Maranello Madness, a passing memory???

Huh?

It's listed in the sticky thread above as being scheduled for November 1.

 

Wow, really?

 

I've always wanted to go to this event but I don't relish driving 3 hours (round trip) on I-95.

 

Due to the canceling of the 11/1 Maranello Madness event I will not be renewing my FCA membership. For the last ten years or so, I've always looked forward to the two Florida FCA track events (PBIR & Sebring). Sad state of affairs for sure.

Cheers

 

trying to verify this.

 

Hi Paul.....please try not to pass judgment on the current Board Members without having known these individuals. I for one have been a Ferrari enthusiast for 40 years and have been a caretaker of 16 different Ferraris over that period. And i know for cerain other Board Members share passion for the marque.

The new board members have been in place for about one month. We inherited the role of trying to reach out and improve the service to our members. Accordingly we are planning to add new Chapters in areas of the State that have been underserved for more than a decade (or more). The previous administration had blocked this effort for a very long time.

We have other important work to complete including updating and improving our Bylaws and delegating specfic tasks to our Board.

We recognize that track events are important to the membership. However they must be organized in a financially responsible manner. In the past ofttimes they were not. We have a fiduciary responsibility as well as a role to serve and meet the needs of our members.

In a nutshell please try to understand that we have been given a lot of challenges to improve the FL Region of the FCA. Give us some time and we will be able to grow and improve our club here in FL. We are aware of the importance of track events. We do care about our members. It's why we are here.

Thank you
Steve Cantera
FCA Board Member

 

The loss of this once great event is sad but we've seen it coming for a long time now.

Witnessing the drop in attendance through the years I can understand why it's not financially possible. I've been going to it since 1997 when I first started working at Shelton's and the participation has dropped off to almost nothing. This event used to be HUGE!!!

Unfortunately for us old dogs Ferrari has changed as well as their clientele. They are more about the "brand" now then the track. I believe track event decline, here and across the nation, is a combination of the current prices and safety. The new cars are just insanely fast and people are intimidated by driving them on the track, as they should be. An "off" in a 458 would likely kill you. Not to mention few people are inclined to take their 300k car to the track and thrash it. Especially since the new "standard" is pristine cars that have next to no miles for resale value. Just imagine the rock chips!!! Hell, there are owners who fret about their cars getting rained on!

I'm afraid us track dogs have gone the way of the gated shifter. We are still around but in declining numbers. All one has to do is look at Ferrari's current direction. With the introduction of softer, broader marketed cars such as the FF and California, Ferrari has shifted their focus to a different segment then the old school purist. The new generation of owners are still enthusiasts but they are more into the social aspect of Ferrari then the track. They are content wiping their cars down and driving them to Cars and Coffee, as long as it doesn't look like rain or is farther than 30 miles away. Risking their life driving in anger at the track is the last thing on their mind. I can understand their point even if it's not what I would choose to do.

I don't want to be all gloom and doom but looking at Marchionne and his band of bean counters I fear Ferrari will never be the same company many of us have grown up worshipping. Maybe that's the only way they can survive in this day and age where everything, including cars, are just another lifestyle appliance?

This may be the future of the club, maybe not. IF the FCA becomes more about watches, manicures, and haute couture than grease under your fingernails and the smell of rubber and race fuel in the air I'll be the first out the door. Hopefully not!

 

Steve, which Paul are you referring to? FYI, I am not passing judgement on anyone.

 

If this event lost money, perhaps the board could have asked for member input instead of just cancelling. A lot of members, including me, are very disappointed that the event is not taking place. PBIR has gotten very competitive on track rental rates I have heard.

 

I am a track rat and fully intend to use my speciale as it is intended.. on the track!!

Anyone have an idea what Sebring costs to rent for a day? We could do a self organized event.

 

I've only attended one of the Madness events but I have a hunch about at least one factor that led to the attendance dwindling - how the run groups are managed.

I'm a licensed and championship winning club racer with a few cars to choose from for the track. Here are the options Madness gave me:

1) Run my 575 in the fast run group
2) Run my 430 Challenge in the fast run group
3) Run my Porsche GT3 in the slow run group

Running the 430 CH is a bit of a pain. It requires trailering, support, and has very expensive run costs. Awesome for race events, but not really the bang for the buck for a low key event like Madness, which is really designed for street cars.

Running the GT3 would have been awesome, probably the best trackable street car made but I'd be forced to the slow group despite my experience because the car has the wrong badge on it. This is not fun for me as a driver and quite frankly not a safe environment for the others. Do you really think it's a good idea for a novice to have to deal with the closing speed I would have on them?

So instead I took the 575 to the event I ran. This car is not really designed to be pushed hard on the track, especially in the hands of an experienced driver. It's a touring car. With 1 degree of negative camber up front I quickly destroyed my front tires. Speeds had to be kept in check in order to manage brake temperature. It really was not a whole lot of fun after a couple of sessions.

So the next year I stayed home from the event. I wonder if there are others like me? I'd like to attend but the structure of the event chased me away. An event like this needs to make itself appealing to a wider range of drivers, not just the Ferrari owner who wants track his car for the first time or wants to do it just once/year. What happens is that people from that group graduate and move on when they get more serious about the track, and you lose them when they do. And there isn't enough new blood to replace them.

 

I too was surprised with the cancelling of this event. As a past board member and still active member, I always looked forward to Maranello Madnesss. I can recall when we stayed at the Jupiter Beach resort and the event was a 2 day and 2 night event... Those were the good old days. Dinners and entertainment with friends and 2 full Track days, close to home.... Last year, the track day was one day only but I felt it was a success. Nice attendance. If a major decision like this is made, I think a survey should go out to club members for opinions and a vote. If money was the issue, get a sponsor again or raise the fees to cover the costs..... Just my opinions. Not intended to insult anyone and I appreciate the work the active board members do for the club.

 

agreed.

 

I'm putting my name into it as well as someone who misses Ferrari Track days. I did Maranello Madness last year for the first time and was very impressed with the quality of the event. And then we did Daytona as well in January.

As for Sponsors to defray costs of running the event, I can't think of anyone better than the local Ferrari dealers who are going to benefit form our thrashing our cars. Last year I believe it was Ferrari of Fort Lauderdale. They even ran the tech checks.