Ferrari is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2007 with a major event from June 21st to June 24th in Maranello, Italy. Maranello will be the finish line of a "relay race" across five continents where participants are carrying a baton embossed with symbols of the 60 greatest moments in the company's history. Over the last week the relay has conducting its Japanese leg.

Osaka, 19th February 2007 - The Ferrari 60 Relay Tour started for its third day in Japan on its way to Osaka under a stunning sky. A group of around 15 cars left Nagoya, which grew bigger and bigger on the way, when the cars stopped to pass on the baton. Today four hand-overs from one customer to the other of the symbol of the 60 years of Ferrari were planned. Whenever the baton was passed on the cars also made a short stop. The second of these stops was also a cultural surprise. The lunch and the hand-over of the baton to the next customer happened near the Hikone Castle, built in the 17th century in the city with the same name. This was a little glimpse of Japanese history of the Samurais and their Shoguns.

Around 30 Ferrari cars arrived in Hikone. The staff later went on in the direction of Kyoto, the city, which gives its name to the famous environmental treaty. At the temple of Heian Jingu Otenmon the staff of the Ferrari 60 Relay had the opportunity to meet a "Miko", a type of Geisha but much more refined, who posed with the cars and the drivers. Eventually the cars left in the direction of Osaka, while the road led them to Arashiyama, where the staff visited Togetsuko Bridge and Bamboo Alley. At around 19:00 hours the cars finally arrived at the dealer Cornes in Osaka where the reception for the customers in honour of the 60 years of Ferrari had just started to get underway. Yoshiko Matsuda, the 75 year old estate agent who has a collection of 32 cars from Maranello and who had been honoured as a Knight of the Star of Italian Solidarity, has been part of the Ferrari 60 Relay for several days and will also be part of the Tour in the upcoming days.

Hiroshima, 20th February 2007 - Today's stage of the Ferrari 60 Relay brought the sports cars and drivers participating in the Tour from Osaka to Hiroshima. As soon as the cars left Osaka the team stopped outside the city of Kobe, well known for its culinary specialities, to admire Pearl Bridge.The bridge with its 3991 metres is the longest bridge in the world and connects Maiko with Iwaya on the Awaji Island, which is on the Akashi Straight.

When the team and the participating customers had finished sightseeing, another stretch of road over a highway awaited them and led to Himeji Castle, in the province of Hyogo. The castle is an excellent example of Japanese architecture of the 17th century and has been part of the UNCESO World Heritage since the year 1993. After another long stretch over the highway and some stops, the team and the customers arrived in Hiroshima, not before the baton was passed on amongst four Ferrari owners.
 

The baton was enthusiastically welcomed at the showroom, where it was brought on an Enzo Ferrari by a customer and presented in the middle of the crowd consisting of customers and guests. The wonderful atmosphere of the day will also accompany the team tomorrow on their way to Fukuoka.

Yufuin, 21st February 2007 - The cars, participating in the Ferrari 60 Relay, passed the region which had been hit by the atomic bomb at the end of World War II and honoured the idea of peace and fraternity amongst the people. The Tour passed Fukuoka to arrive in Yufuin: another intense driving stage in Japan.

In Fukuoka, the city in the region by the same name on the island of Kyushu in the eastern part of Japan, the Tour could get a glimpse of the old culture and society of this land of the rising sun. Yufuin, in the region of Oita, is just slightly touched by the Tour, as the cars stopped to pass on the baton on from one participant to the next. Also today many cars participated in this further stage in Japan, amongst them an Enzo Ferrari and various 599 GTB Fiorano. A special visual treat for the participants was the Tunoshimadai Bridge, which rises amongst the fishing villages on the east coast of the country.

Yufuin, 22nd February 2007 - Yufuin, the large city in the Yufu-shi province in the perfecture of Oita, hosts one of the best known thermal spas in Japan. Situated close to the Yufu mountain, from which it takes its name, and the Golden Scale Lake, the spa is surrounded by unusual greenery due to the area's volcanic soil. This was the lunar landscape that the 60 Years crew left behind after spending the night in a typical Japanese spa. The baths form part of traditional Japanese life with the tatami symbolising the art of living during the day while the thermal spa regenerating body and soul during the night. After the ceremony to hand over the new baton in the spa, the convoy continued on its way on what was the last Japanese stage.

The baton was passed on for the second time in the fabulous island setting of Kyushu. From there it was on to Kumamoto where the crews had the chance to admire the castle, one rebuilt in the Twentieth century. The clients and staff paid a visit to the Shintu temples at Dazaifu-Tenmangu after lunch. The temples are dedicated to Sugawara Michizane (845-903), the brilliant Japanese student. It was here that the baton was passed on for the last time. The Tour soon pulled into the Eurovision dealership where the baton was handed over to the Ferrari representative as the sun set on the Japanese stage of the Ferrari 60 Relay.