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EMS Race Team Earns Podium Finish in Montreal and Now Sets Sights on Le Mans

EMS Race Team Earns Podium Finish in Montreal and Now Sets Sights on Le Mans

EMS Race Team made their sixth stop along the 2019 Ferrari Challenge circuit a memorable one. Competing at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Canada during F1 weekend, driver James Weiland and his crew from Boardwalk Ferrari / Ferrari of San Francisco earned their fifth podium finish of the season in front of a capacity crowd in Montreal. While racing PARIS the ems+ Ferrari 488 Challenge trimmed in red, Weiland shook off contact twice on the first lap to move up a spot and finish P2 overall out of 30 drivers.

PARIS qualified in third position for Race 1 on Saturday before going on to secure the second step on the podium. She’d follow that up with a P4 finish in Race 2 on Sunday. The Ferrari Challenge in Canada served as a support race for the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won the F1 race while Ferrari drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc rounded out the top three.

“It’s always nice to be on the F1 podium here at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in front of a 100,000 people,” Weiland said after the race. “Our team races to raise awareness for PETA Cruelty Free, Coach Sam’s Inner Circle Foundation and Cornerstone of Hope so it’s always a great opportunity to have some success during events like this.”

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.

EMS Race Team will continue to help raise awareness for those causes later this week as they now travel to Le Mans in France for the Ferrari Challenge on June 13-16. EMS has competed in France before but never raced the famous Le Mans track. In 2017, they competed at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Le Mans, meanwhile, is located in Sarthe, France and is one of the most prominent venues in the world. During Ferrari Challenge weekend it will also be hosting the 24 Hours of Le Mans on a track where up to 85% of the lap time is spent on full throttle.

“We certainly enjoyed a great team effort in Montreal but now it’s off to Le Mans,” Weiland said. “It was hard, fun racing in Canada and we expect the same later this week. We have an opportunity to compete on a fabled circuit in France prior to the start of the 24 and we hope to take advantage of that opportunity with another solid team effort.”

After racing PARIS in Montreal, Weiland will be moving over to ERIN the ems+ Ferrari 488 Challenge trimmed in purple for Le Mans. The Ferrari Challenge race is scheduled to go off at 10:15am local time on Saturday followed by the 24 Hours of Le Mans starting at 3pm local time later that afternoon. It is one of the most highly anticipated racing weekends of the year and it’s exciting to see that EMS Race Team will be a part of the festivities.

For behind the scenes coverage of the Ferrari Challenge in France throughout the weekend at Le Mans, be sure to follow EMS Race Team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

A trip to Abu Dhabi for the Ferrari Challenge World Championships with EMS Race Team

A trip to Abu Dhabi for the Ferrari Challenge World Championships with EMS Race Team

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.

 

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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.

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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.