Ferrari Racing Days–Sydney

I created the above video as a montage of the action from the recent Ferrari Racing Days in Sydney that I attended. I would have liked the video shots to have been closer to the action but overall I don’t think it was too bad for video captured on a mobile. The biggest thing is the sound, listen to the cars scream by.

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I purchased the owner’s suite tickets for both days, which basically gave me access to everything. They certainly weren’t cheap but when you consider the fact that they includes full catering for the two days and special benefits like pit tours then it does balance up the ledger somewhat.

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I arrived on Saturday as part of the Drive to Sydney cavalcade which I covered in a previous post. Once parked I headed off for a walk through the ‘paddock’ and then onto the owner’s suite to grab a coffee and some treats.

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What surprised me most about the owner’s suite on this first day was how full it was. It make sense when you think about the fact that all the cavalcade drivers where there along with many others who only planned on attending the one day. For me it was kind of like the experience of when you go into an airline business lounge for the first time. You think that it is going to be a pretty exclusive place but it in fact ends up being a place where just about everybody is. This kind of takes the shine of the exclusivity if you ask me, but I certainly understand why that is the case business-wise.

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It certainly wasn’t unpleasant but I found the Sunday much more relaxed due to the lower amount of attendees.

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Above the owner’s suite was another restricted area that had a marquis as well as a view of the track right across the form the start finish line. This is the location from which most of the videos were shot.

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The events on the track continued on during both days with the highlight probably being the F1 show which included a few ‘mock’ pit stops and a burn out along the front straight. Nothing beats an old F1 engine sound.

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Out the back in the paddock they had a number of areas including an F1 zone for the kids (racing simulators and slot car racing), current model Ferrari display (i.e. new car looking for owners), the supercar pavilion (with a 288 GTO, F40, F50, Enzo and La Ferrari) as well displays of ‘classic’ Ferraris.

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As an owner suite ticket holder I also got the opportunity to do a pit tour where they take you through all the working pits and show you all the cars (including form F1 models). That is really good and really informative as we found all about the different racing series Ferrari were conducting over the 2 days.

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There was of course all the action on the track which you could see from just about anywhere. However, it was always good to be able to retreat to the comfort of the owner’s suite, grab a drink and take a load off your feet while watching from above pit straight.

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I was certainly glad I went both days and was more than happy that I got my money’s worth. I think that you could have probably just done one day if weren’t that crazy about the prancing horse. For me, the Sunday was the better day, with less people, less rain and less stress (since I didn’t have to worry about my F355 getting wet).

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It was however a great experience to share my passion with everyone else who attended. They all seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. Kudos to Ferrari Australia for making this happen and to everyone who made it a success., I hope to see it back in Sydney real soon!

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Here are some official videos from the event:

Road to Sydney Cavalcade

On Saturday the 12th of April 2014 I rose early and headed to Glebe Island to be part of the Road to Sydney Cavalcade to Sydney Motorsport Park as part of the Ferrari Racing Days.

Having volunteered to assist with the logistics I arrived just before 6am. Problem was that the location staff weren’t really prepared for me and sent me around the back. I insisted that I should park just over ‘there’, but no, I was sent to the ‘great beyond’ to be out of the way.

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By the time I had walked back to where I knew I was supposed to assemble others where arriving and the location staff had realized their mistake. I therefore relocated the F355 into pride of place on the front row of the grid.

We then received our briefing and I took the post of directing participants as they arrived all the while wearing a very ‘fetching’ high visibility jacket.

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Just before 8am we had almost 140 Ferraris of all types and colours lined up ready to kick off. We had to wait in our cars with the engines off before being told to start. This was in order to keep the noise down being mindful of the local residents.

The cavalcade left by column, so I was the head of the third group, which was great since it meant I had someone to follow. I had my two GoPro cameras set up on the car but unfortunately the front facing one died after about 10 minutes. Something wrong with the battery I suspect. However, the rear facing camera worked fine as was able to capture the majority of the video above. This allowed the capture of the front of other cars which is probably a much better angle I think in retrospect.

We headed back down towards Victoria Road from Glebe Island, taking a right turn over the ANZAC Bridge. The good thing was we had the police stopping traffic for us at the intersections, so not worrying about hill starts.

As we reached the ANZAC bridge we became immersed in Sydney Saturday morning traffic and the cavalcade started to get fragmented as other cars broke into our line. The continued as we crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge and heading along the Gore Hill Expressway into the Lane Cove tunnel.

It was truly amazing at how much traffic ‘suddenly’ materialized in and around the cavalcade but I suppose that is to be expected when you add a 140 off Ferraris to the roads anywhere.

We battled the traffic out of the Lane Cove Tunnel and onto the M2. Even here there seemed to be an inordinate amount of traffic on the road which prevented the free flow of cars.

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From the M2 we entered the M7 where things seems to move better, if still somewhat constrained. We crossed over the M4 taking the Hoxton Park exit around the back of Eastern Creek along Ferrers Road into Gate A at Sydney Motorsport Park, where we parked our vehicles in special designated parking having arrived without incident.

The Road to Sydney Cavalcade was a special event that I was proud to be part of (even if I wasn’t really keen about putting a large sticker on my bonnet). It was a unique feeling to be part of so many Ferraris travelling through the street of Sydney full of Ferrari enthusiasts all going to experience the unique event that was Ferrari Racing Days.

I’ll have a few posts about Ferrari Racing Days soon but the cavalcade certainly stand out as something unique that I was proud to be part of.

Rain rain go away

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As you can see I have my tickets for Ferrari Racing Days over the weekend in Sydney. Unfortunately, the weather looks like it will be somewhat wet on Saturday and really wet on Sunday. Damm!

Saturday I’ll also be taking part in the ‘Road to Sydney’ cavalcade across the Harbour Bridge and onto Eastern Creek. It is estimated that around 150 – 160 Ferraris will part of this making it a very spectacular event early Saturday morning. Hopefully, the weather stays good and other drivers attend.

I’ll be taking plenty of photos and slapping the GoPro on the car for the cavalcade so hopefully I’ll be posting back soon with plenty of great shots from the event.

Just to get you into the mood, here’s a shot taken by a Club member outside the Ferrari dealership. That’s an F50 on top and a F40 below. These are but 2 of the cars expected to be on display over the weekend.

So stay tune for more from my time at Ferrari Racing Days.

Ferrari Apps

Although many love their cars they unfortunately can’t always be behind the wheel. As such, there are now a range of apps that you can download and install on your mobile device to allow you to continue your love of the Prancing Horse no matter where you are.

The one that is probably the best is Ferrari Mania for $1.99. This app allows you to browse through the stats and enjoy pictures of many current and classic models. However, somewhat disappointingly it doesn’t include all models. For example there is no listing for the F355. Now come on. Really? No F355. You are kidding right?
Biases aside, you also get some history about Ferrari, photos and wallpapers and the obligatory link to the Ferrari store. However, I don’t feel you get a great lot for your money, especially if your interest is about the cars.

If you are looking for that sort of automotive detail then the Road Inc app is probably more along the lines of what you are after. This too is $1.99 but is of greater content and quality. It focuses on a number of classic cars, of which many are Ferraris. For example in there you’ll find the 250 GTO, Enzo, Testarossa, and 275 GTB4. Selecting a car from the list allows you to view in depth information and images about it. Road Inc also includes many other supercars so if you interest is more about the cars then this app is for you. Just beware that you need to download the information for each car separately which can take a while due to the resolution of the pictures.

The FF for the iPad app is focused on the Ferrari FF and provides detailed information about that model. It has some very nice graphics and video and is somewhat reminiscent of the traditional glossy brochure one finds in the show room. The app is free to download but perhaps of somewhat limited interest to FF enthusiasts but worth a look if you like a nicely designed app.

A more interesting app that Ferrari has recently released is the Telemetry app. It is designed to interface to modern cars and provide a wealth of information about the performance of that car (great for post track day events). You’ll probably get a better idea of what it is all about if your watch this video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6awCshnWnI.

Very impressive stuff but really only available on the most modern cars.

There is of course the Official Ferrari Magazine app that gives you access to the electronic version of the magazine. Although the app is free you still need to purchase the magazines individually or purchase an annual subscription. There is some limited information that is available for free, however, the app is really just a direct portal into the Ferrari magazine web site.

A final ‘app’ (more of a book than an app actually) is the Official Ferrari Opus which tells this history of Ferrari. It is basically an electronic version of a coffee table book that has already been sold out.
So there you have it. Not a huge array of ‘official’ or ‘decent’ Ferrari apps but there are some out there to have a look at. A few are free but most are aimed at the more modern cars which is understandable but a little disappointing.
Ferrari Mania

Road Inc apps

FF for iPad

Official Ferrari magazine

Ferrari Sound

The Official Ferrari Opus

Ferrari Telemetry

The search for shoes

One of the major differences you find when driving a car like a F355 is that the pedals are so close together. This of course makes sense since it is a high performance car, however this arrangement makes the pedal area less accommodating to normal footwear.
My normal daily footwear was most unsuitable for driving the F355 so I had resorted to an old, and somewhat tatty, pair of runners. Although they were old they were snug and comfortable and because they were somewhat worn down they provided good ‘feel’ with the pedals.
The only real downside with these tatty runners was they were perhaps not ‘formal’ enough for some establishments one finds oneself at when attending drive days with the Ferrari Club. It has not previously been a major issue, but certainly something I had become conscious of.
So I started my search for a suitable set of driving shoes. The prime requirement was they that worked well while driving and secondly that would be suitable and appropriate to wear casually at places that the Club attends.

Now if you do a search for driving shoes you typically end up with shoes like those above. Unfortunately for me these are a bit ostentatious and don’t meet my second criteria of being suitable for wearing to functions (to me anyway). They are probably great shoes and I know many people have ones like them but I really don’t think I could handle people gawking at my shoes! constantly! They do they enough with the F355.
The other issue is I typically have ‘non-standard’ feet which means the chances of getting the ‘right’ fit by ordering something online would be very rare. In that situation I’d either be stuck with an imperfect choice or having to battle to have the shoes returned. This therefore meant that I needed to find a location I could go and actually see whether my hobbit feet would fit in the shoes.
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Surprisingly, finding such a location proved to be quite difficult, however after a recommendation from a friend I came across Revolution Racegear. So I headed down there a few weekends ago to check their range.
In the end I settled for the pair that you see above which are Puma Future Cat Mid P Pro. They fit me feet really snuggly without being too tight and lace all the way up to the ankle. I was considering more normal looking shoes like these:

but the boot also turned out to be fully racing compliant and designed to be used on the track. This, combined with the fact that the boots also fitted my feet much better in the end swung the credit card in their favour and was my ultimate choice.
So today I got to take the new driving shoes out for a spin and they certainly are very different from my normal driving ‘sneakers’. They feel a little funny to walk in as you foot hangs over the side of the sole of the shoe. As I backed the car out I was a little concerned that I didn’t have a good feel for the pedals but these were new shoes and I knew they would take some time to ‘break’ in. Besides, I wasn’t going to race back and change them now!
It wasn’t long before I began to find the ‘feel’ I was missing and once I had that things changed completely. I now fully appreciate the benefits that proper driving shoes make in cars like these. It really made the whole experience more pleasurable that it already normally. With these shoes I felt far more connected to the pedals and less encumbered down there. I short, I’m won over and am very happy with the investment I have made.
I would certainly recommend these shoes to anyone and reckon they tick all the boxes I was after. Personally, I would recommend you always go and try on a pair to make sure they fit you exactly which I am so glad that I did because this pair is a great fit and are really, really comfortable.
Best of all, these driving shoes from Revolution Racegear were no more expensive than normal brand running shoes. The guys at Revolution Racegear were also really helpful in letting me know the options with the different types of shoes so I’d also recommend them highly as well if you want somewhere to go and try on a pair. The only sad thing is that I now need to put away my magic driving shoes until the next F355 outing. However, this gives me something more to look forward to when I do.

Run to Kiama

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A few weeks ago I joined other FCA club members in a trip down to Kiama. We meet at Kyeemagh in the south of Sydney and from there headed south through the Royal National Park, over the Sea Cliff bridge to our final destination, the Little Blowhole Cafe.

Here’s our route:

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Great thing about this location is great view of the ocean, it is away from the crowds and has plenty of off street parking, perfect for a fleet of Ferraris as you can see.

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Having all these Ferraris pitch up on a Sunday morning was certainly unexpected for many locals who came out to have a look at the machines and ask questions, which everyone was more than happy to answer.

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After a great brunch we headed off. I returned along the Princes Highway to Mt Ousely and then headed inland along the Picton road capturing the following video sequence.

Once again, an excellent day to be out for a drive.

Go fast, go north



Where I live (like most other places on the planet) there are speed limits that govern the maximum velocity that you can propel a car along at. The fastest legal limit we have here is 110 kph. Now in the Northern Territory, they used to have unrestricted speed limits but that was changed a while back to a maximum of 130 kph.
That seems to have upset a few locals as the Territory is ‘testing’ allowing certain road to return to their unrestricted limits as you will read in this story:
Lead-footers hit the highway in NT
Now why am I telling you this? Well, if you read a little into the story you find the following (my emphasis):
Fairfax Media spotted several high-performance machines on the stretch of road at the start of the trial, including a classic Ferrari F355, a supercharged Chrysler coupe and a 1000cc Yamaha superbike.
The Territory is a ‘little’ too far for this F355 and besides, I think I’ll restrict my 110+kph driving to a race track. Interesting though eh? ‘A classic Ferrari F355’. It sure is!

Ferrari F355 fuel consumption

One of things you never know with any car is how far you can get on a single tank of gas. The Ferrari F355 has a low fuel light like most cars but as yet I have not tempted that barrier, however I do want to understand what sort of range I can get on average.
Now I do notice that after the fuel level drops to half full it falls away much quicker from here than it does getting there. Thus, it seems to go from half full to empty quicker than full to half empty.
The Ferrari F355 tank is 82 litres in capacity with reserve point of about 20 litres. This doesn’t mean the tank is 102 litres, it instead means when you drop below the 20 litre mark the fuel warning light should come on.
I recently filled up the tank pretty much with 44.4 litres after having done about 380 kilometres since the last fill up. According to my maths, that should allow a total range of about 702 kilometres on a complete tank.
Now to be on the safe side if you instead take out the reserve fuel amount of 20 litres and redo the same calculation you end up with about 531 kilometres in range.
So, I would therefore expect the warning light to come on after about 530 kilometres and the tank to be dry around 700 kilometres. To get a safe range for the car (and allow some margin for error) I’d probably average these two numbers and get a range of about 615 kilometres.
Now of course that range is going to vary depending on how you drive. If you drive like a lunatic racing the car everywhere it will be much shorter. Also, if you spend more time in traffic and stopping and starting rather than on freeways or open road then your consumption will be greater. However, I think the above number represents a good rule of thumb for most driving.
I’ll continue to monitor my consumption and report back if the above figure changes much.