VIR This Friday October 22nd

If anyone is interested, I will be at VIR this Friday and would like to invite any Ferrari owners in the area wanting to drive their car on track to attend. It is a very informal setting compared to the school we do each May, but this Friday all driver's have a once in a lifetime opportunity to drive on North America's longest road course, the 4.2 mile Grand Course at VIR. Your car must be teched and ready asap and your payment sent in ($150 must be sent in to VIR to register and you must put on the registration form you are attending as a guest of Bryan Guarnieri - please email me for the registration form and let me know you would like to attend - no surprise attendees please!). Unlike the schools there are no special requirements - any road going Ferrari can drive on track, even convertibles (though you must drive with your top up - you can only drive with the top down if you have a helmet - available for purchase at the Oak Tree Pro Shop at VIR if you don't already own one). As my guest everyone will be following the pace car during the Touring Lights session and 3 lucky fellow tifosi will get to ride with me at speed around the track during the Touring sessions (a helmet is required for this). Daniel already is planning on attending and reserved one of the at speed rides around on the track. The Member Day lunch buffet is wonderful and is paid for at lunch in the Pagoda Restuarant at VIR (usually $11) so all you need to bring is a little cash and of course a credit card to shop at the Oak Tree Pro Shop (shameless plug I know!) Hoping to see a lot of you playing hookie from work and showing up at the track this Friday!

 

I had the pleasure of being amongst the first on the Grand Course when it was first poured and we were restricted to 50 miles per hour while the new pavement cured. The Grand Course officially opened last October 2003 and your's truly was amongst the first on the track (had to follow the Pace Car as everyone wanted the opportunity to say they were amongst the first on track!) which was a blast but I was the official first Ferrari on the Grand Course and was the first Ferrari to run at speed during the Touring session as the two Challenge Ferrari's were running in the High Speed Group and then I finished off the day with a run in the High Speed Group. It was a blast! We ran the Grand Course again this past spring and it is a shame it has taken this long for the Grand Course to be utilised by the track members because it really is a true blast to drive at speed. If interested you can go to Connie's Pub in the Clubhouse and see a number of pictures of my 360 Modena navigating the turns on the Grand Course!

As for who is minding the store, well typically we enter the track from the North Paddock so I just leave the store and hop on track and put up a back in 30 minutes sign, but this time we are pitting from the South Course which means I will be doing a lot of driving between the two paddocks! John my store manager will be there as well, but I promised him a day on the Grand Course as it is a rare opportunity and no one should miss it so between the two of us we should be able to satisfy everyone's memorabilia cravings!

 

Peter! That's my time for the Full Course! In what car? A Ferrari?