Despite the fact that the US is the single largest market for Ferrari sales, this past weekend marked the first time the automaker’s Finali Mondiali event was held here in the states.
Ferrari reps and customers gathered at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida to celebrate the end of the motorsport season. Ferraristi slowly galloped around the track in 809 prancing horses, including 488 GTBs, F12berlinettas, and California Ts. It was an impressive turnout, but according to Yahoo! Sports, it wasn’t record-setting. The site stated, “The hoped-for Guinness record for the number of Ferraris in a parade that the organizers of the 2016 Finali Mondiali at Daytona International Speedway fell a bit short – 155 Ferraris short, to be precise. At the Ferrari Race Day at Silverstone in 2012, Ferrari F1 driver Felipe Massa led a parade of 964 Ferraris.” On top of that, the low-speed cruise overheated engines, killed batteries, and burned clutches. On the plus side, the auction of a special LaFerrari – the 500th produced, to be exact – generated $7 million to go toward reconstruction efforts in central Italy, which was damaged by an earthquake earlier this year.
Other festivities included Scuderia Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel performing fast starts, quick pit stops, and burnouts in F60 Formula One cars. According to Ferrari, “Before returning to pit lane, the two drove side by side over the finish line in a tribute to the famous parade finish of the three Ferraris at the 1967 24 Hours. The show opened up with a tribute to the Prancing Horse’s other achievement at Daytona in 1998 when the F333 SP was the first to cross the finish line.” Then it was time for another parade of cars; seven F333 SPs took to the track to drive racing fans down memory lane.
F1 Clienti and Programmi XX clients also got some time on the Daytona course. They weren’t alone. They were joined by drivers of the 1,035-horsepower FXX K research and development specials. It sounds as if this year’s Finali Mondiali was worth the wait.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
