As part of its responsible drinking campaign, Champions Drink Responsibly, Bacardi Limited held its long awaited Driving Experience of a Lifetime event. The event witnessed the opportunity to be in the passenger seat next to Michael Schumacher in a Maserati GranTurismo S at the Ascari circuit, near Ronda in Spain. 

Michael Schumacher drove a GranTurismo S carrying the 28 international winners coming from the following participating markets: Australia, Austria, Denmark, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, India, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Thailand and United Kingdom, around the Ascari race track to illustrate one of the options – designate a driver – which consumers should follow to avoid drinking and driving. The other options include using public transportation, taking a taxi, or drinking non-alcoholic cocktails if they must drive. Michael Schumacher and the winners enjoyed a full-throttle ride to highlight how champions stay in control through Michael Schumacher’s expert handling of a high performance car.

“I am eager to spread this message that drinking and driving don’t mix. It is a topic I personally feel very strongly about, and the event was just as rewarding for me as it was for our winners,” said Michael Schumacher, a seven-time F1 world champion and Bacardi Limited Global Social Responsibility Ambassador.

This award winning campaign, Champions Drink Responsibly, which was launched in April 2008, has already touched millions of adults and continues to encourage drivers to avoid drinking and driving. Maserati was very happy to be chosen to share a passion for educating consumers about the dangers of drinking and driving.

Safety is more and more important, so this is the reason why Maserati with the Master Maserati driving courses, teaches participants about safe and sporty driving with the entire Maserati range of models. Former racing drivers act as instructors and provide constant supervision. Open both to aspiring and existing Maserati owners, these specialised Master Maserati courses have been developed and perfected to ensure that participants can enjoy an in-depth drive in a variety of Maserati models in complete safety. This is thanks to the perfect balance between time on the track and sessions spent on emergency situations. Track stints are taught in three ways: with an on-board instructor, with a pace car and via telemetry. As the course develops, the speed is gradually increased. In the sessions dedicated to control, the car is driven on different simulated surfaces to recreate emergency conditions (over steer with and without traction control, braking on the very limit of grip and rapid direction changes).

The course takes place at the Riccardo Paletti Circuit at Varano de’ Melegari, 20 km south of Parma. This is a circuit that brings out the best of drivers’ abilities and boasts a technical section which is equipped with special driving instruction features.