At the weekend following a long summer break the Ferrari F430 GT went onto the track again in international Gran Turismo racing series in the GT2 class on two continents, in the FIA GT Championship in Budapest and in the American Le Mans Series at Mosport.

Four weeks after the last race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium the FIA GT was back on the track, this time in Budapest, for this season's fifth round at the Hungaroring. On the long and twisty Hungarian track the Ferrari enetred by AF Corse with Toni Vilander and Gimmi Bruni behind the wheel claimed second place, despite carrying a "success ballast" load weighing 100 kg; only the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, driven by Emmanuel Collard and Richard Westbrook was faster and took the win. Meanwhile the F430 GT of Paolo Ruberti and Matteo Malucelli, entered by BMS Scuderia Italia, gained, after collecting third place, this season's best result for that car.

Thanks to these results the AF Corse outfit stays ahead in the race for the FIA GT Championship Teams’ and Drivers’ titles in the GT2 class, while Ferrari consolidates its lead in the manufacturers' championship standings. The next and sixth round of the 2009 FIA GT Championship will be held at the Parco Algarve circuit in Portugal on the weekend of 20 September.

ln the Mosport Grand Prix, held at the Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville (Ontario, Canada), this season's eighth race counting towards the American Le Mans Series, Risi Competizione's F430 GT driven by Jaime Melo and Pierre Kaffer crossed the line in second place, this result coming after they were forced to line up at the green flag at the back of the starting grid. In the end they were placed between the two new Corvettes C6-Rs of Jan Magnussen/Johnny O’Connel and Olivier Beretta/Oliver Gavin.

The Ferrari of Houston Team, despite gaining second place, is now just 31 points behind the leader in the standings with the Petit Le Mans coming into sight, the spectacular 10-hour race on 26 September on the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Georgia.