News April 13 2006

Ferrari F1 on the streets of Melbourne

Its one thing to see a Ferrari Formula One car on the race track at Albert Park for the 2007 FORMULA 1™ ING Australian Grand Prix but it's quite another, as more than 15,000 people found out today (3 March 2007), to see the same car running down your local road! A demonstration of Ferrari’s ultimate car was the highlight of the '2007 Grand Prix Festival Celebrating Ferrari’s 60th Anniversary' in the heart of Melbourne’s Italian community, Lygon Street. And with its screaming engine, blazing red paintwork and breathtaking performance, the Ferrari F1 car lived up to every expectation.

“Unlike a normal car, its not possible to jump behind the wheel, turn the key and head off down the road,” says Kevin Wall, General Manager for Australian Ferrari importer, EAI as he explained the ear-shattering sound of Italian finest coming from the Ferrari teams temporary Pit Lane in Argyle Square, off Lygon Street. “The engine has to be thoroughly and carefully warmed up to ensure all the mechanical components are working in perfect harmony. It’s rather like an opera singer warming up her throat before bursting forth into an aria!”

Around the Ferrari Formula One car display was one of the largest street parties ever seen in Melbourne, with thousands of motorsport and supercar fans able to inspect at close quarters not just the finest Italian racing machinery, but also one of the largest collections of Ferrari road and racing cars ever seen in Australia.

“This is a really unusual event,” said Marc Gene, Ferrari’s Formula One Test Driver, who piloted the Ferrari Formula One car up and down Lygon Street. “Its also a very real challenge to drive Formula One car on streets like Lygon Street, the corners are tight and there are hazards like manhole covers that we don’t have on race tracks, but its been an amazing experience and the welcome has been fantastic. The passion everyone has for Ferrari here in Australia is amazing!”

Being Italian, of course, the passion and pleasure wasn’t restricted to all things Ferrari, with more than 250 Ferrari guests and dignitaries enjoying some of the finest food that Italy and Lygon Street can produce.

“Today has been a remarkable demonstration of the passion Ferrari generates and the respect with which it held by so many people,” says Mr Wall. “Ferrari’s contribution to the automotive world is unique and its worth remembering that its contribution is not just about build super cars and world-beating racing cars. The technology that Ferrari has pioneered and developed to make those cars and that success possible has also made millions of normal cars around the world safer, more economical and more environmentally friendly. There is no doubt that motor sport improves the breed. And when it comes to the ultimate breeding, there is no one better than Ferrari!”

The ‘2007 Grand Prix Festival Celebrating Ferrari’s 60th Anniversary’ is the latest leg in a world wide relay of events celebrating the Italian car maker’s 60th anniversary. Connecting the events the Ferrari 60th Anniversary Baton, a diamond encrusted platinum baton with 60 logos on it, each marking the most significant events in Ferrari’s history. The relay is taking more than six months to circumnavigate the world, with 10,000 Ferrari owners passing the baton from owner to owner to link the world of Ferrari.

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Melbourne Postscript

Until this morning (3 March 2007) there’d been no such thing as a popular traffic jam in Melbourne but when more than 80 Ferraris took to the streets and motorways of Melbourne, the sights and sounds of Australia’s biggest ever Ferrari get together changed everything!

“Our original plan was to have 60 cars in the Cavalcade, one for each year of Ferrari’s history,” explains Kevin Wall, General Manager for EAI, the Australian Ferrari importer. “However, such was the enthusiasm for the event from Ferrari owners not just in Victoria, but from across Australia that we have ended up with 88 cars taking part, making this an even more glorious celebration of everything Ferrari in Australia.”

Ferrari fans crowed the 15 km route of the Ferrari 60th Anniversary Cavalcade, cheering on their favourite models and savouring the sound of so many high performance V8 and V12 engines.

Some of the rare cars taking part in the cavalcade included a 750 Monza and a 212 similar to the first Ferrari to ever come to Australia, the Ferrari F40 and F50 that marked previous significant points in Ferrari’s history, Ferraris road going racing cars, the F355 and F360 Challenge, the evocative Dino and the latest Ferrari supercar, the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.

The Ferrari 60th Anniversary Cavalcade started at the Crown Entertainment Complex and left the city centre via City Link, before heading north over the Bolte Bridge. Looping around the north of the city through Royal Park, the Ferraris arrived in Lygon Street for the festival.

“No one normally likes a traffic jam,” says Mr Wall, “but when it’s made of more than a $100 million of Ferraris, that’s a whole different matter and it’s another sign of the pleasure and passion that Ferrari has produced during its unique 60 year history!”

© italiancar.net 26/3/07

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