In an effort to more closely align its Corse Clienti customer racing activities with its actual Formula One program, Ferrari’s motorsport division Scuderia Ferrari has formed the new “Sporting Activities Department” that will group all the separate activities into the one department. The aim is to strengthen the coordination of all on-track activities and make the most of any possible synergies.

The new department will be run by Antonello Coletta, who will report directly to Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari’s F1 team principal. Coletta has been with Ferrari since 1997 and more recently has been involved with the automaker’s World Endurance Championship program.

The Sporting Activities Department he will oversee essentially merges the F1 program with the separate Corse Clienti activities, which consists of the Ferrari Challenge one-make racing series, the various GT contenders and the F1 Clienti and XX program customer racing activities. The Corse Clienti was launched in 2001 in order to provide Ferrari’s customers with the chance to compete against each other in scheduled races as well as allow them to offer feedback to help further develop Ferrari’s road cars.

The customers compete with former Ferrari race cars or the special XX experimental cars, all of which are cared for and maintained by dedicated Ferrari support crews. They also get specialist training from current and former Ferrari racing drivers, one of which is Spanish driver Marc Gene. Watch him in the video below excite fans in South Africa driving Ferrari’s 2009 F1 car.

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