Ferrari is letting its one-make Challenge racing series loose in Australia.
Ferrari Challenge Australasia kicks off in 2025 with five rounds, split across some of the nation’s most iconic race tracks.
It’ll sit above the Club Challenge, where owners of the 488 Challenge and 296 Challenge track cars compete based on lap times alone, on the Ferrari motorsports ladder locally.
Currently, there are four Challenge categories worldwide: Europe, North America, United Kingdom, and Japan.
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The Australian series will kick off at Bathurst, where it’ll be supporting the 12 Hour endurance race. It’ll then roll on to Phillip Island, Sydney Motorsport Park (for two rounds, one of which is a dedicated Ferrari event), and The Bend.
Along with the new 296 Challenge, existing owners of the 488 Challenge will be eligible for the series. Ferrari is targeting a grid of up to 20 drivers.
The former are competing for the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Australasia, the latter are vying for the Ferrari Challenge Coppa Shell Australasia.
Drivers from overseas Challenge grids are eligible to race in the Australia season, while Australian entrants will be able to build a calendar including legendary tracks such as Laguna Seca and the Nurburgring if they want to compete in international Challenge races.
All entrants are also invited to Finali Mondiali, an event hosted in Italy to conclude the global Challenge season.
Ferrari Australasia president Jan Hendrik Voss told CarExpert the Club Challenge and Challenge Australasia are avenues for motoring enthusiasts to join the Ferrari brand, rather than through the road car business.
“There are plenty of people out there that love racing, that love pushing themselves to new limits, learning a new skillset, performing at the highest level with the best brand, on the best tracks, that maybe don’t drive Ferrari road cars yet for one reason or the other,” Mr Voss said.
“They do enjoy the camaraderie, and the motorsports world, and being part of that elite group of Ferrari family members that goes out and races every second weekend.
“More often than not, that brings with it a vicinity to the brand where you get to know the brand better on a very personal level, and also the people that are involved with the brand – where people very often can transition into becoming a client and driving the Ferrari road cars that are on offer also.
“The motorsports platform is really a good platform to reach out to people that want to do it the other way. Not collect cars, and at the end of the journey of being a collector doing also the motorsports.
“Really being a racer, and a racer at heart. Driving the Ferraris on track and being part of the community.”
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