Modena, 31st Jan 2015 – There was a great gala evening at the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena, attended by the drivers and team personnel who had won GT races at the wheel of the Ferrari 458 Italia in its various guises.
Over fifty drivers, including four prominent drivers from the Middle East region, Khaled Al Mudhaf from Kuwait, Mohammed Jawa from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Fred Fatien and Jordan Grogor from United Arab Emirates.
As competitors in the Dubai 24hrs in 2014, the team took the Pro-Am title with Dragon racing in the 24 endurance event. They contributed to a haul of national and international titles for the Maranello marque, as well as many victories, some of them in the most important races in the world. There to meet them was Amedeo Felisa, the Ferrari CEO.
“This is a historic moment for Kuwait, I am very proud to accept this very important award from Ferrari, it is in great recognition that as a country Kuwait will be forever stamped in Ferrari racing history, and as the first qualified FIA racing driver from Kuwait with licence #001, I am very proud to achieve that,” commented Khaled.
There was tumultuous applause for the World Endurance Champions, Gimmi Bruni and Toni Vilander, joined on stage by Giancarlo Fisichella, to celebrate the amazing win in the Le Mans 24 Hours, the 33rd time a Ferrari had taken this win. Apart from the drivers, there was also a prize for Amato Ferrari, whose AF Corse team took the WEC teams title, as well as the International GT Open crown in the GTS class and victory in the Gentlemen Class of the Blancpain Endurance Series.
There was a warm welcome for Andrea Bertolini, a Modena man, who enjoyed an extraordinary 2014, triumphing along with the Russians Sergey Zlobin and Viktor Shaytar in the final race of the European Le Mans Series, held at Estoril, driving for the SMP team. Andrea also picked up a prize for the win in the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours, sharing the drive with Nick Hommerson, Louis Machiels and Marco Cioci.
The Ferrari customer teams and their drivers won GT races in four continents in 2014. Therefore joining the European drivers in Modena’s Enzo Ferrari Museum were the winners of Australia’s Bathurst 12 Hours, John Bowe, Peter Edwards, Craig Lowndes and Mika Salo, as well as Weng Sun Mok, who emerged victorious in the GT Asia championship and the Sepang 12 Hours.