FERRARI CLUB AUSTRALIA NATIONAL MEET
The Ferrari Club Australia National meet, held in the greater Melbourne area between October 29th and November 5th, attracted over 100 Ferraris and their enthusiastic owners from all of Australia. Of the 100+ cars at the event, most were newer model cars from the 308, 348 and 355 era with a few new 360 Modenas in attendance. The oldest cars at the meet were the 212 of Guido Belgiorno-Nettis (S/N 0165 EL), the 250 GT SWB Berlinetta (S/N 2159) of Kerry Manolas and the 400 SA (S/N 3621 SA) of Cheryl and Barry Batagol.
The Australian Ferrari Club members were an amicable group who repeatedly pointed out that there are about 2,000 Ferraris in Australia, a remarkable feat considering that Australia has only 20 million people spread over an area almost the size of the USA. Additionally the Australian dollar is equivalent to 65 cents US, and the import duty for any Ferrari newer than 1970 is 100% of its cost. Putting it into perspective, a new 360 in a showroom in the United States is about US$140,000 while the same car in Australia is about A$340,000, making the many cars in attendance even more remarkable.
Registration was on Saturday, October 30 at the Crown Casino Complex, part of a new and very opulent Las Vegas style casino and hotel complex in downtown Melbourne. The welcoming dinner speaker was Australian Tim Schenken, former Ferrari team driver from the 1972 and 1973 seasons in the 312 PBs and now head of the Australian F.I.A.
Sunday’s concours at the Melbourne Exhibition Cen ter featured over sixty cars for morning judging and another fifty cars on display. In the afternoon the concours was opened to the public with proceeds from admission fees going to a local charity.
Monday, November 1, most of the club members enjoyed a two–hour drive to the Domaine Chandon Winery, about 40 miles out of Melbourne into an area that can best be described as the Napa Valley of Australia. I had the pleasure of driving the F50 (S/N 86572) of Tony Raftis, my host in Australia, in the Rally. The F50 was one of only two LHD cars on the Rally, the other being the 250 GT SWB of Kerry Manolas.
Tuesday most of the club members went to the Melbourne Cup, Australia’s premier horse race and social phenomenon. The Melbourne Cup is immensely popular in Australia and the entire city of Melbourne seemed a ghost town, devoid of traffic and pedestrians as all went to the Royal Flemington Racecourse. This event is a traditional public holiday as the country stops to watch or follow the race.
Wednesday the entrants drove south to the Phillip Island Race Track, a first class facility that is home to the Australian round of the 500cc Motorcycle World Championship and the World Superbike Championship. It is surrounded by farm land and adjacent to the sea with glorious views. A small group of diehard racing fans went early to the race track to watch a test day as three cars from the Holden (GM of Australia) team prepared for the upcoming 1000 Kilometer race at Bathurst. In the afternoon we were treated to some fast laps of the track by one of the drivers before going to dinner at the Continental Hotel.
Thursday’s track day opened with a stern warning from the track event officials. The track is very fast, very exciting, and has few run–off areas. Virtually any “off” at Phillip Island results in a very damaged racecar and an equally damaged ego on the part of the driver. The star of the track event was an F40 LM (S/N 97881) recently imported from the U.S. It was driven cautiously by its new owner, Tony Raftis, and then driven very rapidly by Mark Noske, a very fast young driver from the Australian Touring Car Championship. Mark Noske offered rides to various club members and more than a few exited the F40 LM white and shaking from their “hot lap” sessions.
Unfortunately I missed Friday’s drive day to Coal Creek, an abandoned mining town, as my adventures in Australia were winding down and it was time for the tedious 14 hour flight back to the U.S.
I look forward to next year’s Ferrari Club Australia Rally, to be held in Canberra, the capital city of Australia and I hope to bring a Ferrari for this very pleasant and unpretentious social and track event.
