EMS Race Team arrived at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut this weekend trailing the top position in the Ferrari Challenge North American Series by one point overall on the season in the Trofeo Pirelli AM class. Despite being met with a number of obstacles while competing at the historic road racing venue, James Weiland and his crew from Boardwalk Ferrari would eventually leave with a share of first place heading into the final two events of the year. But that journey to the top—for the moment, at least—was certainly not easy.
During Race 1 at Lime Rock, after qualifying in the second position, Paris—the ems+ Ferrari Challenge 458 EVO trimmed in blue—was bumped off the track early on by a competitor’s car. After not being allowed the proper room to return, Paris was forced to lose two positions and eventually finished in 4th place. Following the race, however, video was reviewed of the incident and EMS was awarded 3rd place points. In the qualifying session for Race 2 on Saturday morning, though, Paris experienced an electrical malfunction that shut the car down entirely before being able to complete one lap. That start near the back of the pack in Race 2 would lead to a 4th place finish to close out the trip.
Coach @ConradGrunewald breaks down the keys to success at @limerockpark prior to Race 2 which begins at 3:10pm EST: https://t.co/n1eCt7wpA5 pic.twitter.com/1T0dsJCvHm
— EMS Race Team (@emsRaceTeam) September 24, 2016
“This is a fun but also challenging track to drive,” Weiland admitted. “There isn’t a lot of room to pass, which certainly played a role in the incident we experienced on Friday. That same issue made it tough for us during Race 2 as well, after being forced to start where we did. But I was proud of our crew for working through some technical issues, and we’re always honored to represent PETA Cruelty Free and Cornerstone of Hope even when the breaks don’t necessarily go our way.”
Inside the @ferraridallas Garage w/ Rudy Courtade who explains how his team got Paris ready for Race 2 at @limerockpark #FerrariChallenge pic.twitter.com/SegXyyKOFo
— EMS Race Team (@emsRaceTeam) September 24, 2016
The fact that Paris was able to finish each race at Lime Rock in the respectable positions that she did—despite not resulting in any trophies—certainly helped in the big picture. After finishing third in the Trofeo Pirelli AM class last season, Weiland is now tied with Steve Johnson of Ferrari Fort Lauderdale in first place this year. Following a trip to Fuji to compete in the Asia Pacific series, EMS will return to the United States to close out the North American circuit with races at Homestead and Daytona.
“If you start thinking about things like the points lead, or what place you might finish in during a season, you could lose focus on the task at hand,” Weiland added. “For our team, it’s always about how you can get better, how you can improve. I’ll work with my coach, Conrad Grunewald, and try our best to improve on the things I could’ve done better in Lime Rock and hopefully carry what we learned into the next weekend. And if we can continue do that, focus on one practice, one qualifying session, one race at a time, everything else will take care of itself.”
For more behind-the-scenes coverage from the Lime Rock Park Ferrari Challenge 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 throughout the season.
