Silverstone Postcard - Ferrari Owners' Club

8.9.06

Ferrari and Michael Schumacher enrapture 35.000 spectators!

With a visit by Michael Schumacher to the 8th Ferrari Racing Days at the Nürburgring, a fabulous Ferrari meeting came to an end. On Sunday Ferrari’s Formula One race driver fascinated spectators and visitors with spectacular demonstrations. He presented the 599 GTB Fiorano very dynamically and used his F2005 Formula One single-seater for racing starts, donuts and a couple of very fast laps.

For the first time in Germany Schumacher drove his personal Ferrari FXX, an all black example, the 30th unit built especially for the FXX programme. The German race hero seriously impressed the crowd together with eight additional FXX test drivers that had flown in from Norway, USA, England, Germany, Canada and Switzerland. “It’s a great honour for me to participate in this programme”, said the seven-times Formula One champion, “especially because it allows an interesting exchange of technical informations”.

Ferrari’s star driver enthused about the largest Ferrari gathering of the year: “The atmosphere at the Ferrari Racing Days with so many enthusiasts and fans is just incredible. I am very happy to be here”.

Another highlight of the event were the more than 30 historic and modern Formula One Ferraris of the Corse Clienti department, which – assisted by Maranello – gave a series of demonstration laps.

In the Ferrari Challenge Pirelli Trophy no fewer than 64 drivers raced their Ferrari F430s in the last races of the season. The main category in the last race of the Pirelli Trophy was won by John Bosch (Kroymans/Baron Racing) in race two, the Dutchman winning ahead of Irish racer Michael Cullen (Rosso Corsa) and the Swiss Henri Moser (Loris Kessel Racing). With this result Frenchman Ange Barde (Modena Cars) has now achieved the championship for 2006.

Within the gentleman drivers of the Shell Cup German Dennis Huebner (Baron Service) was the fastest, ahead of Lloyd La Marca (Modena Cars Racing) from Switzerland and Ettore Contini (Loris Kessel Racing). The class of the 360 Modenas was won by the German Björn Grossman (Autohaus Gohm/G2 Racing).

35.000 visitors celebrated the Ferrari Racing Days from 1 to 3 September 2006 and in the paddock parking areas no fewer than 1.600 Ferraris of all ages were counted. The oldest Ferrari was Jo Vonlanthen’s spectacular ex-Alberto Ascari Type 500/625 Formula One car of 1953. But there were also more than ten examples of the brand new 599 GTB Fiorano seen during this three day event.

Endless rows of mostly red F430s, 550/575 Maranellos, 360 Modenas, Testarossa and F40s but also several Daytonas and 365 GTC/4s of the early 1970s, as well as a rare 250 GT Cabriolet Series II, a 275 GTB/4, beautiful Dino 246s and 330 GT 2+2s were parked at the Nürburgring.

This for sure was the largest Ferrari gathering in recent years in Europe and everybody enjoyed it.