It is easy to view Ferrari as a purveyor of fantastic roadcars that uses racing to sell product, but trace its roots back to the earliest days of Il Commendatore’s exploits, the original formation of Scuderia Ferrari, and one finds customer racing at its core.
In the late 1920s and early 30s, Enzo Ferrari transitioned from racing driver to team owner, and his bread a butter was looking after customer cars (as well as being the de facto Alfa-Romeo factory outfit for several years). Ferrari brought a previously unseen level of professionalism and preparation to his clients, and doing so laid the foundations for the modern model of customer racing.
Enzo staged his first end of season Gala in 1930, celebrating the successes of the newly minted Scuderia Ferrari, a tradition that continues to this day. Finali Mondiali, this year held at Mugello, is a jamboree of all things Ferrari, bringing together its myriad one-make Challenge series from across the globe, as well as the other Corse Clienti programs: FXX, F1 Clienti, and the most recent addition, Sport Prototipi Clienti. Since the first Challenge cars took to the track in 1993, these operations have grown to form the beating heart of Ferrari’s racing business model.
Seeing the bulk Ferrari’s Corse Clienti operation in one place is a sight to behold. Wandering around the Mugello paddock presents more Challenge cars than you can shake a stick at, a smattering of legendary GT cars, and of course a plethora of the latest roadcar baubles, from 296 Speciales to the F80s and 849 Testarossas. However, it is the pit garages that yield the real gold, as this is where the F1 Clienti and Protoypi cars reside.
The ultimate plaything
Launched at the end of 2023, the 499P Modificata has been a roaring success for Ferrari, and there were no less than 23 of the LMH-derived machines gracing the grid in Mugello (30 have been sold in total). Put into context, customers pay approximately €5.1-million for their Modificata and a two-year package of trackside support at Ferrari organised events. Rough maths shows the project has netted a conservative €150-million so far; no doubt going a decent way to offsetting the cost of the LMH program.
In many ways, though it doesn’t bear the logo, the Modificata is the pinnacle of Ferrari’s XX program: although this time taking a racecar and dialling it back rather than pushing a roadcar platform to the extreme.
Superficially, the Modificata bears a close resemblance to the 499P, but it differs in several significant areas. On the one hand, unconstrained by BoP concerns, the powertrain can be let loose and the V6 and front hybrid pumps out an impressive 640kW combined; more importantly, there is none of the rules mandated nonsense governing the speed at which 4WD is available. However, the aero package is dialled back and notably, the tyres are smaller than the competition variant, 310/710-18 front and 340/710-18 rear, with the compound developed by Pirelli to provide stable and predictable handling and rapid warmup.
This philosophy continues across the car, softening the scalpel-sharp performance of the racecar and providing a level of accessibility that allows buyers to enjoy their cars, rather than be terrified. For example, the suspension kinematics and damper package are tuned for predictable response, as are the powertrain maps, which, coupled with the 4WD system and a standard mid/high downforce setup, present an ideal customer package. Not that the customers buying these cars are novices. As Filippo Petrucci, who heads up the in-house preparation department for Corse Clienti, notes, Ferrari has a say in who drives off with a 499, and they will invariably already own multiple XX series and F1 Clienti cars.
With 2025 marking the 20th anniversary of the XX program, Ferrari has a unique product on its hands with Clienti Corsa, which many have tried to imitate but never match. 84 customer cars were present at the Finali, of which 50 were XX models, all providing a continuing revenue stream to the company. Add in the Challenge cars and several hundred 296 GT3s sold since launch, and the contribution of racing to Ferrari’s business becomes clear.
Racing highlights
Of course, the Finali is exactly that for the Ferrari Challenge drivers, rounding off the season with title deciders for the regional series and the big prize, the World Finals for AM and Pro Ferrari Challenge Coppa Shell and Trofeo Pirelli.
The weather in Mugello was a mixed bag for the championship concluding races; leaden skies wreathing the Tuscan hills and bursts of rain punctuating proceedings (to give them their due, the owners of various heritage F1 cars were not holding back, despite the conditions).
With championships decided and the frivolities of Saturday night’s Gala dinner complete, Sunday promised better conditions but failed to deliver. The first of the World Final races, the Coppa Shell Am, took to the track following more heavy rain. After setting off under the safety car, there was immediate drama as Norkazu Shibata in the 110 speared off, quickly followed by Andreas Konig in the 104, before even crossing the line, instigating a red flag.
With barrier repairs due to Konig’s impact complete, the race resumed with six minutes to run; the starting order of Jan Sandman, Sven Schermer, and Eli Levey remained in the top three spots. As Sandman gapped championship winner Schermer, Levey chased hard. Unfortunately, the pursuit culminated in the latter tapping Schermer as he entered the final turn on the penultimate lap, before dropping his car completely on exit, damaging Schermer in the process, who proceeded to pit.
Hassan Dabboussi inherited second, and it looked like Guy Fawe would take third; however, a heroic final corner move by Pino Frascaro denied him. The Italian somehow made it stick around the outside as his car squirmed beneath him to round out the podium.
For the Coppa Shell, the rain held off despite clouds continuing to wreath the circuit. With a grid order of Rey Acosta, Oscar Ryndziewicz, Fabrizio Fontana at the sharp end, race control mandated wets to start behind from safety car.
Diving into turn one, Acosta held off a determined attack on the outside from Ryndiewicz, who ran wide, but directly behind Fontana pirouetted and plunged down the field. He would go on to retire as the safety car was deployed for the recovery of other first corner casualties from the gravel. Running resumed briefly once more, just long enough for Bernier to snatch second from Ryndziewicz out of turn one, before another pause to rescue more beached cars.
On restart, Bernier took a deep lunge on Acosta into turn one but couldn’t find grip to make the move stick. Fortunately, the field finally managed to make it through more than one corner cleanly, and the race proper was underway. With Acosta cutting a clean break from the field, the focus became a battle between Ryndziewicz and Bernier as a dry line started to form.
Despite unrelenting pressure, Bernier managed to hold second, then, as the final lap culminated, Ryndziewicz went for broke with a dive through the final chicane. There was contact, though both appeared largely unscathed before another hard lunge from the British driver into the final corner, which again failed to pay off, resulting in a spin. In the sprint to the line, it was level pegging between season champion Manuela Gostner and John Dhillon, with Dhillon pipping the Italian to secure a surprise third.
As the grid for the final Trofeo Pirelli race, which merged both Pro and Am classes, formed up, the brollies came out once again. After a significant delay, racing got underway behind the safety car, with Vincenzo Scarpetta leading the pack out, followed by Felix Hirsiger and David Gostner (the highest qualifying AM).
Within two laps, the track went green. Despite conditions, Gilles Remaans quickly made his way past Gostner, with Michael Verhagen in hot pursuit, netting him the lead in AM. The closet fellow AM, Andrew Morrow, had been bumped down to 9th. Meanwhile, Pro Bjorn Grossmann was on a charge, making his way past Verhagen to snatch fourth. With five minutes to go, Hanno Laskowski – who had been running in 13th – pitched into the gravel, bringing the safety car back out.
Green flag running resumed – a single lap remaining – with predictable results. Scarpetta dropped the hammer, fending off a three-car scrap of Hirtziger, Remmans, and Grosman. Scarpetta stayed on top, even after Hirtziger clipped him and spun off into the barriers. In the furore, Grosman also came unstuck, allowing Luigi Coluccio to clear Verhagen for the final podium spot. The latter still claimed honours in Am, followed by Andrew Morrow and Marco Zanasi.
So concluded the racing element of this year’s Finali, leaving the track to the various exotica of the other Clienti operations, much to the delight of the Tifosi thronging the stands.
Pics: Ferrari and Lawrence Butcher
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