His victory at the Dutch TT in Assen together with an eighth-place finish by Roberts, vaulted Ferrari into the championship lead as the series headed towards Belgium.

Ferrari became embroiled in a controversy at the Belgian Grand Prix held at the Spa circuit when he, along with Roberts and other top riders refused to race due to unsafe track conditions.

[3] The circuit had been paved just days before the race creating a track that many of the racers felt was unsafe due to diesel seeping to the surface.

In 1986 Ferrari rode a Honda NSR250 in a team run by Takazumi Katayama in the World Championship without much success, with just four top 10 results, his best, a 6th place in Silverstone.

[6][7] After his Grand Prix career, Ferrari switched to the Superbike World Championship in 1988, riding for the Ducati factory racing team.