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Thursday, November 3, 2011
Scott Tucker Earns Pole, Faces Stiff Competition at Ferrari Challenge International Finals
Scott Tucker’s quest for a Ferrari Challenge Series world championship got off to a great start Thursday. The driver of the No. 755 Boardwalk Ferrari F430 earned the top qualifying position with a speed of 158.416 mph in preparation for Friday’s North American division race No. 1 at the Ferrari Challenge International Finals at Mugello Circuit in Mugello, Italy.
It is Tucker’s first time back in competition behind the wheel of an F430 in Challenge Series competition since last November, when he won a race and finished second in the other at the Ferrari Challenge International Finals in Spain. Following Race number 1 on Friday will be a second race on Saturday. Then, the season comes to a close with the F430 World Finals on Sunday where Tucker looks to solidify another driving championship.
A mere .7 seconds separates Tucker from the top qualifier, Italy’s Riccardo Ragazzi, setting up a showdown for the World Championship title. The Ferrari Finali Mondiali features a world-class field of drivers, and the competition among the F430 cars is as tight as it has ever been.
“We came into this week knowing how hard we needed to work to win here. The field is very, very tough,” Tucker said. “This is a very challenging circuit. You can’t make any mistakes here. If you do, you’ll run yourself right out of a chance to win. And, that’s what we came here to do — win.”
Tucker is a three-time winner in the Ferrari Challenge International Finals between 2009 and 2010. The event was held in Valencia, Spain, both years.
Mugello Circuit, officially the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, is a 3.529-mile road course near Florence. The track, built in 1974, is comprised of 15 turns and a long straightaway.
Turns 14 and 15 combine in a challenging hairpin that leads into the straightaway, which is 1,141 meters in length. The width of the track varies between 9, 6 and 14 meters.
Tucker has competed in four Ferrari Challenge Series races this season, all in the new Ferrari 458. He won the series opener at Infineon Raceway in California in April and finished sixth in the second race that weekend.
In May at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Tucker finished second to Enzo Potolicchio in Race 1 and fifth in Race 2. With his busy worldwide racing schedule, he has not participated in the Ferrari Challenge Series since.
The green flag isscheduled to wave for race No. 1 on Friday at 3 p.m. local time. Qualifying for race No. 2 for the North American division is set for 9:30 a.m. local time Friday. The green flag is scheduled to wave for race No. 2 at 2:40 p.m. local time Saturday.
Fans looking to follow the action can find live timing and scoring as well as all session and raceresults on the Circuit’s website: http://mugellocircuit.it/.
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