|
On
Wednesday at noon Valencia's Paseo de la
Alameda was turned into a
catwalk for Ferrari. This
was a preview of what will
happen during the next four days
at the Ferrari Finali
Mondiali, the
traditional
end-of-the-season
festivities, which this year for
the first time are being held at the
Ricardo Tormo di Cheste
circuit, from today until 15
November.
There were many enthusiastic
spectators for the Ferrari
parade at the Paseo de la
Alameda: almost 10,000 fans
came to see the cars driving
through the heart of the
city of Valencia as a
curtain raiser to the occasion of
the Ferrari Finali
Mondiali.
The main road in
the city centre was
shut
down for
traffic
to host
the
exceptional
parade
of the
cars
with the
Prancing
Horse,
lead by
the
F2008,
the
F1 Constructors'
Championship
winning car from
2008,
which
was driven
by
Spanish pilot Marc Gené, the official test driver for the team
from
Maranello.
Next to
the
single-seater
from the Scuderia there was
the
latest
model
from
Ferrari,
the 458
Italia,
which
only made its public debut at the Frankfurt IAA in
September. Also in the parade were other current production
models: the new front engined
California
folding-hardtop convertible,
as well a 599
GTB
Fiorano
and a 612
Scaglietti,
while
racing cars on the streets of Valencia included a F430
Challenge,
a GT2
class F430
GT from
the
international
Gran Turismo
Championships
and one FXX, the
laboratory
car from
the
development
programme
with the
same
name.
After
the
parade
on Paseo
de la
Alameda
the cars
stopped
on the
Plaza
del Ayuntamiento,
where
the fans
from
Valencia
were
able to admire
them
from
close
up. Thanks to
the support from the
Comunitat Valenciana, the
event was an occasion for
the Spanish fans to see some
of the most exceptional cars
together and in particular
see Spanish star Genč taking the F2008 through the streets.
History of
the Ferrari Finali Mondiali
Since 1994, the year the event was held for the first time, the Finali Mondiali
Ferrari have been celebrating 15 seasons of motorsport on the race tracks of
Mugello, Monza and Misano Adriatico.
The special event, traditionally held on the weekend after the last Formula One
Grand Prix is always concluded by the Scuderia Ferrari's parade on the
track, offering the fans of the Prancing Horse from all over the world the
possibility to see all the protagonists of Ferrari's motorsport activities on
the track.
Next to the participants in the three racing series - Italia, Europe and North
America - of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, racing for the World Title in
this series, the event also hosts the final rounds of the Shell Historic
Challenge, the fascinating Championship dedicated to the historical cars as well
as the shows by the clients participating in the international GT competitions.
The event gets more exciting thanks to the non-competitive activities of the
Formula 1 single-seaters from past seasons, part of the history of the Scuderia,
and the laboratory cars from the exclusive FXX Programme, with the client-test
drivers helping to develop the Ferraris of the future.
This year Ferrari is in Spain to celebrate, together with the fans, the
conclusion of the 2009 motorsport season from 12 to 15 November at Valencia's
Ricardo Tormo circuit, at this prestigious event.
|
