The first track event of the new Ferrari Owners Club Florida Region was its Ferrari at the Swamp Event at Gainesville. And what an adventurous event it was! The Gainesville facilities are brand new. The track is 1.6 miles long and you can do pretty much any track configuration you like. The beautiful new UF Hotel and Conference Center was our host hotel. For being the 1st track event and 2nd event of the FOC, it was fantastic seeing Ferraristi arriving and getting situated. Thursday night we caravanned to Café Pomodoro for cocktails and dinner. The food was great and the company was better. Everyone was busy getting to know each other and visiting with old friends. By the end of the evening everyone was looking forward to hitting the track the following morning.
Gates opened up 7am. It was cool early in the morning but we knew that wouldn't last. We had a trackside tent with Air Conditioning to keep everyone refreshed and cool as the day got warmer and warmer. As you can imagine the tent was a hit, especially during lunch time. Exotic Car Transport showed up early and began unloading cars from South Florida. Todd from Rossa Corsa was on hand to do tech inspections as well as Ferrari of Central Florida Technicians. Drivers meeting was held at 8:30 and the track was open at 9am. With not a single cloud in sight the first cars hit the track.
The track was configured, to have driver ability be more of a factor than horsepower. With no walls in sight, drivers were able to get 110% out of their cars all day long. On hand were all kinds of Ferraris. In Sports and Touring sessions were a WSC, 355 and 360 Challengers, as well as a wide range of Ferrari 308, 328, Dino, Testarossa's, and a few 550. A historic 375 MM was on hand as well. There were more than 30 Ferraris and 70 participants at this event to make the biggest Ferrari Club event held during summer time.
The Drivers School, staffed by head instructor David Russell was a huge success. David took out his students in his mini van and did quite a few exciting laps. Students hit the track immediately afterwards to their enjoyment. Certificates of completion and graduation photos were awarded during lunch time.
Friday evening everyone got together back at the hotel for cocktails and dinner. During dinner we had a marvelous guest speaker in Bill Warner. Bill shared with us a few of life experiences racing cars and writing about them. He also presented an excellent slide show with photos from races he attended all over the world. It was truly a magnificent night.
Saturday morning everyone gathered at a nearby parking lot for the Rally's drivers meeting. Kevin Flankey set up a fantastic rally through Central Florida enroute to Mike and Suzanne Studley's home. The country roads were breathtaking, everyone was delighted with the route selected. Over 24 cars participated in the rally with 18 being Ferraris. It was just a wonderful sight to behold seeing all the prancing horses parked in the backyard with the lake in the background. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful meal and spent time relaxing. Mike took out a few people for a enjoyable boat ride. Others opted for the jet ski's available.
Without a doubt, this was just a fabulous Ferrari weekend. This event could not be held with the support of our event Sponsors US Magnegas and Ferrari of Central Florida. Be sure to keep an eye on our upcoming events because they will continue to be bigger and better!