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The
legendary Ferrari-running North American Racing Team, (N.A.R.T.)
founded Luigi Chinetti will have its cars, drivers and
mechanics honoured during the 2009 Wine & Food and Fall
Ferrari Festival in Saratoga Springs, New
York on September 11 and 12, 2009. Included in
the line-up of cars will be the Ferrari 512M, driven by Sam Posey and Tony Adamowitz
to a third place finish in the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans, and
which is now
owned by Larry Auriana of Greenwich, Connecticut.
The famous
N.A.R.T. team was founded in 1958 by Chinetti with the
backing of several wealthy stateside racers as a means of
promoting the Ferrari brand in North America and it
contested top-class races such as the 24 Hours of Daytona,
the Le Mans 24 Hours and the 12 Hours of Sebring over almost
a quarter of a century. The team's greatest track success
came when it won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1965 with a 250 LM
driven by Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory, the last time
that a Ferrari won the famous French endurance race
outright. Another notable result was third place at Daytona
in 1967 behind the two factory entries to secure a crushing
1-2-3 result for the Maranello brand. Emphasising the very
close relationship Chinetti enjoyed with the factory in
Italy, the Ferrari 158 driven by John Surtees to the 1964 F1
World Championship title appeared during the final two races
of the year in the blue-and-white N.A.R.T. colours after an
homologation dispute broke out between Enzo Ferrari and the
Italian sporting authorities.
At Saratoga next month honoured guests Sam Posey, Denise McCluggage and Luigi
Chinetti, Jr. will join other N.A.R.T. veterans in a panel
discussion highlighting the Ferrari Festival on September
12.
Dick Fritz, the former N.A.R.T. Team Manager and General Manager
of Luigi Chinetti Motors, will moderate the panel. Fritz
is also an innovative engineer, Honours Judge for the Ferrari
Club of America and has been declared an automotive legend
by Road & Track magazine.
Ferrari North America will present the Ferrari Classiche
exhibit at the 2009 Wine & Food and Fall Ferrari Festival. A
display of all new Ferrari models including the Ferrari
California will be on exhibit.
Many top American collectors have been invited to exhibit
Ferraris at the festival including
Oscar Davis,
Lamont Dupont,
Lee Herrington, Peter Kalikow who commissioned the exclusive
Ferrari 612 K from Pininfarina, TV talk show host
David Letterman,
Sam Mann,
Bill Marriott, Bruce McCaw,
Wayne Nelson,
Peter Sachs and
Jack Thomas with the cars they will present set to include
winners of "Best of Show" or major awards at events
including the
Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance,
Meadowbrook Concours d’Elegance,
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance,
Villa D'Este Concours at Lake Como Italy and the
Ferrari Cavallino Classic in Palm Beach.
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center will be joining forces
with the Saratoga Automobile Museum combining two exciting
events into one extraordinary happening. The 2009 Wine & Food and Fall Ferrari Festival is a major fundraising effort to
benefit classical programming at SPAC and the educational
programs of the Auto Museum. The Saratoga Wine & Food
Festival is a three-day festival now into its ninth year. Each year
attendance increases, with 2008 attendance up by 30 percent
compared to 2007, making it one of the Northeast's fastest
growing Wine & Food Festivals. The location, and
particularly the time of year that the festival is held, in
addition to the restaurants and wineries who commit to
coming each year make this event more and more popular.
Both Saratoga Performing Arts Center (one of the oldest cultural icons in the region), and
Saratoga Automobile Museum are set in a 2,400 acre park
preserve distinguished by classical/beaux-arts architecture,
natural springs and geysers, the historic Gideon Putnam
resort and Roosevelt Baths & Spa.
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