Ferrari created the Challenge to give owners an opportunity to experience the best (meaning fastest) their cars had to offer. It's rare for an F430 owner, for example, to use every last horse in his car's 490 hp engine when commuting to work or out for a Sunday drive. Take that car to the track, though, and he'll come a lot closer than he ever has before to reaching the 195 mph top speed.
The Challenge isn't held on out-of-the-way little tracks, either. Only the best will do for Maranello's Prancing Horses, like Road America, Road Atlanta, and Infineon Raceway. There are a half-dozen tracks on the schedule in locations across the country (and even in Canada).
There's also a vintage class for racers of a bygone era -- and these cars must have been raced in-period in order to participate. No trailer queens or pretenders here. Ferrari welcomes cross-town rivals (and Fiat stablemates) Maserati and Alfa Romeo to race alongside the vintage Formula One cars on the track.
A season in the F430 Series isn't cheap, but if you've already got the car and the free weekends, why not drop $24,000 for four races, including fuel, tires, and accommodations for two? Or, if you'd like to try before you buy into the whole season, a single race with the same basic provisions as above is $7,000.
Interested owners should check out the Ferrari Challenge registration web site, while potential spectators can keep an eye on the schedule.
