Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Ferrari factory tour

[George (ygpz4re]

The only time I've been to Italy (or Europe, for that matter) was in 1999 for the Ferrari Challenge International Finals, held that year at the Vallelugna track, just north of Rome.  Our driver had crashed his car (after committing to going to Italy for the finals) at Laguna Seca, so he was going to rent a car in Italy.  As it turned out, he got a call in the Rome airport with a family emergency at home, so myself and my teammate (there to support him and rented car - though it very likely may have come with its own crew) suddenly became tourists.

Got to see lots of Rome and the surrounding area.  We stayed near Lago di Bracciano, and drove the complete circuit around the lake, seeing all the small villages.  Teammate was a stick-in-the-mud and didn't want to go to the banquet dinner being held in Rome, so I hitched a ride w/ some of the Brazilian folks there for the Finals.  The dinner was in this *AWESOME* place (palace?) and I saw many of the Ferrari luminaries there - Michael Schumacher, Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Luca di Montezemolo, and Piero Ferrari himself!  Todt, LdM, and Sr. Ferrari were the only ones to stick around long enough to "meet and greet".

But to Doug's question - before the trip, I arranged a tour through FoW/FNA and had all of my paperwork in order.  When we arrived at Maranello and entered the office just outside that famous main gate, they didn't seem to know who I was or why I was there.  After letting me sweat for a few minutes, they finally got ahold of someone who had my paperwork.  It was a small tour, only 6 or 8 of us (if that), so questions were easily answered.  We saw the engine assembly room, the main production lines (V8 and V12) and they explained that the V8 cars went down the line backwards so their engines were forward on the line (this was when the 360 Modena was the brand new model).  We also saw part of the leather shop (and I managed to pick up a tiny round piece of scrap leather, about the size of a hole punch, which I used to match color in my model-building days - it doesn't get more authentic than that!), the row of cars waiting for road-testing, and a few other things.  I don't recall the tour being really long, but it may just be my fading memory nowadays.  We peeked through the fence at Fiorano, visited the "Shopping F1" store, saw another small local shop working on a few cars (including a 348 with some one-off custom bodywork), and made the customary stop at Il Cavallino restaurant, though we didn't eat there, just a photo-op and souvenir teacup/saucer for my Mom's collection and bottles of wine for my Dad.  We did, however, eat at the Montana, and it was great.  The quantity and quality of F1 memorabilia there is outstanding!  We did see some factory workers come in for dinner, but no one *really* famous.  The next day, it was over to Bologna where I caught a train back to Rome (teammate stayed a few days longer).  Stayed at a really nice small hotel a few blocks from the train station (which is kind of an interesting story in itself....) and flew home the day after that.

One of my very few really cool vacations!

gp

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From: "Doug & Terri" <dnt [at] dock.net>

Question for the List -
        - how many have been to the factory?
        - What year(s)