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The 2026 Ferrari Challenge North America season came to a close on September 13 at Road America, and Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale saved one of its best weekends for last. Four miles, 14 corners and a layout that rewards nerve over caution — and by Sunday afternoon, the team had a third consecutive Time Attack victory, another top-10 run in Trofeo Pirelli-Am and a 2:10 barrier broken on a first visit to the circuit.
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin was a fitting place to end the campaign. Known as “America’s National Park of Speed,” Road America throws elevation changes and long high-speed sections at a driver across a single four-mile lap. Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale entered four Ferrari 296 Challenge cars.
Max Hayim arrived in Wisconsin as the clear favorite in Club Challenge Time Attack, and for good reason: a podium on his category debut at COTA, then wins at Laguna Seca and Sonoma. The only unknown was the track itself. The driver of the No. 207 Ferrari 296 Challenge had never turned a lap at Road America.
It didn’t slow him down. Hayim was immediately quick in practice, and on Sunday he delivered the kind of run that leaves no argument — more than 1.4 seconds ahead of the field and a third consecutive Time Attack victory to close the season.
Three rounds, three wins. It’s the strongest stretch of the year for any Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale driver.
Kevin Gutierrez came to Road America sitting just two points off a virtual podium position in the championship standings, and he wasted no time showing he intended to close that gap. The No. 21 driver set the fastest time in the first official session and backed it up with the second-fastest time in the next.
Qualifying didn’t reward that pace.
Sunday put both cars on the fifth row together, Gibson on Gutierrez’s left. Gutierrez launched well and picked up two positions immediately, then moved up to sixth when the green flag flew after a safety car period. The car had other plans: he lost his rear diffuser, and with it the downforce he needed to fight for the position.
Gibson kept climbing. He was up to seventh by lap six, and after another restart following a further neutralization he held that spot all the way to the flag — another top-10 finish.
In the No. 217, Garrett Hayim took on the Time Attack format for the first time — 15 minutes alone against the clock, no traffic to chase and no one to draft — at a circuit he was seeing for the first time.
He built through the weekend, improving consistently from the opening session, then went after the number every driver at Road America knows. Hayim broke the 2:10 barrier and finished sixth.
The 2026 season is in the books, but the next one already has a headline. 2027 will see the Ferrari 296 Challenge Evo make its on-track debut, the next evolution of the car that has defined this era of Ferrari Challenge racing.
For everyone in the paddock, that resets the clock. New benchmarks, new lap times to chase at every circuit on the calendar, and a level playing field the moment the season opens. The drivers who put in the work over the winter will be the ones who find it first.
Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale will be there with them.
Congratulations to Max, Garrett, Kevin and Hayden on the way they closed out the year at Road America — and thank you to every driver who wore the Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale colors in 2026, including Lina Gibson and L.T. Gibson.
Thanks as well to Ferrari North America for a superb final weekend at Elkhart Lake.
If this season made you wonder what it takes to get on the grid, 2027 is the year to ask.
See you next season.
From Ferrari Challenge North America to Corso Pilota, our racing program connects clients to competitive driving at every level.