From the Driver's Seat - An Interview with 348 Challenge Driver Cort Wagner

Cort Wagner is a mortgage banker and 348 Challenge owner/driver. He has driven his #25 1991 348 to two second places, a first, and a sixth. You can see an in-depth article on Cort's car in the June issue of European Car magazine (it's on the cover). The Southwest region asked Cort a few questions about what it was like to be a driver in the series:

FCA:

How did you get started in the Challenge Series?

Cort:

A couple of years ago Cris Vandagriff from Ferrari of Beverly Hills presented me with his thoughts on putting together a car for the upcoming series. I was interested but the total costs of participating were too rich for me. Cris said that if I tested well and bought a car, they could help me get sponsored. He arranged a try out of a few drivers at Willow and I turned the fastest laps (1:36.7). I bought a car, got sponsorship from Westinghouse, Mercury Holdings Group, and Ferrari of Beverly Hills and I was in.

FCA:

How do you rate the competition?

Cort:

Fierce. John Marconi is a very aggressive driver and Peter Sachs has been a threat the whole time too. The races tend to run in three packs: three to six fast cars up front, a tight bunch in the middle, and then some of the less experienced drivers at the back.

FCA:

How do the cars feel on the track?

Cort:

They're great cars. Basically, they are well prepared street cars, weighing in at about 3,000 lbs. They are very controllable at the limit and very demanding but they pay big rewards if you're smooth and fast. They tend toward a slight oversteer condition that is easily modulated with steering and throttle input.

FCA:

Do you have to have a newer 348 to be competitive?

Cort:

No, it isn't that hard to get an older car up to speed. In fact, if you can get a used car cheap enough you could take the money saved and really bring the motor up to the tightest specs. The coupes (tbs) are a little lighter and stiffer than the ts cars.

FCA:

What do you like the most about the series?

Cort:

Driving! It is a driver's series. It allows all the participants to get to know their cars better and find that the cars aren't allergic to mileage and abuse. Ferraris were meant to be driven, not garaged.

FCA:

What is your least favorite aspect of the series?

Cort:

The level of seriousness. This is an amateur series, there are no purses or prizes to be won. Yet many people are very concerned about what other drivers are doing. There are protests and cheating that don't need to be in a fun series like this.

FCA:

How are the races run?

Cort:

There is qualifying on Saturday where the whole grid can practice at once, or just portions. Passing is allowed during qualifying. You get four to five qualifying laps and on the first race you grid according to your qualifying times. The races are rolling start and last about 20 minutes. For the second race, you grid according to your finish in the first race.

FCA:

How have the FCA member track events been during these Challenge weekends?

Cort:

They have been fun. It provides an opportunity for less involved Ferrari owners to get their cars on the track and see what they were meant to do. There have been some really interesting cars out there. I saw an F40/LM in Florida, a 275 GTB NART Spyder, and all sorts of exotic metal out on the tracks.

FCA:

Will you make it to Mugello?

Cort:

I certainly hope to. It is going to be difficult for the US cars to be competitive over there, though. The European cars have 38 more horsepower and they're 200 lbs lighter. They have lighter doors and bumpers as well as the "H" motor kits that include heads, intake, pistons, muffler, etc. It is going to be really expensive for us US drivers to win in Italy.

FCA:

What are you overall thoughts on the series

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