by Tara Pachmayer | May 5, 2015 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
EMS Race Team is powered by ems+ and competes to raise awareness for Cleveland’s Cornerstone of Hope Foundation. This past weekend, EMS Race Team competed in the Ferrari Challenge races at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California.
Race 1–which ended in a podium finish–was dedicated to Cornerstone’s upcoming series of summer camps designed to help support those who lost someone they loved.
After qualifying second in class and seventh overall on Saturday, Jim Weiland and the Ferrari of San Francisco team added another trophy to the collection with a second place finish in Race 1.
“The Ferrari of San Francisco team did a great job getting us ready to race on Saturday,” Weiland said. “While we’re always looking for a first-place finish, it was great to get onto the podium in Sonoma. The best part was being able to help raise awareness for the great work that our friends and neighbors at Cornerstone of Hope do for our community. Hopefully we were able to help others learn a little bit about the Cornerstone team along the way.”
During race weekend, we caught up with Coach Conrad Grunewald and several members of the Ferrari of San Francisco team for a behind-the-scenes look at Sonoma. Those videos and photos are below.
VIDEO GALLERY:
Coach Conrad Grunewald talks about reviewing video and data in between practice sessions.
Andrew talks about preparations for Qualifying from the paddock at Sonoma.
Behind-the-scenes with Dave in the Ferrari of San Francisco Garage at Sonoma.
Rudy talks about adjustments and prep work on Saturday at Sonoma.
Starting in the 15th position for Race 2, the EMS+ car quickly passed six cars in front of them. But alas, the second race was unfortunately cut short after contact to the right rear of the car on Turn 3. That contact spun out the No. 18 car driven by Weiland and forced an early exit from the race. Overall, though, the weekend was a big success and helped prepare Weiland and his team for F1 weekend at Montreal–the next stop on the Ferrari Challenge schedule.
PHOTO GALLERY:
To learn more about Cornerstone of Hope and how you can help, visit CornerstoneOfHope.org.
by Tara Pachmayer | Mar 5, 2015 | EMS Ferrari Challenge
The Ferrari of San Francisco team had Erin, the ems+ Ferrari Challenge 458 EVO, ready to race as the 2015 season began at Daytona International Speedway. The competition was stiff, as expected, but the season started off well for the team from Cleveland, Ohio who left Florida with a Race 1 victory.
The No. 18 car driven by James Weiland qualified 2nd in class and 7th overall before winning a hard-fought battle with competitor Robert Herjavec. The 007 car driven by Herjavec finished in second place during Race 1 before winning on Sunday. The No. 518 car driven by Arthur Romanelli finished in third.
During Race 1, Weiland took the lead in the first corner. He was able to maintain that lead the entire race despite intense pressure, and it was the ems+ car that brought the PETA Cruelty Free Bunnies across the finish line first.
“Nothing is more fulfilling for me and my team than to see the PETA Cruelty Free Bunnies cross the finish line in first place,” Weiland said. “Those are the days we always get the most questions about PETA and about what the Cruelty Free campaign means. It’s always fun to reply by saying that the bunnies helped us win, too, because they did.”
Prior to the start of Race 1, the Ferrari Challenge competitors gathered on the Daytona track for a group picture. The lovely Erin was also asked to be included in the official shot.
During Race 2 on Sunday, an unscheduled pit stop on the warm-up lap caused the ems+ car to begin in 29th position. Weiland was able to pass a significant amount of cars early on, however, and managed a respectable 5th place finish (9th overall).
(EMS Race Team via Vimeo)
“We did have an electrical problem on the pace lap which required a pit stop during Race 2,” Weiland said. “But I was proud of my team, how quickly they resolved the issue, and we were able to rejoin the race and pick off some cars and run well from there. All in all, there were a lot of positives during our first weekend and we’re looking forward to building on that in Homstead.”
(EMS Race Team via Vimeo)
The next Ferrari Challenge race on the schedule will be in Homestead on March 6-8. For more racing action check out ems+ racing team’s page on Vimeo.
by Tara Pachmayer | Feb 1, 2014 | EMS+
EMS Race Team traveled to Abu Dhabi for the Ferrari Challenge World Championships earlier this month. After posting two first-place finishes at Circuit of the Americas during the previous race weekend, driver Jim Weiland and his team departed from Cleveland Hopkins Airport expecting a difficult task in the World Finals.
Despite not capturing any podiums, Weiland’s speed was good enough to qualify 2nd in the North American Class on Thursday and Friday. He also qualified 3rd of 30 cars on Saturday vs. his worldwide competition in the World Finals. Race results weren’t what he hoped for, as there were some difficulties, with a 4th, DNF and a 7th in the World Finals. But nevertheless, there are some exciting videos to watch.
“The experience was amazing. It really opens your eyes to the great aspects of different cultures all over the world,” Weiland said, upon returning from his trip from Abu Dhabi. “The racing was highly competitive and challenging, but the opportunity to see so many new things and experience a whole new culture on this level was truly awesome.”
What was also awesome was Weiland’s ability to raise awareness for the PETA Cruelty Free campaign during his trip. On Ferrari’s biggest stage, he gladly answered all who asked what the bunnies featured his Ferrari 458 Challenge EVO represented.
Race 2 ended in dramatic fashion before the first lap was finished. See video in the tweet below:
This was good – starting third, and grabbing second on the first corner:
World Finals Abu Dhabi 12/6/14 Start from EMS Race Team on Vimeo.
Abu Dhabi Yas Marina Night Practice from EMS Race Team on Vimeo.
During each of the days they were there, EMS Race Team posted updates on Facebook and Twitter. Make sure you’re following on both platforms for more behind-the-scenes coverage next time. For now, below are some pictures from the trip.
On Friday night, EMS Race Team attended a season-ending awards banquet celebrating another year of the Ferrari Challenge. Two thousands people were invited to the exclusive, first-class ceremony hosted at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. Ferrari World is an amusement park located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It is the largest indoor theme park in the world. Weiland was called to the stage to receive a trophy for finishing 3rd overall in the Ferrari Challenge Coppa Shell division this season. He and his team also feasted on a Ferrari cake that makes Johnny Manziel’s viral birthday cake look more like a pastry.
And to everyone following along Twitter and Facebook throughout the trip, Weiland offered the following earlier this week:
“Thanks everyone for all the kind words and it is nice to be able to share these experiences and I hope you enjoy them at least a little. Qualifying 3rd in the world for the race was pretty good. Finishing 7th not so much. 3rd in the North American Series for the season decent. Daytona testing next Monday. Got to get better!”
More pictures from EMS Race Team’s trip to Abu Dhabi are at Facebook.com/emsRaceTeam and on Twitter @emsRaceTeam.
by Tara Pachmayer | Jun 10, 2013 | EMSNewswire |
EMS Racing competed in the North American Ferrari Challenge this weekend. On Monday, we caught up with Chairman JW, who raced to raise awareness for PETA, after his return from Montreal, Canada.
“The first practice session was wet,” JW recalled. “But I finished first in class by a second and 6th overall in a field of 35 split between the pro class and amateur. We were very pleased with the start. The second practice was dry and I finished second in class, 10th overall.”
The official qualifying session was scheduled next, but Mother Nature had other plans. The second practice times for all racers were used for positioning in Race 1 as a result of the qualifying lap being rained-out.
“They thought Race 1 would be wet,” JW explained. “We were on rain tires because of that. It ended up being dry, which was quite difficult. It was the same challenge for everyone, though, of course.”
Rain tires, for those who don’t know, have very little grip when it’s dry.
Despite the track conditions, EMS Racing got out to a great start in Race 1. On Lap 4, however, a move for the top spot ended up creating some adversity.
“I was running 2nd in Class, 6th Overall, on Lap 4 when I spun trying to chase down the car running in first,” JW said. “We kept the car on road but the blue, something-big-is-wrong, light lit up the dash. Apparently, the anti-lock brake computer frazzled while I was rolling backwards at the end of the spin.”
This sequence, eventually, would end EMS’ day.
“I had maintained position in second,” he explained, while recovering from the initial spin. “The next car was way behind me. But going into the next corner, as I braked, the front tires both locked. Amid giant puffs of smoke, I was tossed left into wall.”
Race over.
“The worst part was that Race 2 slots were determined by Race 1’s final positions.”
Race 2, however, was a new day for JW and EMS.
“It was sunny and the stands were packed with around 200,000 people,” he said, recalling the scene surrounding Race 2.
“We got a storming start from 30th and worked up to 4th in Class, 14th overall, before I made one mistake where I got passed. Then I had another spin trying to pass and ended up 6th in Class. The second race was big fun, though, a great experience.”
JW added that the Ferrari Challenge weekend, overall, provided valuable racing lessons he can build on moving forward.
“The biggest takeaway on the positive side was that I showed I have the speed in practice,” he added. “The negative is that I am not closing the deal yet in races.
I very realistically should have podium’d or even won both races in Class. But it was only my second race weekend of my life and all these guys are way more experienced. Overall, it really was fun, fun experience.”
by Tara Pachmayer | Jun 7, 2013 | EMSNewswire |
EMS Chairman JW was featured in an Autoweek article written by Mike Larson on Thursday for our support of PETA at the upcoming Ferrari Challenge.
An excerpt of that article is below:
“One of the cars in the North American Ferrari Challenge — which heads to Montréal’s Canadian Grand Prix on June 7 — boasts logos never before seen on a pro raceway, courtesy of PETA.
Amateur Ferrari driver Jim Weiland will be driving for a cause, supporting PETA’s campaign against blinding rabbits and poisoning other animals by plastering two “PETA” signs and one “cruelty-free” bunny, which the group licenses to companies that don’t test their products on animals, to the car. Weiland will race the PETA car throughout the remaining four races of the series.
“By putting PETA’s cruelty-free bunny logo on his Ferrari, Jim Weiland is helping racing fans across North America learn how easy it is to help animals simply by shopping cruelty-free,” says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. “PETA’s bunny logo makes it easy to find the thousands of companies who sell top-quality personal-care and household products that were never tested on animals.”’
EMS is honored to be racing on behalf of PETA. Big thanks to Autoweek for spreading the word on PETA’s campaign against blinding rabbits and poisoning other animals. For more information and how you can help, please visit PETA.org.
Full Article: PETA to show logo on North American Ferrari Challenge car in Montreal
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