched the live broadcast of the races at COTA, the Ferrari announcers spent time talking about those causes that EMS races for which definitely helped spread that awareness. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is one of those missions. They are the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than three million members and supporters. Products proudly displaying the bunny logo are cruelty-free, meaning that they were produced without testing on animals. Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation is another, whose mission is to provide educational support to at risk children through a combination of literacy, personal development and health and fitness programs designed to develop the whole child. Cornerstone of Hope, meanwhile, is dedicated to providing support, education, and hope for the grieving.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the results sometimes, but the main focus of our team is to raise awareness of PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation and Cornerstone of Hope when we’re out there on the track. We were proud to have done that at COTA and we’re looking forward to doing the same later this week in Melbourne.”
For more behind the scenes racing coverage, follow EMS Race Team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Stay tuned for more news later this week as we preview the Ferrari Challenge action in Australia.
by Tara Pachmayer | Mar 1, 2019 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
Following a victory in the Middle East at the Bahrain International Circuit to begin the 2019 season, EMS Race Team now returns to the United States for the Ferrari Challenge at Circuit of the Americas. The weekend-long racing event at the world-class track in Austin, Texas will be held on March 8-10. Driver James Weiland and his crew from Boardwalk Ferrari/Ferrari of San Francisco will look to build on the momentum from Bahrain while working toward another podium finish at COTA. Along the way, the team will continue racing to raise awareness for PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle and Cornerstone of Hope by dedicating the trip to those three causes.
“We’re always excited to get a chance to compete at Circuit of the Americas,” Weiland said. “It’s a great track that we’ve been coming to for years and hopefully we can perform our best as a team while we’re there. This weekend we’ll be renting a car that will be named ERIN and I know our team will do everything in their power have her ready to race when it matters most.”
During last year’s Ferrari Challenge at COTA, EMS Race Team was met with some adversity in the form of engine trouble which contributed to P4 and P9 finishes. In 2017, Weiland and company competed in the Pirelli World Challenge at COTA and secured a victory. Prior to that, EMS earned a pair of victories during the 2016 Ferrari Challenge at Circuit of the Americas which helped propel them to the season championship. This year EMS Race Team hopes to leverage that past success and add another trophy from Austin to the trophy case.
“Being familiar with a track certainly helps when you’re racing,” Weiland added. “But you still have to compete against a talented field of drivers who are also familiar with the track. So our focus each time out as a team is just to do our job to the best of our ability and get better with every race. If we accomplish that much we’ll give ourselves a chance to get PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle and Cornerstone of Hope up onto the podium.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than three million members and supporters. Products proudly displaying the bunny logo are cruelty-free, meaning that they were produced without testing on animals. Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation’s mission is to provide educational support to at risk children through a combination of literacy, personal development and health and fitness programs designed to develop the whole child. Cornerstone of Hope, meanwhile, is dedicated to providing support, education, and hope for the grieving.
For behind-the-scenes coverage of the 2019 Ferrari Challenge at Circuit of the Americas, follow EMS Race Team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
by Tara Pachmayer | Feb 20, 2019 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
EMS Race Team opened the 2019 Ferrari Challenge with a wire-to-wire victory. Traveling to Sakhir, Bahrain to compete against a talented field of drivers at the Bahrain International Circuit, EMS led Race 1 from start to finish before securing a place atop the podium. Racing for the first time since earning a podium finish at Monza in Italy during the 2018 Ferrari Challenge World Finals in November, ERIN the ems+ Ferrari 488 Challenge proved to be in midseason form all weekend long. To accompany the first-place hardware that driver James Weiland and his team would earn on the trip, ERIN also notched a pair of pole positions during each of her qualifying sessions. It was the type of race weekend that will go a long way toward building positive momentum for the young season.
“ERIN does it again,” Weiland said following the victory in Bahrain. “She celebrated 10,000 kilometers with pole position and then the win. Big thanks to Ferrari of San Francisco, R3 Motorsports and the Rossocorsa Team who had her running like the wind all weekend.”
The Ferrari racing event marked the first time that the Bahrain International Circuit played host to the Ferrari Challenge series. The widely renowned track built in 2004 has hosted the Formula 1 Grand Prix every year since its inception while also featuring other high profile racing competitions. Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher are among the F1 drivers who have earned victories on the track at Bahrain throughout its history.
“It was a tremendous experience for our team to be able to come to Bahrain, meet the people here, experience the culture and compete at such a terrific venue,” Weiland added. “The people we met were extremely welcoming and it was great to race here while doing our best to raise awareness for PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle and Cornerstone of Hope.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than three million members and supporters. Products proudly displaying the bunny logo are cruelty-free, meaning that they were produced without testing on animals. Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation’s mission is to provide educational support to at risk children through a combination of literacy, personal development and health and fitness programs designed to develop the whole child. Cornerstone of Hope, meanwhile, provides support, education, and hope for the grieving. All three were prominently featured on ERIN’s design as she raced to victory in Bahrain.
After stepping onto the first-place podium following Race 1, Sunday’s action was cut short due to contact that ERIN received early on in Race 2. Despite laying down the fastest time during qualifying again for the second-straight day, the Race 1 winner was forced to start in the ninth position for Race 2 as a result of a new podium handicapping rule which was implemented in the Ferrari Challenge series this season. While navigating through the middle of the pack into Turn 1, ERIN received contact to her right rear which broke her suspension. But while the collision ended her day, it didn’t damper the spirits of a team who certainly started the 2019 season the right way.
The next two events for EMS Race Team will be in Austin, Texas and Melbourne, Australia as the Ferrari Challenge world tour continues. For more behind the scenes action from Bahrain, follow EMS Race Team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
by Tara Pachmayer | Nov 6, 2018 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
EMS Race Team arrived at the historic Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy on November 1 for the Ferrari Challenge World Finals. By November 4, they had collected their seventh podium finish of the season while racing to raise awareness for PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation and Cornerstone of Hope in their eighth different country. On Saturday, driver James Weiland and the crew from Boardwalk Ferrari executed a technically sound race from wire-to-wire while charging late to secure a second-place finish in the season-ending celebration of the Ferrari Challenge in Italy. It proved to be a fitting end to a successful year of racing from start to finish.
“Stepping onto the podium at Monza was a great way for our team to finish the racing season,” Weiland said. “The crew from Boardwalk Ferrari had ERIN dialed in all weekend and we were thrilled to be able to drive to her a second-place finish. I’m very proud of this team and can’t say enough about all the hard work that everyone put in throughout the year.”
ERIN the ems+ Ferrari 488 Challenge began the weekend by qualifying 6th of 30 in the Trofeo Pirelli pro class for Race 1 on Friday. After gaining a position at the start of Race 1, heavy rain began to fall near the midpoint of the 30-minute sprint. The track became quite treacherous on the slick tires Weiland began the race with, and ERIN pitted for rain tires on Lap 8 hoping to capitalize on the conditions. The Boardwalk Ferrari team gave Weiland and ERIN a quick stop and they rejoined 18th. Immediately, ERIN was much faster than the leaders and she picked off four cars in the next two laps. But then a crash brought out the red flag and the last third of the race finished behind the safety car in P14.
While Race 2 on Saturday broke ERIN’s way, the last event of the Ferrari World Finals on Sunday was cut drastically short for EMS. Despite a great start from ERIN, a competitor’s car spun out of control early and made significant contact with the ems+ Ferrari 488 Challenge ending her day. Thankfully, the driver walked away without a scratch despite the significant impact.
“We dedicated our podium finish to PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation and Cornerstone of Hope and it was an honor for our team to help raise awareness for those causes in Italy at the Ferrari Challenge World Finals,” Weiland said. “We’ve appreciated the support we’ve had from each foundation all season long and can’t wait to get back on the track with them next season to do it all over again.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than three million members and supporters. Products proudly displaying the bunny logo are cruelty-free, meaning that they were produced without testing on animals. Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation’s mission is to provide educational support to at risk children through a combination of literacy, personal development and health and fitness programs designed to develop the whole child. Cornerstone of Hope, meanwhile, provides support, education, and hope for the grieving.
For behind the scenes coverage from the Ferrari Challenge World Finals in Italy, follow EMS Race Team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
by Brendan Bowers | Oct 26, 2018 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
EMS Race Team’s 2018 Ferrari Challenge season began in Florida at the Daytona International Speedway. It is now set to conclude at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Italy on November 1-4 during the Ferrari Challenge World Finals. Along the way, driver James Weiland and the crew from Boardwalk Ferrari have made stops at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Australia, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in New Zealand, Circuit De-Spa Francorchamps in Belgium, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Brno Circuit in Czech Republic and the Marina Bay Circuit in Singapore. While racing to raise awareness for PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation and Cornerstone of Hope in their eighth different country this season during the upcoming trip to Italy, EMS Race Team will look to add to the total of six podium finishes they’ve earned throughout the year.
“We’re definitely looking to finish strong during the Ferrari Challenge World Finals in Italy,” Weiland said. “It’s been a great season for us and to compete for a podium finish at Monza to cap things off would be great. But regardless of the outcome, our goal is to work together and put forth our best effort as a team. If we accomplish that much, we’ll be able to live with the results.”
The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is one of the world’s most iconic circuits not only because it is one of the oldest tracks in the world, but also because it is one of the most unique. Located north of Milan near the city of Monza, the historic track was first opened for competitive racing in 1922. Since then, it has gone on to host the Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix every year since the event’s inception. This year, it will be hosting the Ferrari Challenge World Finals event known as the Finali Mondiali for the first time since 2006. The major features of the track include the Curva Grande, the Curva di Lesmo, the Variante Ascari and the Curva Parabolica. The high-speed curve, Curva Grande, is located after the Variante del Rettifilo which is positioned at the end of the front straight—the part of the course that sees the highest speed.
“We’re excited to be racing to raise awareness for PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle and Cornerstone of Hope in our eighth different country this season,” Weiland said of the upcoming trip to Italy. “While we’re at Monza, we plan to do our best to spread the word for those three tremendous causes. Hopefully we can get them up on the podium during what’s sure to be a terrific weekend of racing.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than three million members and supporters. Products proudly displaying the bunny logo are cruelty-free, meaning that they were produced without testing on animals. Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation’s mission is to provide educational support to at risk children through a combination of literacy, personal development and health and fitness programs designed to develop the whole child. Cornerstone of Hope, meanwhile, provides support, education, and hope for the grieving.
For behind the scenes coverage of the Ferrari Challenge World Finals in Italy throughout the weekend, be sure to follow EMS Race Team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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