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Post by Peter Lewis on Jan 18, 2014 21:29:09 GMT 12
I abandoned Things With Wings today to go and view Things With Wheels. Ferrari Day at the Hampton Downs race track, to be exact. First time I have been to a motor racing meeting since my own direct involvement back in the early 70s. I was impressed with the facilities, the organization and the racing. Well done. Will post more later, but early to bed tonight as tomorrow's Forum Meeting awaits.   |
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Post by corsair5517 on Jan 18, 2014 21:44:25 GMT 12
*sigh*
I miss Europe and the myriad of fabulous cars on display... my next door neighbour in Jersey often had a Lamborghini Gallardo or a Ferrari 355 Spider parked out front, and the captain of my sports club was driving a brand new Aston Martin Vantage.... I wanted a TVR Chimaera to bring back...
Living here, you don't see them on the roads; I well remember being passed on Jerseys Five Mile Road by a Ferrari, a Lamborghini and an Aston doing quite a bit more than the legal limit - the noise was spine tingling!!
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Post by suthg on Jan 19, 2014 7:50:40 GMT 12
Thanks, otherwise yes, may have been going this weekend myself! Loved the race numbers with MARANELLO across the top under the Pirelli logo. A good weekend for it too! Yes, more pics later please!!!
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Post by Peter Lewis on Jan 20, 2014 22:35:25 GMT 12
The event was publicised as a historic motor race meeting, with Ferraris attached. I was thinking, "Just how many Ferraris can there be in New Zealand? Maybe twenty or so? So we would see perhaps ten or twelve". How wrong could I be. We found more Ferraris than you could shake a stick at. We counted 42 going out on the first parade lap, and there were a still signifigant number that stayed static. The PA system said that there were about 150 at the event. Looking at the documentation, the NZ Ferrari club claim that there are almost 300 of the cars resident in the country. I would never have believed it.  Mind you, some people seem to have enough resources to indulge in not one but two expensive hobbies. (Having been a willing servant to a Birman cat for a few years, I can only agree with the obsession).  The cars on show ranged from a nicely resored 1932 Alfa as raced by Enzo Ferrari   complete with period racing wardrobe  up to a nice yellow Ferrari F50. This car is a two door, two seat convertible with a removable hardtop. It has a 4.7 L naturally aspirated 60-valve V12 engine that was developed from the 3.5 L V12 used in the 1992 Ferrari F92A Formula One car.  To keep things in an aviation perspective, JetRanger ZK-HBB carried out a few circuits around the area in the morning, and then remained parked near the stands. This 206A had a change of operator to Campbell Copters of Pukekohe just the previous day  while about the middle of the day Orion NZ4203 made two low-level runs over the event  |
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Post by philip on Jan 21, 2014 8:16:02 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 21, 2014 10:04:50 GMT 12
Cool photos chaps.
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Post by Peter Lewis on Jan 21, 2014 22:32:03 GMT 12
I've owned 3 over the years. Nice to have an (ex?) owner here. |
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Post by Peter Lewis on Jan 21, 2014 22:51:39 GMT 12
Part of the days action was devoted to open wheelers - that is, single-seat racers. There were three Ferrari formula one cars at the track. Two of these were 1985 Ferrari 156/85 V6 Turbo 1500cc models, both owned by an Australian fellow. Car 27 is ex-Michele Alberto and Stefan Johansson   while car 28 is ex-Stefan Johansson   Even more impressive - and noisier - was the 1994 Ferrari 412T1/T1B 3500cc V12, ex-Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger   For followers of New Zealand car racing history, there were some locally built Formula 5000 single-seaters dating from the early 1970s to be seen. Graeme McRae built a small run of these cars. Here is his 1972 GM1-003  and the slightly later GM1-008  Back in the day George Begg, of Quick-tach loader fame, also tried his hand at F5000.  Nice to see these examples of Kiwi engineering still about and active. |
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Post by suthg on Jan 22, 2014 6:52:32 GMT 12
Those Formula 5000 V8's sure make a nice sound - one of the recent Festivals of Motorsport (Chris Amon one?) had about 18 of them listed, and it was great to listen to then, for the petrol heads amongst us! That Ferrari V12 is also a nice sounding engine when working!! Thanks for the pics Peter, wish i was going this weekend... well I could go on Saturday... then to Tauranga on Sunday, hmmm
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Post by John L on Jan 22, 2014 19:16:30 GMT 12
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