Ferrari and El Gouna: The Perfect Match?

Some readers would probably ask themselves why an outstanding 5-stars holiday destination like El Gouna standing for relaxation, leisure and recreation would get involved in noisy, hectic and adrenalin-pushing motor-sport?

Well, the answer is very easy: After an exhausting and exciting Ferrari Challenge season you will surely need some exquisite relaxation and recharging of your batteries! That’s why El Gouna Resort decided to be present where those relaxation- and sun-seekers get together to explore the limits of their Ferrari F430 Challenge racing cars.

So for the first time, El Gouna, one of the world's most outstanding holiday destinations, sponsored the 2007 Ferrari championship at the well-known Hockenheim Racing circuit (Germany) under the theme of "The Fast Lane to Your Dream Destination" which according to El Gouna appealed greatly to both the attendees and the pilots.

It was so appealing that Cristinao Uva, a professional Ferrari pilot, planned for a trip to El Gouna for relaxation and refreshment before the new season of the Ferrari Challenge 2008 begins.

A few weeks after the Ferrari Challenge Hockenheim round, El Gouna’s logo was seen everywhere at Mugello (Italy), where the Ferrari World Finals 2007 took place. The event was attended by more than 60,000 motor-sport fans and Tifosi from all over Europe.

The 2007 World finals came to end with the key moments at the party that was concluded with an elegant celebration during which prizes were awarded to the winning racers.




The Ferrari Challenge is considered one of the most exclusive single-marque motorsport championship worldwide, which was created in 1993 for owners and customers of the Ferrari 348 Berlinetta who wanted to become involved in racing. It now encompasses three official Ferrari Challenge championships taking place in the United States, Italy, and Europe.

At the end of the season competitors from each series are brought together at the annual Ferrari World Finals event, in order to find out who is the 'best of the best' Ferrari Challenge racing drivers.

The two European championships each use the same two-class format in which the organizers distinguish between professional

competition drivers (in the Trofeo Pirelli class) and amateur "gentleman drivers" (in the Copa Shell class), while the US series has just one class.
The Ferrari Challenge Italia was originally launched in 1993, with backing from Pirelli. Its popularity has resulted in a 2007 entry list of ten teams represented by 37 drivers.

It includes six events, plus the World Final, and shares some venues with the European series. The US-based championship was inaugurated in 1994. It is organized by Ferrari North America and sanctioned by Grand Am.
In 2001, the number of championships peaked at five, with three in Europe, one in the United States, and one in Japan.

The Ferrari Challenge has inspired other national club-level championships that are not directly affiliated with Ferrari itself. The Ferrari Scandinavia Challenge is an unofficial championship with events in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. It was created in 2001 and is not exclusive to the latest Challenge cars. The UK has a similar unofficial series comprising three championships for older cars that is organized by the Ferrari Owners' Club.



The Ferrari Challenge cars:

The Ferrari Challenge uses a single model from the manufacturer's road car range, suitably modified to make them safe for competition use. The lineage began with the 348 Berlinetta in 1993, followed by its successor, the F355 Berlinetta, and the 360 Modena was introduced in 2000. The F355 remained eligible during 2000 and 2001.

The 360CS (Challenge Stradale) version was the first competition-orientated version to be marketed to the public. The new F430 Challenge was phased in during a transitional year in 2006 and is now used exclusively. The F430 introduced carbon-ceramic brake discs for the first time and gained 80bhp over the 360CS, which has reduced lap times to approximately three seconds shy of the F430 GT2.

El Gouna surely proved to be the first Egyptian sponsor ever to appear in a Ferrari Challenge, while Damac Property was the first sponsor from the UAE.

Unfortunately the Ferrari Egypt importer (MTI) is not paying any attention to this spectacular Ferrari Challenge championship, which could find lots of fans and followers not only from Egypt but from the whole Middle East region.

But can you blame the fans and viewers in Egypt? Of course not, since there is not even a Ferrari or Maserati show-room displaying any Ferrari or Maserati cars although MTI / Ferrari Egypt has been Ferrari importer for years now. Maybe it's about time that the Ferrari decision-makers in Maranello start considering a possible new importer in Egypt especially since there have been numerous complaints from the few existing Ferrari owners in Egypt, which already suffer enough with their Bella Macchina from the road conditions in Cairo.

It is worth mentioning here that AUTO ARABIA Magazine was the only car magazine from Egypt and the Middle East, which was invited by Ferrari to test the Ferrari 430 Scuderia on the Ferrari-owned Fiorano race track next to the Ferrari factory in Maranello. The exclusive test-drive will be published in the next issue of AUTO ARABIA Magazine and on www.AutoArabia.org shortly.