Giro F1 - North American Loop in a 360 Spider

My daughter and I returned earlier this week from a
2 week driving tour in my 360 Spider which included the Canadian GP
at Montreal, Niagra Falls, and the USGP at Indianapolis.
The trip started Wednesday before the Canadian GP
and ended in time for the July 4 holiday when we drove
home to North Carolina from Indy.

Total miles: 2700
Gas mileage: 17 mpg overall
(99% highway driving but with multiple traffic slowdowns)

Worst highways (excluding those with active construction):
I-85 in Eastern NC
I-75 in Detroit

The drive to Montreal
---------------------
For the drive to Montreal we joined the caravan
organized by the mid-Atlantic group. Driving
with these guys is always fun. Ferraris, Lambos,
BMWs, Corvettes, a Maserati, and a station wagon.
Thanks to Lashdeep from the mid-Atlantic group
for organizing the drive up, the F1 group seating,
and the great dinner at Jardin Nelson in Old
Montreal. Sorry we missed the other events.

Stop-over at Niagra Falls
-------------------------
From Montreal we drove to Niagra Falls. Along
the way we passed an 18 wheeler carrying the
F1 safety car and medical car, presumably heading
for a US crossing and eventually to Indianapolis.
I was surprised to see them on an open transport.
At Niagra we stayed at
the Hilton Fallsview on the Canadian side. I had
not been to the falls since I was a small boy, and
I have to admit that I had forgotten how spectacular
the falls are. The 360 caught quite a bit of attention as
we meandered through the mist near the falls while
looking for the hotel. You'd think nobody ever
saw a wet Ferrari before The staff at the
Hilton let me self-park the car where their valets
could keep an eye on it, and overall treated us
tremendously well.

The drive to Indy
-----------------
Then came the drive to Indy. Lots of Canadian
countryside. A small stop at a rest area for a
work-related conference call (got to keep the money coming
in so I can pay for the next oil change) chewed up
an hour. Overall drive was an uneventful but long drive
to Indianapolis with a bad thunderstorm in the
last hour of the drive.

Indy: stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn the first
two nites - loved it. Stayed at the Hampton Inn
for the race weekend - loved it far far less than
the Hilton.

The race venues (no spoilers)
-----------------------------
This was my 4th or 5th trip to Montreal, and my third to
Indy. My first visit to Montreal had been magic ... caught
up in the excitement of the downtown excitement, the ease
of access to the Metro, and the overall charm of the city.
However, since then the Montreal event has become more crowded,
making the Crescent Street block party with all it's displays and
restaurants practically impassable. We did manage to have a very nice
dinner on our own at an Italian restaurant that I had
liked from last year (Bocca D'Oro on St Mathieu) and the
aforementioned group dinner in Old Montreal.
Montreal seems to have changed the audio PA system at
the track. Instead of the multitude of speakers near the
stands, there was a large unit blasting from the smallish
jumbo-tron across the track. This made it harder to hear,
so I consider it a huge step backward.
Friends with radios and headsets said it was much better
if you listened to the broadcast while watching the race.

Indy, is a somewhat different experience. Monument Circle
hosted a display of Ferraris on Friday nite (mentioned elsewhere
on fchat) and a full classic concours on Saturday. The
overall atmosphere downtown was typical big city in that
it lacked Montreal's carnival atmosphere but there were plenty of
reminders around to welcome the F1 fans. Traffic control
to and from the track was exceptionally good, with tons of
police making sure everything flowed smoothly. It is clear
that the city put lots of effort into this. There were
also police-escorted car cruises to the track if you cared
to hook up with one. Parking at the
track was easy as well, provided you came early enough. We
parked the Ferrari in the infield each of the 4 days we
were there, and I never felt worried about the car. The
Indy personnel were very visible throughout the complex,
controlling the flow of both pedestrian and automotive
traffic, and did a great job. The bleachers
are also more spacious [sic] than Montreal, allowing more
legroom. Mind you it is still crowded, but there was more
room nonetheless and it was much appreciated.
Our seats were at turn 1, so there was
plenty of action right in front of us, and the view was great.
One might argue that the twisty part of the track is
a bit tighter than it should be, but with cars able to
pass in the approach to turn 1 as well as the back side of
that twisty complex, so I have no complaints personally. The audio
was crisp and clear, with speakers mounted right on the fences.
Overall, I think that the Indianapolis Speedway organization
did a better job. I mention all this because a few years
ago I would have claimed that Montreal was the better venue,
but it has slipped [in my humble opinion].

The races
---------
All I'll say here is that all the races were fun to watch.
In addition to the F1 races, my daughter and I enjoy the
Ferrari Challenge race and the Formula BMW races in particular.
The F1 qualifying at Indy was downright electric! I just finished
watching the Tivo'ed broadcast of the 3rd F1 qualifying session
and it just did not do it justice. I was very surprised because
for all the other events the SPEED broadcast left nothing
behind. This was the most exciting qualifying I've ever
seen. You just had to be there

The ride home
-------------
10.5 hours. No problems, just one more thunderstorm in the
last 1.5hrs of the journey to vary the driving experience.

Traveling with the 360
----------------------
The 360 was fabulous throughout the entire long trip. We hit
all possible road conditions and the car never caused me
any worry. I purchased the car a year ago from Sport Auto
in North Carolina and have been very happy with it.
Prior to this trip, Ferrari of Washington had fixed
an annoying window leak that I had
previously while driving in the rain, and it proved to
be much much better now (THANKS!). Regarding luggage,
the front boot fit two airline-sized roller
suitcases plus a small backpack, small toolbag, window cleaner,
spare oil, and a small bottle of laundry detergent. In addition,
the area behind the seats fit a small duffle bag for each of
us, my briefcase since I never leave home without my laptop,
my daughter's purse, and a small collapsible cooler for
some cold waters.
We drove to Montreal with the top down, but used the a/c for
most of the trip after Montreal, and it provided lots of nice
chilled air. I checked the oil twice during the trip but
never had to add any.
The car drew lots of attention on the road and around town.
Quite frequently we saw people aim their camera-phones our
way for a quick shot. At Indy, after the race, we were
surrounded by enthusiasts that wanted to see and hear the car.
I drive the car frequently, but this was by far the longest
drive I've ever taken in it. It was very enjoyable even with
the Tubi and hi-flow catalytic converters.
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Savannah is definitely part of our plan. Looking forward to seeing everyone there again.

 

Thanks. I'll try to post some more pics this weekend.


Lou

 

PM sent. Hope to hook up soon though tomorrow may be a problem.


Lou