Yates duo take home wins; Bolster secures second consecutive victory
The Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli UK championship returned this week for the sixth and final round at Donington Park. The historic Grand Prix circuit blends fast, flowing sections with undulating terrain – characteristics well-suited to the capabilities of the Ferrari 296 Challenge cars. With the 2026 championship trophy winners now decided, Official Ferrari Driver, Phil Hanson, was Driver Steward for the event, and also presented the podium awards.
Qualification 1:
In Trofeo Pirelli, Bradley Yates (Charles Hurst) qualified in Pole Position with a time of 1:04.699 – less than 1-sec ahead of Mike Dewhirst (Dick Lovett Swindon), who posted a best lap of 1:05.600. Joseph Dean (Stratstone Colchester) qualified in 3rd, only 0.03-sec behind, with a time of 1:05.627.
In Coppa Shell, William Bolster (Charles Hurst) claimed Pole Position with a time of 1:05.809 – approximately 0.2-sec ahead of Steve Dopson (Maranello Sales), who posted a best lap of 1:06.069. Sean Ran (HR Owen) trailed just 0.2-sec behind him to claim 3rd, with at time of 1:06.319.
Race 1:
Trofeo Pirelli. Pole Sitter B.Yates made an excellent start and began to build a commanding lead over 2nd-placed Dewhirst and 3rd-placed Dean. Returning to the UK series for the final race of the year, 5th-placed Paul Simmerson (Stratstone Manchester) made an excellent overtake on Manuela Gostner (Ineco) in the opening lap to claim 4th.
After completing just four laps during qualifying, Gilbert Yates (Charles Hurst) started the race in an unusual position, on the last row of the grid. However, by half-race distance, the Trofeo Pirelli champion had successfully navigated his way through the field, overtaking every driver ahead of him except his son, B.Yates. After following Bradley for several laps, Gilbert made a daring move on his son at the apex of the Old Hairpin to take the lead.
With the order now settled, G.Yates crossed the chequered flag 10-sec ahead of his son in 2nd place, but still won the race despite receiving a 5-sec penalty for repeatedly exceeding track limits. Dean also drove consistently throughout the rest of the race, securing the final place on the podium.
Coppa Shell. Bolster led the field from Pole Position, with Dopson close behind him in 2nd. Ran pursued in 3rd, tailed by series newcomer from Scotland, Giancarlo Romano (Graypaul Edinburgh) in 4th.
In relatively short order, Romano seized an opportunity to overtake Ran to take 3rd, before then also executing a brilliant pass on Dopson to enter 2nd. Further back, an eager Andrea Seminara (HR Owen) worked his way through the pack, passing Tony Dean (Stratstone Colchester) in 6th, Ian Morris (Maranello Sales) in 5th, and Ran, to claim 4th.
With the top three now set, Bolster continued to defend his lead against several attempts from Romano, but the Irish driver was ultimately able to retain his position and secure his first ever race win Dopson defended confidently against Seminara over the closing laps, protecting his podium position and finishing only 0.2-sec of the Italian.
Qualification 2:
In Trofeo Pirelli, B.Yates rounded out the season with a second Pole Position, just 0.3-sec ahead of his father, with a time of 1:04.185. Drivers on the second row were also separated by just 0.3-sec, with Dewhirst in 3rd and J.Dean in 4th, and times of 1:04.807 and 1:05.241, respectively.
In Coppa Shell, yesterday’s race winner, Bolster took another Pole Position, with a time of 1:05.644. There was just 0.05-sec between Seminara in 2nd and Morris in 3rd, who posted best laps of 1:05.835 and 1:05.884, respectively.
Race 2:
Trofeo Pirelli. Pole Sitter, B.Yates made a flying start with G.Yates trailing close behind, but a successful move on the first lap from 3rd-placed Dewhirst allowed him to overtake the elder Yates, the 2026 Trofeo Pirelli champion.
But the order quickly changed again when G.Yates found space on the inside of Redgate to reclaim 2nd, allowing him to edge closer to his son. With such a fast race pace, the whole field was closely matched for most of the race, until an incident further down the field brought out the safety car with less than 5-min to go. With a one-lap dash to the checquered flag, the younger Yates held onto his lead to take home the final race win of the season.
Although G.Yates crossed the finish line in 2nd, he was relegated to 6th after receiving a 10-sec penalty for exceeding track limits. As a result, Dewhirst and Dean were promoted to 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Coppa Shell. Yesterday’s race winner, Bolster made a quick getaway and began extending his advantage from Pole. On the first lap, 4th-placed Ran made no hesitation in overtaking Seminara and Morris, to enter 2nd. Moments later, Dopson also made a fantastic pass on Morris to take 4th.
As the battle intensified, Dopson made two excellent passes on Seminara and Ran to take 2nd. Further back, Romano performed an excellent apex overtake on Darren Howell (JCT600 Leeds) to claim 6th.
Up front, Bolster pushed on to eventually take the final race win of the season, followed by Dopson in 2nd. In a hotly contested battle for the final step on the podium, an unfortunate spin involving Ran and Seminara leapfrogged Morris and Romano to 3rd and 4th respectively.
Next Race:
The Ferrari Challenge UK series returns in 2027, with the opening round taking place at the legendary Silverstone Circuit on 23 April. T
