Ride in A Ferrari - Ferrari Owners' Club

14.6.06

With the final arrangements made and up to 20 Ferraris and other “guest” cars expected we arrived at Wyevale Garden Centres branch at Owermoigne near Dorchester on Saturday 3rd June to be greeted shortly after our arrival by a long line of people hoping to get their Ride In A Ferrari, early in the day.

From 9.30am people started to queue and cars started to arrive. We have raised a very worthwhile £2,400 that will be split between the regular charity, The Jennifer Trust for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (JTSMA) and Ridgeway Ward at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, Dorset. Therefore, they currently stand to gain £1,200 each with a couple of extra donations expected yet to come. We had 19 cars attend this year, which is a venue
record for us at Owermoigne, though we did achieve up to 24 cars one year at a previous venue. Several owners who came this year had attended there before and this was their first time at Wyevale Garden Centres.

Guest Cars and Fab Ferrari Selection
“Guest” cars this year included a newly-acquired Porsche 911 GT2 “with an extra 200bhp over the last one” and a Bentley Continental GT supplied by Mr. David Money from Straight Eight Bentley in the New Forest, Hampshire. Ferrari highlights included another visit by the F50 we have seen before and our first “new” Ferrari, the F430. Other Ferraris included examples of the 308-328-348 line and the F355 in Berlinetta, GTS and Spider formats. A great selection!

I must take on a serious note at this point in this year’s report however. We had three official visits by Dorset Police this year and a visit by an off-duty Chief Inspector who has been my liaison officer throughout the organisation of this year’s “big day”. Concerns were greatly heightened by each of the visiting officers as to the speeds being achieved on the dual carriageway where we give the rides. Some cars were reported as travelling
at near to, or well over, 100mph. The Chief Inspector who identified himself only as a “colleague” of the Event Organiser when given his ride, reported to me afterwards that he was travelling in a Ferrari at nearly 100mph, only to be overtaken by another, which made the car he was travelling in, seem like it had stopped. The roads outside of the venue have a 50mph limit on the single-carriageway and a 70mph limit of the dual-carriageway.

At this point, I will state that in future (provided we are allowed to run another event at the same venue) I will have no hesitation in excluding any driver I see (or hear about) breaking the speed limit to such excess. I have only ever promoted the event on the experience of seeing the cars involved; getting to meet the lucky people who own them; and riding in them as a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many people.

More concerns were raised by the marshals and helpers on the day that many of the public attending only wanted to ride in the Ferrari F50 and no other car, in some cases waiting for as long as 45 minutes for their ride. People had commented that they had travelled from as far away as the West Midlands and South Wales to be there and had left home at 4am and 5am to join us. I have it in mind to keep the “minimum donation” for riding in regular production Ferrari models at future events to £10 but, to raise the amount asked for riding in cars such as the F50 or perhaps an Enzo to £30.

This way it will separate out people who really want to ride in the most special of Ferraris and will also, I hope, help to raise even more money. I would be most pleased to hear members’ views on this plan. It has been suggested to me in the few days between staging the event and composing this report, that we not have F50s or Enzos included because they are almost too popular for the rest of the owners to get a decent chance of giving rides in the more regular production models. My father who once again went around with his video camera to record the event officially, commented that
he likes to see as many cars as possible to make as good a film as possible.

I did feel sorry for the owners who were good enough to attend and who in some cases had travelled many miles to be there and who then didn’t get to give many or in some cases, any rides in their car because they had the “wrong” model or one in the “wrong” colour. I do really hope that these owners have not been put off attending again in future but individuals had started to leave around 3pm because everyone standing in the queue just wanted to ride in the F50.

Thank-yous
On a lighter note, I must do the long list of thank-you’s (at this point I have removed surnames of owners to publish this report on the Internet ‘sites). An enormous thank-you to Jon from London who drove the F50 all day barely stopping to take breaks and who, when asked by one member of the public whether he drove cars like it regularly, commented that the lady could see him on Top Gear most weeks as he is “The Stig”. I think she almost took him seriously!! My thanks also again to David Money from Straight Eight who has promised to bring two cars next year and a colleague.

To each and every owner who did brilliantly on the day: Tim G, Richard I, Steve C, (who was accompanied by his daughter, who helped out enormously at the table for
donations and by giving ID badges to the drivers as they arrived), Jon G, Colin C, Noel M (911 GT2), Martin M (who brought only our second 360 Modena ever), Tim L, Andrew (sorry I didn’t get your surname but you drove one of the F355s), Tim N (sorry you didn’t get to give any rides), Russ N (who brought “our” first F430), Gary P, Jonathon T, Chris J again attending in his 512BB, Craig (Mondial Cabrio’), a great effort especially with the children who wanted rides, John M, and non-FOC member but event stalwart (the first time he’s been called that), Mr. Tom P from Weymouth.

A final thank-you not only to members of my family helping and visiting on the day but also to PHR members Charlie and Rachel who helped out in the car park marshalling all day, Allison Pratt from the JTSMA and Stacey Hodges and Carrie Ward representing Ridgeway Ward from Dorset County Hospital.

One of our last passengers of the day was a very special young lady called Naomi from Sherborne in Dorset. When she arrived with members of her family, we had already stopped selling tickets for rides due to the dwindling numbers of cars as owners had started to leave and due to the demand for rides in the F50. Her mother was disappointed until she explained that Naomi had Spinal Muscular Atrophy and they were members of the JTSMA. That was different. She was lifted into a Ferrari 308 GTS and wanted to “go fast”.

Finally, our first celebrity guest, Julian Fellowes (second pic) enjoyed his visit with his wife, Emma Kitchener-Fellowes and the idea of the Tombola prize draw was much better than a regular raffle. I only brought home one unclaimed prize but it will go to a good home at the local hospital.

Date for next year (subject to agreement from all parties involved - which is like trying to
keep several balls in the air like a juggler), Saturday 2nd June at the same venue. Look at www.jtsma.org.uk/ferrari for more pictures and links to more about the event.

On the way home I put the CD player on in my own car and the first song that played was “Don’t Stop” by Fleetwood Mac. Quite appropriate I think, when I consider how much people enjoyed this year’s event.