Shell Historic Challenge Swan Song

Hello Jan,

(welcome)

This is interesting, I read it also last week. The FHC is quite a niche in racing and the exclusivity of cars is pretty high. Also prices of competition cars were raised when allowed in the FHC. And because of the likely vanishing of this class, there might be a price drop in historic Ferrari racing cars. There are not many things you can do with a classic (track only) Ferrari race car. Modena track days, Le Mans Classic, Goodwood etc. but these are mainly a few days per year, and not a series of races. One of the main problems is the sound restrictions at the circuits.

Next week I will visit the UK for a nice comp car, negotiations will be easier

ciao
Oscar

 

Oscar, a Ferrari??

Bert

 

Yes, tell us more please!


Onno

 

Things are changing...

 

Is this not all brought on by the need to have Classiche certification, and many owners don't want the bull****?

Classic Ferraris can be raced anywhere that other classic cars can be raced and there's no shortage of Historic events. I think it's rather pathetic to race ONLY cars of the same marque, and this is a mindset that seems to have affected mainly Ferrari owners. Hopefully we'll see more out there now playing with everyone else...

 

+++1
the organizers of the Goodwood Revival didn`t care about "Classiche" etc. and you can find many very high value Ferraris there, with 40,000+ spectators!

I`ll bet if Patrick Peter reorganize the Historic Challenge again -like he did some years ago- this race series would stay alive in Europe and attract owners of such cars to participate!

Just my 2 cts!

Ciao!
Walter

 

This is most certainly true in the US.

Let's see. "We will run a series with very high entry fees and by the way, send us your car that we haven't cared a wit about for the past 40 years and we will tell you what needs to be changed and....wait for it....we'll tell you just how many container loads of money to send to "fix" it. Wow, look at that, the bodywork is....Aluminum?"

 

Hahahaaaaaaa!!! Thats a good one!

Ciao!
Walter

 

Greetings from Valencia... I just witnessed the last Historic Challenge race at the Finali Mondali. They ended the series in style. Last year during the Finali, I asked the guy responsible for the Historic Challenge how long they thought it would last, since I expected the series to end at that moment already. He assured me that "the classics are very important to us, and so is the challenge". This year, entries dropped dramaticly, with only 15-20 cars all together and a combined field for drum brakes (no more pre-war). Since the whole "classiche" certification started a few years ago, entries for the historic challenge went down year by year. This year during he Finali, I heard that next year there will no longer be a Historic Callenge in this form. The all-italian challenge will probably be organised by a french organiser (not Peter Auto!)
I think it is a loss for the afficionados that they won't see any classic racing any more during FRD events, and for me personally, I will loose some income since I photographed the classic Maserati's in the challenge for www.maseraticorse.it.
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Very nice shots!

Ciao!
Walter

 

Very nice, Michael! Great to see that 250S again, it came past us in Brescia at the MM last May, before it went on auction. Wonderful car.


Onno

 

Apparently, the guy who bought it didn´t want to invest 1.3 million euro´s, since it was a no sale in Maranello for that price... probably an after-auction deal.

 

+1

 

Walter, for what it's worth Goodwood regularly has 150,000 and more spectators, not just a lousy 40,000+ spectators.........

Ciao
Marcel Massini

 

Hi Marcel,


a 1 more or less...:)

...and they all doesn`t car about "Classiche" or not!

Ciao!
Walter

 

Jim, they sure are, but for the better or the worse?
I think if the races are more open to period race cars in stead of 1 brand it is more fun and also more justice to the history. I love to see all the different brands at Goodwood, a Ford competing a Ferrari with the Lola's in between. But to my knowledge this is only at some events and not a racing series like the FHC. I would love to compete in the le mans Classic or Goodwood, but these events are also quite elitist.

And yes it is a classic Ferrari....

ciao
Oscar

 

INHO there are already sufficient historic events for all kind of marques. Please remember how the FHC came about. It originated from Ferrari club events. It really took off when the FF40 event happened in 1992. In 1994 the Spa Ferrari Days hosted the first FHC.

I want to see rare Ferraris race. I can imagine that the owners felt happy with a Ferrari only series too. I guess they knew everybody would be careful around these pricey machinery. This isn't always the case with an all marques event.

 

The answer my friend is blowing in the wind the answer is blowing in the wind...

 

how many tracks must a Ferrari go on, before you can call it Classiche Certified?

 

So we will all be happy when the Ferrari Historic Challenge will be a thing of the past?

So we will all be happy when nobody cares if a participating car is original?

So we will all be happy when a factory does not even send a representative to ensure that the participating cars which bear their name is original (as Maserati does since they do not even deign to send anyone anymore to the races let alone pay part of the costs Ferrari bears alone - ONE OF THE REASONs Ferrari was considering to cancell the series)?

So we will all be happy if we can watch or take part in events like the Oldtimer Grand Prix or even lesser events where the Porsche RSR replicas (or any other makes) outnumber the real cars by a hefty percentage? Where either all replicas are accepted or one is dependent and at the mercy of the organiser (as in the FHC).

So we will all be happy when the number of participating Ferraris and Maseratis in Vintage races will be approaching the freezing point like it used to be before the FHC.


I have been racing in the FHC with different Maseratis since 1999 (with a sabbatical in 2007), but my experience with events is not limited to this series. Having taken part in all four Le Mans Classics, five Modena Cento Ores, two TourAutos, several OGPs, Tour De Espana, Woodcote Trophy and many other events in Europa, be they racing or touring, I can only emphasize that the FHC is the best and cheapest series that exists.

Does it have flaws? You bet.
Did the Classiche programme drive away people (or cars)? Plenty.
Does it need a relaunch? Certainly.

But Ferrari is working on it.
And some of the cars which were excluded deserved it.
And it will be relaunched (hopefully).

But name me a vintage race series (not a single yearly or biannual event) which has been going on for 15 years which still exists? Some might remember the Coppa Europa in the 80ies in Italy, hugely successful and then it vanished. Which series offers so much for so little money? Which treats its participants princely (despite Ferraris decade-old image of abusing their customers)?


I have not seen any of the critics assembled here in this thread turning the wheel of a Ferrari or Maserati in anger in the FHC or in any other races. And spare me the banality of not having to be a cook to be able to judge food.

And to those who think that now the prices of elegible race cars will decrease: what would you need a race car for if you don´t have an event to participate in with your peers? And have you considered how the prices of sports racing Ferraris and Maseratis have gone through the roof in the last years (not the last year of course) and how few of these cars actually took part in the FHC? E. g. I have not seen a TRC in the European FHC for years, yet the prices for this model have not gone down. Keep on dreaming!

Regards


Wolfi



Dr. Wolf Zweifler
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I've spectated at rounds of the SHFC, either side of the Atlantic, since its inception.In recent years, I've felt participation has been more fun than watching, with dramatically reduced entries, predictable results and distant race tracks.

Undoubtedly the advent of the Classiche programme did untold harm to the series, as some owners/collectors wouldn't allow themselves to be dictated to...and pay for the privilege.

Combine the Classiche programme, with the continued growth of global historic motorsport and entrants seeking better value for money in Gentlemen Drivers and Endurance racing and it's not difficult to understand why the spectacle faded.

As with BMW's Mobile Tradition, Porsche and Mercedes Oldtimer, maybe Ferrari SPa should contemplate a higher profile in historic motorsport, rather than seeing its past, as solely a revenue generator.

Ed

 

++1

Ciao!
Walter