All posts in “Ferrari 488 GT3”

Hear The Glorious Noise of Ferrari Race Cars from The 2021 Corse Clienti at Monza

One of our favorite YouTubers, 19Bozzy92, has come out with yet another amazing compilation of race cars screaming around Monza. In this specific video, it was during the 2021 Ferrari Corse Clienti, which was held over two days at the end of March.

[embedded content] [embedded content]

The event hosted all the levels of Corse Clienti, of which there are three: GT clients, XX Program clients, and the rarest, the F1 clients. All of the cars in this video are privately owned, but most of them stay with Ferrari for care, storage, and servicing between client events.

Of course, the biggest field was made up of the XX program, with FXX, FXX-K, FXX-K Evo, and 599XX cars all screaming around the palace of speed that is Monza. Of these, the standouts were the insanely loud 599XX’s, and the unbelievably fast FXX-K Evo’s.

599XX being chased by an FXX into Variante Ascari
599XX being chased by an FXX into Variante Ascari 599XX being chased by an FXX into Variante Ascari

The rarest class at these events is the F1 clients. Ferrari will often offer one or two of their Formula 1 cars for sale after they have been out of the championship for a couple of years, with loyal clients getting the first choice. At this meeting, two F1 clients made it out, with one driving the 2008 season F2008 Kimi Raikkonen car, and the other driving the 2013 F138 Fernando Alonso car.

2013 F138 Fernando Alonso screaming through Lesmo 1
2013 F138 Fernando Alonso screaming through Lesmo 1 2013 F138 Fernando Alonso screaming through Lesmo 1

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Ferrari meeting without the GT cars. The Corsa Clienti at Monza this year featured multiple 488 GT3 and GTE cars, 458 GTE’s, and even an F430 Scuderia GT3.

A 458 GTE chases a 488 GT3 Evo through Variante Ascari
A 458 GTE chases a 488 GT3 Evo through Variante Ascari A 458 GTE chases a 488 GT3 Evo through Variante Ascari

However, words and pictures can only do so much. Watch the video, let your ears be bathed in the sounds of screaming V8’s, roaring V12’s, and the snarls of Formula 1 cars as they celebrate speed at Monza!

Ferrari Announces Season 2 Of The Ferrari eSports Championship

Ferrari announced today the return of their Ferrari eSports Championship, a dedicated spec series that is raced online, for a second season. Registration opens today, March 16, 2021, with the first qualifying session in early April.

The series, open to European residents only due to flight and travel restrictions this year due to the global pandemic, is run on the well-known and well-loved Assetto Corsa simulator, produced by Kunos Simulazioni. After confirmation of registration, participants will be able to download two dedicated cars for the competition, with many hours of input from official Ferrari drivers, including Charles LeClerc.

2021 Ferrari eSports Championship Charles LeClerc
Charles LeClerc testing the cars for this years Ferrari eSports Championship

These two cars will be the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo, returning from the 2020 season, and the new dedicated championship car, the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo.

2021 Ferrari eSports Championship 488 Challenge Evo
Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo

Qualification rounds last from April until the end of July, with one day per month dedicated to “The Hotlap Challenge.” Using one of the four cars available, including the two provided by Ferrari as well as the in-game Ferrari 599XX Evo and the Ferrari FXX-K, registered participants have four chances, if they attend all the hotlap challenges, to place in the top 24 times for that car.

2021 Ferrari eSports Championship cars 599XX Evo
Ferrari 599XX Evo

Those qualifiers are then put into the 488 Challenge Evo for a series of four elimination races until the 96 qualifiers are reduced to 48 finalists by mid-August.

Those 48 finalists will then take part in the actual championship series in September, with once-weekly full duration races lasting from a sprint (1 hour) to endurance (3 hours) depending on the race venue.

The top 24 drivers by points after those four rounds will qualify for the grand final, which will occur in December. The grand final consists of three races, with three different cars (the two official 488’s and the 599XX), and the driver with the most points at the end of all three is crowned the champion.

2021 Ferrari eSports Championship cars FXX-K Evo
Ferrari FXX-K

Running alongside the drivers’ qualification rounds from April to July is a new entry for 2021, namely the livery design championship. This allows creative people from across the globe to download a template, apply their own special touch to it artistically, and then submit it for review by official Ferrari representatives who will choose the 48 best liveries, and assign them to drivers for the official competition rounds.

So what’s in it for the participants, we hear you asking?

The champion driver will be invited down to Maranello, to the Ferrari factory, to join both the Ferrari Driver’s Academy and Ferrari eSports Team, and represent Ferrari at multiple online racing events. These events can include participation in the Virtual Formula 1 eSports Championship, World Virtual Endurance Championship, and other official racing series. As part of their prize, they also get to drive an actual Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo around Fiorano, to understand how the actual car handles compared to the virtual car, and carry that knowledge back into the games.

All in all, not a bad thing to race online for!