Wanted: Participants for a European Alpine Drive - July 2016 | FerrariChat

Wanted: Participants for a European Alpine Drive - July 2016

Discussion in 'Europe' started by ur84wr, Jan 12, 2016.

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  1. ur84wr

    ur84wr Karting

    Jan 6, 2015
    101
    Australia
    Full Name:
    Max
    #1 ur84wr, Jan 12, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2016
    Hi all,

    I recently purchased a 2009 430 Scud from a dealer in Frankfurt, Germany.

    I live in Hong Kong but have relatives in Germany and will be spending the month of July in Europe and want to take my new Scud for a good drive in the Alps. The car is currently stored in Frankfurt and will likely stay there long term.

    My rough itinerary at this stage is to drive from Frankfurt > Austria > Northern Italy > Switzerland and loop back to Frankfurt through the Schwartzwald.

    The idea is to take in as many passes and good roads as possible. I have an Amazon shipment of Maps that's just arrived and will begin the detailed planning shortly. Iam a good navigator and will happy to be the leader but this will be my first time in the Alps and will be happy to take a back seat to any participants familiar with the area and its roads.

    Iam somewhat flexible on my timing but plan to do the trip in the first half of July.

    At this stage I'll be doing the trip by myself (perhaps my wife will join) as I don't know any enthusiasts in Europe yet and would love to meet some local Ferrari fans and drive some great roads together.

    I intend to do the loop in around 5-7 days.

    I look forward to hearing from you all.

    Best Regards,

    Max
     
  2. SleepingPills

    SleepingPills Rookie

    Nov 5, 2015
    17
    Hi Max, congrats on your 430 scud, that is an absolutely stunning car and I hope to own it one day too! Since your route takes you through Switzerland and the nearby countries, it might be worthwhile to ping the respective country threads and see if the local drivers are interested. I for one definitely am interested - perhaps not the entire trip, but I'd be joining someplace in the Black Forest (say Karlsruhe) and then accompany you on your epic drive through Switzerland, Italy and Austria. I'm pretty certain the Swiss Fcar drivers club would be more than happy to join in too (maybe ping the user Elsi who is the president).

    In summertime, the Swiss passes can be somewhat congested. I usually escape to northern Italy where the roads are surprisingly good and you spend less time behind some muppet who overestimated his Cayenne's capabilities on the Furkapass. The ultimate collection of passes in Switzerland is http://www.motofun.ch/ I think (Achtung! - it's in German). It's primarily for motorbikes, but I believe the set of best passes for sportbikes is pretty much the same as for cars.
     
  3. Simon

    Simon Moderator
    Moderator Owner

    Aug 29, 2003
    6,750
    Switzerland
    Full Name:
    Simon
    I think a dedicated thread for this is fine. Posting in separate threads might confuse or break the continuity.

    Like sleepingpill I would also be interested in joining for part of the drive. Do you have any more detailed plans of where you will be and when?

    cheers
    Simon
     
  4. ur84wr

    ur84wr Karting

    Jan 6, 2015
    101
    Australia
    Full Name:
    Max
    #4 ur84wr, Jan 14, 2016
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2016
    Thanks for the replies gents.

    As it appears there is some interest, I will do some more extensive planning on the weekend.

    I'll come back with a tentative itinerary for consideration and feedback.

    I have an extensive list of recommended passes and roads and it would be helpful to get feedback on the ones likely to be the quietest. As Sleepingpill suggests, Iam loathe to get stuck in a jam with holidaymakers and wanabe's.

    Thanks for the interest so far.
     
  5. SleepingPills

    SleepingPills Rookie

    Nov 5, 2015
    17
    Good stuff! If I can make one suggestion, space out the trickier sections so that you don't long hours of hard driving several days in a row. That can be quite draining and strips the fun away. Perhaps add one or two recovery days into the road trip too, with some activities that allow you to relax and take on the roads the next day with renewed appetite :).
     
  6. ur84wr

    ur84wr Karting

    Jan 6, 2015
    101
    Australia
    Full Name:
    Max
    Iam working on a detailed itinerary now but for any newcomers who've read the first post, I will be changing the route to to the following:

    Frankfurt > Zurich > Italy > Austria

    Thanks,
     
  7. ur84wr

    ur84wr Karting

    Jan 6, 2015
    101
    Australia
    Full Name:
    Max
    #7 ur84wr, Jan 20, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    OK gentlemen, after hours of cursing at Google maps I have settled on 3 potential routes for the Alpine Assault.

    As it turns out, Googlemaps doesn't allow you to turn of weather related diversions which made the process rather frustrating.

    I will let the excel document and rough maps do the talking but in summary:

    All routes are around 8 days and take in around 3-6 hours of driving a day.

    Two of the routes allow for participation in the 'Big 3' event on Monday the 4th July 2016 organised by the Swiss group, Ferrari Drivers Club. If I'd be eligible as a non-local to partipate in this group event, that would be fantastic.

    ROUTE 1
    This route takes in all the famous major passes in Switzerland, the Dolomites and Western Austria.
    The main downside of Route 1 is the lack of free-time.

    ROUTE 2
    This route excludes participation in the Ferrari Drivers Club event on 4th July 2016. Instead it takes in two famous passes in North-West Austria, Fernpass and Hahntennjoch.

    This route allows for a 3 night stay in Ortisei in the Dolomites and another 3 night stay in Mayrhofen in East Tyrol, Austria.

    This is a leisurely option and allows free time to take in other activities.

    ROUTE 3
    This route includes participation in the Big 3 event on 3rd July 2016.

    It also allows for a 3 night stay in Ortisei in the Dolomites and another 3 night stay in Mayrhofen in East Tyrol, Austria.

    Again, plenty of time to sight-see and have a holiday.

    The downside to this route is forgoing the Fernpass and Hahntennjoch in Austria.

    CONCLUSION
    If I'd be accepted to participate in the 'Big 3' event, I would most prefer Route 3. This allows time to do some sightseeing in between driving days and it's nice not to have to packup your room every morning. The 2x extended stays would be most welcome in this trip.

    We can tackle the Fernpass and Hahntennjoch on another trip.

    Iam going to start booking accommodation shortly so I look forward to your feedback.

    Regards,
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  8. Elsi

    Elsi Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 26, 2010
    1,630
    Zürich (Switzerland)
    Full Name:
    Markus
    Max – Great idea!!

    I would propose that you join us on our Swiss alps tour on July, 4th 2016. The alps/passes are no fun on the weekends because then you have much traffic with all the campers etc. So we prefer to do it on a Monday when there is only a fraction of the traffic.

    Why not join the Ferrari Drivers Club on this date/tour. We would be more than happy to welcome you as a guest.

    Maybe some of our club members want to join you on the rest of your tour.

    What do you think?

    Cheers and hope to see you this summer

    Markus
     
  9. ulf rickard

    ulf rickard Formula Junior

    Sep 28, 2009
    424
    Sweden
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    Ulf Rickard
    I´m not the big fan of driving the alps but i can´t see the Stelvio pass in your planning .... I think it is one of the most famous passes :)
     
  10. Simon

    Simon Moderator
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    Aug 29, 2003
    6,750
    Switzerland
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    Route 2 comes past my house more or less. Also close to Mdoc3.

    I agree with Ulf, if you are in the area anyway, you should do the Stelvio. It's mostly full of bike riders and not actually one of the nicer passes to drive but the views are stunning and you can say you've done it.
     
  11. Simon

    Simon Moderator
    Moderator Owner

    Aug 29, 2003
    6,750
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    Simon
    #11 Simon, Jan 20, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  12. SleepingPills

    SleepingPills Rookie

    Nov 5, 2015
    17
    I'm certainly in, doubly so since I live about 10 minutes from the starting point :)

    I can't promise to attend the full route, but I'm damn well tempted for the whole deal that's for sure. I'll attend as much as my time allows in any case.
     
  13. ur84wr

    ur84wr Karting

    Jan 6, 2015
    101
    Australia
    Full Name:
    Max
    Gentlemen, thankyou very much for your replies.

    Elsi, I graciously accept your invitation to attend the 'Big 3' drive on the 4th. I'll keep my head down and won't cause any trouble, I promise!

    With that said, lets rule out Route 2 immediately and leave Route 1 and Route 3 open for conjecture a little longer.

    wrt the controversial Stelvio, I had actually deliberately excluded this pass for several reasons: It's meant to be overrated and i'd rather drive through the Swiss Forest and then the Jaufenpass and Penserjoch (we could do both but timing would be pushed out); there's guaranteed to be a lot of traffic in that general area being summer and most importantly; it's not good for a car, particularly so in Summer.

    So many hairpin turns, in succession, up an extraordinarly steep incline puts strain on the motor at a time when it's not getting sufficient airflow to keep it cool. I've heard this from several fairly well informed sources. Stelvio has been singled out becuase of its steepness and lack of straight runs in between the hairpins. Though never having driven it myself, I cannot offer a firsthand opinion on this. **expecting some blow back here I can feel it!!**

    That being said, if the group consensus the night before is to tackle it, then I will happily potter along as it does not drastically change the direction of the trip overall. However, this isn't a decision we need to make now I feel.

    It is looking like resaonably priced + acceptable quality accommodation is not so easy to find in Andermatt or Zuoz so Iam looking a little further afield but still along the same route.
     
  14. Simon

    Simon Moderator
    Moderator Owner

    Aug 29, 2003
    6,750
    Switzerland
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    Simon
    You are rarely running at full power on the Stelvio so cooling shouldn't be a problem on a modern car. But you are right that it is very tight, especially for a wide car like your Scud, and with traffic it is actually pretty slow going. But for many it is one of those must do things in life :)

    The views are amazing.
     
  15. ur84wr

    ur84wr Karting

    Jan 6, 2015
    101
    Australia
    Full Name:
    Max
    Perhaps you are right, Simon. I know when I tell people that I've driven the Dolomites the first question will be: 'did you drive Stelvio?'.

    I'll leave this decision out till closer to day.

    Iam in the process of booking accommodation now. When this has been finalised, I'll report back.
     
  16. timeckart

    timeckart Formula Junior

    Apr 9, 2015
    557
    Wildeck in Germany
    Full Name:
    Tim Eckart
    #16 timeckart, Jan 25, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Look here: Porsche Drive - Blog - curves-magazin (de)
    the book is in englisch and german and is the best of italy, austria, switzerland:
    Best off:
    Curves _Schweiz Nachauflage - Blog - curves-magazin (de)
    ? Tag 1 - Schweiz/Italien - Borders - Blog - curves-magazin (de)
    ? Tag 1 - Norditalien - Blog - curves-magazin (de)

    be carefull in switzerland and drive there slow, or the police take your Ferrari away and pay nothing.....

    Here is a good App for driving fast.... http://www.blitzer.de/
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  17. ur84wr

    ur84wr Karting

    Jan 6, 2015
    101
    Australia
    Full Name:
    Max
    That's a fantastic resource timeckart. Thank you for sharing.
     
  18. ur84wr

    ur84wr Karting

    Jan 6, 2015
    101
    Australia
    Full Name:
    Max
    Hi all,

    Now the drive has been finalised. I have created a fresh thread with clear details for any potential participants.

    Please join me in the new thread.

    Thanks,
     

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