European Ferrarichat Rally 2006-Where?

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Julio, those roads look quality

 

I'll ask again at this very early stage, please NOT in August!

 

Weather and occupancy wise, I would say, that best time would be at late spring or early fall.

In summer, anywhere in Spain but Madrid, will be too full of cars and people to really enjoy a rally like this. Also accomodation will be more affordable and available off-season.

- Julio.

 

And where are you gonna put your family? In the trunk?

 

Cote d'azur / andorra / northern Spain??

 

- 2 cars
- plane
- train
or keep them @ home and just drive with your wife like I`ll do.

 

Well thanks Maybe it's an idea for one of the next years? 2008 or so?
The roads in this area are very nice too! Unknown and underestimated maybe.

Actually, and of course we all know, you'll find many nice regions and ditto roads all over Europe, from up North to down South... each with its own charme and charactar.

Already looking forward to pics of the future rally's... wherever the events will be held... the pics and atmosphere will most likely always be great!

 

Also, a few days before, this is happening:

http://www.gptours.com/new/race.php/id/6050/Monaco-Historics

I've never been to the historic myself but it's supposed to be good, and less hectic than the "real" F1. Happens every two years.

 

Hi guys, I'm back after a long absence!

I've been reading this thread with interest.

Of course I'm ready to organise something really "big" if we want to turn the Tuscany Trip into a major event. Organising such an event is no problem for me, I've organised more complicated things in my working life...

The main question is:
DO WE WANT THE "FCHAT" RALLYE TO BE A "DRIVING" EVENT or mainly a "GET TOGETHER, EAT & DRINK & GET PISSED" event?

Because as Simon said, I have always organised Tuscany as a focussed, fast driving event which is why it works better with few participants (up to 7-8 I would say; 10 if they all know where they're going so we don't need to travel as a slow convoy).

I see a trip to the south of France in summer as a waste of driving time: the traffic is horrendous, french police are complete b@stards when it comes to fast cars, and we'd be crawling in heavy urban traffic most of the time (Montecarlo, Nice). Spain is better, but the driving down there can be extremely dangerous - bad roads, even worse drivers. We would need some spanish Fchat member who knows the "territory" in detail to organise the driving. Also security for the cars at night is a big question mark.

The same problem occurs in Italy if you venture too far south: Mark, your idea of going all the way to Amalfi is great, I'd quite happily drive to Sicily, but do you honestly think a convoy of Ferraris would go unnoticed in southern Italy? It's almost guaranteed that someone will see us, call someone else with the right electronic equipment, and one of us may wake up in the morning and find he's got to go back home by train (cars have been stolen out of locked garages, as well as outside restaurants, etc.). So, I wouldn't feel safe in Italy near any big city and in any case nowhere further south than Tuscany.

With all these points in mind, perhaps we should start a poll

A) Spain
B) Tuscany
C) South of France
D) - my idea - the Italian and Austrian Alps. Fantastic roads, no traffic, little police, cheap accomodation, central european location.

 

No offense, but, where do you say you are from, a Switzerland! I understand now.

With all due respect, roads in Spain might be not as good as in Germany or France, but saying that "it can be extremelly dangerous" that is totally false.

Now, it will be, if your intention is to go all the way to the South of Spain at 250 Km/h. But, as it will be in any other place in the world. The only place where it might not be so dangerous is, 'maybe', Germany.

However I agree that any Rally has to be organized by somebody that knows the area, not only to look for the right roads, to be good enough to enjoy the driving, but to search for the right places to stay and park our cars, and the right places for sight seeing and special events, like a circuit day. It requires preparation, and if it can not be organized then is better to search for a place where somebody can do it.

What it is true at least for Spain, is that police presence in Highways and the main National roads will not encourage high speeding.

It looks like you know quite welll Tuscany and the north of Italy, and I am sure that that is why you feel safe going there. But not knowing other areas do not necessarily make them unsafe.

I think your opinions about South of Italy and Spain are really biassed, or at least exagerated. Are those opinions based on your own experince or based on estereotypes?

Also summer time ( July and August) will be bad for driving mostly anywhere in the south of Europe, specially in the coast areas. And for some of us that have 328s or older won't be the most pleasant time to drive our cars with temperatures reaching the 40C.

PS: I also undestand that South of Spain is a long journey for the north of Europe Fchaters, and that might be a reason why not to organize here. North of Spain might be other posibility, like in the Pirineos, Vasque Country o Costa Brava. But I think those areas landscapes are not as exotic to nothern Europans as it might be the South.

Thanks.

 

Agreed Alex!!
A good idea for when we both have our own Ferrari to organise it in "our" environment!
Also think that it can be a great surrounding for a rally!! The nice roads of Luxemburg, Spa Francorchamps, Nurburgring,.... all close together!!

Guy

 

I didn't want to offend anyone. My experience of Spain and Portugal is of beautiful roads, but often too many "suicidal" drivers. On a drive from Lisbon to the Algarve in 1 day I came across 3 gruesome, deadly accidents. In the following week I saw several more accidents. In Spain I loved driving in Andalusia, the traffic was light and the roads VERY nice, but again I saw too many drivers who are simply not "in tune" with modern traffic and in my opinion it would not be advisable for a group of Ferraris to charge through the Sierra roads at high speed and expect everyone to be aware and respectful of road rules. It simply won't happen. Quite simply, you can't rely on drivers in rural regions keeping to their side of the road and respecting basic traffic rules.

Of course your experience may be totally different, please let me know.

Regarding southern Italy, I know several people who have had their cars stolen or broken into. Did you know that in the Naples province insurance companies simply will REFUSE to insure expensive cars such as BMWs and Mercedes against theft/damage, because of the excessive crime risk? And the accidents statistics? They are simply scary. That's how bad it is down there. I have family in southern Italy, and friends both in Sicily and in Naples. They would be the first ones to advise any of us NOT to go there on our own with our Ferraris. The only way would be to have the "safety net" of an official organization for an official event (say, the historic targa Florio), but to go on our own and expect everything to be like in Germany or Switzerland would be quite simply naive.

 

Thanks for the clarification, in your first email it sounded like Spain was WAR zone.

About southern Italy, I have no comment as I do not have knowledge of it, only down to Rome.

Regarding the rural roads in Southern Spain. When did you go to those areas, in summer?

As I said summer is bad, people that do not use the cars regularly throughout the year, do it on summer.

To that you have to add that Spain from June 15th till September 15th supports the visit of 30 million foreingers on vacation or in their way home(those are this year estimates).

Particularly dangerous are 4 million cars from North african inmigrants comming down from the north of Europe that crosses Spain to go to Gibraltar to catch a boat in their way to Morocco, and a month later back to where they came from. Not the best drivers, but the real problem is that they usually do drive all day, with little rest and no sleep, and their cars and vans loaded like trucks.

Add to that that in vacation people moves around too much on those months and therefore the number of accidents increases greatly.

But out of summer season, or special vacation times roads are mostly safe. Now driving fast, or charging as you said, through rural roads, specially on groups, won't be safe anywhere, neither in Spain or anywhere, IMHO. You have to think that doing so who is driving wrongfully will be us, not the other driver. So lets be concious about who might be the bigger threat.

Now, I have never been in a Ferrari rally before so I might not getting the right idea of what kind of event you guys looking to have.

When thinking on organizing this in Spain I was not thinking on speeding grately on public roads, just slightly, which is acceptable, and never on groups that is even more dangerous. I wouldn't like to organize a Gumball like event. Even more Police in Spain is really tough on those now, specially in the North of Spain, and particularly in Catalunya.

I wasn't thinking either on a line of Ferraris going one after the other from point A to point B. I was thinking more on a set of places to be at at certain time for lunch dinner, hotel accomodation, or some events, like a circuit day.

The organizczers will provide detailed maps and detailed information on the area for everyone, and freedom to move to those meeting points with plenty of time for everybody to spear in their way to them, so they can stop to take photos, eat, walk, horse ridding, play golf... sleep the hangover.. whatever they want.

- Julio.

 

woo-hoo!!!

like it, Italian Alps are fabbo..sling in a trip to Lake Como and it's a winner.

 

Agreed!!

 

I prefer: "GET TOGETHER, EAT & DRINK & GET PISSED"

and some twisty roads........

 

What do you think if somebody (or agroup) of each area comes back to this thread, let's say by November 30th, with a draft of a proposal on what to do in each of the proposed areas. Kind of an organization draft of activities and places, a planning draft.

And after that there is a voting poll to decide. And the he losing options can be re-used/reworked for a future event.

- Julio.

 

Julio,
Nice idea but first of all: Is there anybody who says "ok, I will take responsibillity for organizing the event for 2006!!"?
We have lots of nice regions in EU but we need a good organizer.

So first of all the most important is the organizer, then the region.

 

The thing is, that as Andrea poited out, I think the organizer should be always somebody who knows the area. So in my opinion the area has to be decided.

Wimeldo and I ofered ourselves to organize an event in Spain if we could do it in dates that wouldn't interfere with our work.

Now, I don't feel competent to organize it anywhere else in Europe, just because I don't know it well enough to take that responsability.

I think it will be easier to come out with a proposal and then find the right person to execute it. And by the way, if nobody offers, or there is no Fchater in a certain area that we would like to go, nowdays we can find companies that will organize it for us, if we are enough (but not too many) it won't be too expensive.

- Julio.

 

I think the organisation-location thing works both ways.

My official statement:

Barring any unforeseen problems, I am enthusiastic to take over the organisation if we decide to do the tour around the Italian/Austrian Alps with a day on Lake Como (maybe in Bellagio - my friends from the Italian Maserati Club often go there and know several good hotels/restaurants).

So, if eventually the majority votes for this I am happy to do it. If we vote for Spain / France or anywhere else, are there any other candidates willing to organise it?

 

Unlike Andrea, I am not back, and I will not be for quite a while... My calendar is rather draconian s far as returning to Italy is concerned. Family will be back in late May 06 (25th, I guess) and will stay there for almost two months, let us say up to the beginning of August. Should the rally be in that period, I have no preferences. I know quite well Italian Alps and the lake area and I can confirm that it is a fantastic place to drive. I have been 3 times in Spain by motorcycle and the memories are simply fantastic. I'd love to go back there with the 328.
So, as far as I am concerned, I have no preferences. If the timeframe is right, I will do my best to arrange my return to Italy accordingly and I will be there.
Ciao
Eugenio

 

Ciao Eugenio, I hope you're enjoying your time in the south Pacific!

Regarding the Fchat rallye: if I get to organise the Alps-Tour I suggest to do it in the second week of July. At that time the weather is guaranteed to be very good (which is important for driving at high altitude). It is also too early for the Italian summer vacation season, which begins towards the end of July (and which makes traffic absolutely IMPOSSIBLE until the end of august).

Also, I thought that I would combine the Fchat tour with my usual Tuscany tour: basically I could organize a 3-day event in the Alps for the whole Fchat group, after which a group of "selected few" (not more than 10) would carry on south to spend the rest of the week between Tuscany and the Portofino Coast. This would make sense if any of our northern European friends want to join the Tuscan tour: they would only have to drive across Europe once (instead of coming once for Tuscany, and once again for the Fchat tour).

Any comments?

 

Ciao Andrea
Second week of july is OK for me. No problems in arranging my holliday then.
I should take the all package... Maura will join.
Ciao
Eugenio