Ferrari run with Police escort - 31 cars in a convoy 4/30

[sameerrao]

Saturday was the 430GT2 presentation ... see here http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=38898&highlight=

On Sunday, we re-assembled at Franco Valobra's shop at 9am in the morning for the high speed run in the beautiful backroads of Texas. To top it all, we got a police escort all the way with about 10 motorcycle cops clearing up traffic along the way. We stopped for nothing - red lights included.

We legally jumped more red lights in 5 minutes than I ever did in my whole life up to that point.

The Ferrari convoy consisted of about 31 Ferraris that included
- 1 F50
- 2 CS'
- 1 575
- 1 612
- 2 550s
- 3 430s
- 4 360s
- 4 355s
- 2 348s
- 2 328s
- 2 308s
- 1 Mondial
- 2 TRs
- 1 512 TR

There were more cars but those are what I can recall. But anyway a great mix of Ferraris from the last 20 years.

We basically took over one lane of the freeway on the way out - We got exclusive right over the fast lane, the cops were in the middle lane and the peasants ;) were either forced onto the side of the road or were made to take the slow lane.

Till we hit the backroads, the speeds were pretty moderate. Then the nice roads came, we got a pretty good spread of driving tarmac - high speed sweepers, tight corners, et al.

On one stretch of the road, the cops moved over to the side and let us give free rein to all the prancing horses.

I was being expertly driven in a 348 spider (thanks Mike) - I think we got to about 120mph as we were in the midst of a slowish pack. Up ahead people were hitting about 170 or more. Note: The aforementioned speeds are all fictitious - we never crossed the speed limit .. promise ... ;)

The Ferrari guys/gals here are drivers - no poseurs.

On the return run, I hitched a ride on a 355 Berlinetta (thanks Patsy) and we got back on a slightly different route back to Houston. We followed this up with a group lunch at PF Changs.

I had experienced a 355 Spider before and the Coupe was much tighter by comparison - fantastic sound from the stock exhaust when you rev it up. The 348 was really cool too. I used to give it little regard earlier thinking that it sort of fell in between the gokart like 328 and the more modern (relatively speaking) 355. Having been on one today I have changed my mind - the car makes a wonderful noise and is a real driver's car with superb brakes, steering with no power assist, and great looks.

There is something about a Ferrari that makes my adrenaline surge about like a fire hose that I haven't felt in any other make of car that I have driven before - BMW, Audi, Porsche, Corvette whatever. Its not the speed but the involvement factor that makes it stand out. You really feel part of the ride. And this is coming from a passenger - God knows how much exciting it is from a driver's standpoint.

I have decided that my next sports car will be a Ferrari. 100%. Nothing else fits the bill. I really need to save up money to be able to buy it in a few years time. Aaah ... the waiting is killing me.

Here are the pics from the run:
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/1817_DSC_0771.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=1817_DSC_0771.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/26360_DSC_0773.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=26360_DSC_0773.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/1498_DSC_0774.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=1498_DSC_0774.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/24114_DSC_0775.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=24114_DSC_0775.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/25149_DSC_0776.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=25149_DSC_0776.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/30856_DSC_0777.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=30856_DSC_0777.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/27117_DSC_0778.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=27117_DSC_0778.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/13357_DSC_0780.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=13357_DSC_0780.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/5334_DSC_0781.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=5334_DSC_0781.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/19339_DSC_0782.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=19339_DSC_0782.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/24409_DSC_0784.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=24409_DSC_0784.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/13529_DSC_0793.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=13529_DSC_0793.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/28599_DSC_0794.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=28599_DSC_0794.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/1998_DSC_0801.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=1998_DSC_0801.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/5743_DSC_0807.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=5743_DSC_0807.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/16302_DSC_0813.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=16302_DSC_0813.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/22285_DSC_0853.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=22285_DSC_0853.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/22488_DSC_0854.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=22488_DSC_0854.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/2904_DSC_0855.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=2904_DSC_0855.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/6392_DSC_0859.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=6392_DSC_0859.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/22765_DSC_0862.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=22765_DSC_0862.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/25302_DSC_0872.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=25302_DSC_0872.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/5923_DSC_0877.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=5923_DSC_0877.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/30231_DSC_0879.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=30231_DSC_0879.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/8584_DSC_0880.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=8584_DSC_0880.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/31477_DSC_0814.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=31477_DSC_0814.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/17392_DSC_0826.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=17392_DSC_0826.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/11675_DSC_0831.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=11675_DSC_0831.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/1306_DSC_0833.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=1306_DSC_0833.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/21579_DSC_0839.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=21579_DSC_0839.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/20414_DSC_0843.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=20414_DSC_0843.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/25575_DSC_0882.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=25575_DSC_0882.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/2926_DSC_0883.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=2926_DSC_0883.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/17192_DSC_0884.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=17192_DSC_0884.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/10846_DSC_0885.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=10846_DSC_0885.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/25041_DSC_0886.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=25041_DSC_0886.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/18605_DSC_0888.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=18605_DSC_0888.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/21030_DSC_0889.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=21030_DSC_0889.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/23326_DSC_0892.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=23326_DSC_0892.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/4685_DSC_0893.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=4685_DSC_0893.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/1630_DSC_0894.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=1630_DSC_0894.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/32559_DSC_0910.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=32559_DSC_0910.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/7630_DSC_0914.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=7630_DSC_0914.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/25420_DSC_0915.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=25420_DSC_0915.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/23640_DSC_0917.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=23640_DSC_0917.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/24189_DSC_0919.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=24189_DSC_0919.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/12948_DSC_0926.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=12948_DSC_0926.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/1317_DSC_0929.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=1317_DSC_0929.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/15223_DSC_0938.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=15223_DSC_0938.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/9505_DSC_1004.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=9505_DSC_1004.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/12230_DSC_0895.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=12230_DSC_0895.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/21837_DSC_0906.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=21837_DSC_0906.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/17755_DSC_0939.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=17755_DSC_0939.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/10200_DSC_0944.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=10200_DSC_0944.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/11391_DSC_0948.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=11391_DSC_0948.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/26913_DSC_0952.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=26913_DSC_0952.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/32417_DSC_0958.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=32417_DSC_0958.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/21603_DSC_0965.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=21603_DSC_0965.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/12325_DSC_0969.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=12325_DSC_0969.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/27111_DSC_0992.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=27111_DSC_0992.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/19110_DSC_0996.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=19110_DSC_0996.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/16833_DSC_0997.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=16833_DSC_0997.JPG)
http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/31598_DSC_0999.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=31598_DSC_0999.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/29412_DSC_1001.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=29412_DSC_1001.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/13925_DSC_1003.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=13925_DSC_1003.JPG) http://Serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/29196_DSC_0992.th.JPG (http://www.imagehigh.com/view.php?id=29196_DSC_0992.JPG)

[RC45]

Looks like you headed out towards New Ulm area? Past Brookshire etc? Nice turnout and looked like a blast.

Did anyone get any video of the front runners?

Nice activity to do for sure, but exactly what were the cops needed for? I am not sure I understand the logic of having an "escort" on pretty deserted country roads?

I mean a procession of Ferraris or any sports car for that matter would get the same treatment from locals they always get, friendly courtesy and appreciation for gas and or food business.

Based on previous experience with police escorted motorcycle rides/runs, all the police presence does is piss off people who see inappropriate service and use of offical capacity.

Does nto endere the group to observers. Just my opinion and observation ;)

I should imagine it also helps further inflate the egos of some of the drivers :P ;)

[sameerrao]

This is not a common occurance at all - the use of cops that is ... the guys normally take off on small groups unescorted to go on high speed runs like what we did a few weeks back. The guy who co-ordinated this has done this type of runs before in New Orleans - so he did the same this time.

But having experienced a run like this it is totally relaxing - don't need to bother with radar detectors or watch out for cops - very, very relaxing and one can concentrate on the road and driving completely. Very unique.

I am sure there were a few pissed off folk for sure but there were many, many more who took the opportunity while forcibly "parked" on the side to whip out the phones, cameras whatever to take pics of the convoy as they passed.

I bet some of them had never seen a Ferrari before! :lol:

[twboy1999]

awsome photo once again
and seems like a really cool event

[ZfrkS62]

hmm....what quote comes to mind with these pics?

"Yes..this is the one. I saw 3 of these parked outside the local Starbucks this morning. You know that tells me? There are too many self indulgent weiners in this town with too much BLOODY MONEY!"

:lol: :lol:

sorry, couldn't help myself :mrgreen:

Awesome shots Sameer! when you started talking about this run i knew you were going to get some good ones just based on the few shots you grabbed on our run. Cheers man, and thanks for sharing :D

[TT]

Must have been a blast :love:

Thanks for a huge load of pics! Despite fisheye (or almost) stuff isn't really my cup of tea usually, I saved quite a few :D too bad the rolling ones are always blurry :bah: but I know how difficult it is, even with a stabilizer if driving at average to high speeds

BUT I have suggestion for you.

I for sure appreciate the fact you post some VERY high-res pics, but IMO the quality is seriously lacking on them. Not only you need to compress them to make them "easier" to use on the net, but also, posting them so big, sharpness isn't really perfect.

resizing pics, not only allows you to save them at better quality, but most important, allows you to greatly improve sharpness (thanks of course to the sharp filter, used after resizing)

:arrow:

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/1139/13925dsc10031qt.th.jpg (http://img55.imageshack.us/my.php?image=13925dsc10031qt.jpg) becomes http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/3496/13925dsc10035md.th.jpg (http://img55.imageshack.us/my.php?image=13925dsc10035md.jpg)

http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/9783/22285dsc08532ed.th.jpg (http://img55.imageshack.us/my.php?image=22285dsc08532ed.jpg) becomes http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/3813/22285dsc08537kn.th.jpg (http://img145.imageshack.us/my.php?image=22285dsc08537kn.jpg)

[MidEngine4Life]

looks like heaven! I love this shot
http://serv1.imagehigh.com/files/ih000001/32417_DSC_0958.th.JPG

[sameerrao]

Hey TT, thanks for the advice mate ... I played around with a few shots doing the re-size and sharpness bit - it works out much better than the high res version.

The JPEG compression to bring it to a file size under 800kb was what was killing it. I was using the sharpness filter earlier but with the compression the impact was lost.

Guys keep giving me advice - that's the only way I will improve.

[yeckmohr]

Hey Man,
i'm not tht big Ferrari Fan, but these pics are incredible.
Thanks for sharing.
:wink:

[nthfinity]

looks like a nice time...

tomarrow morning is my first "run" with the F cars ever :) I can hardly wait! it will be a bit of a Ferrari Overload :lol: l

Hey TT, thanks for the advice mate ... I played around with a few shots doing the re-size and sharpness bit - it works out much better than the high res version.

The JPEG compression to bring it to a file size under 800kb was what was killing it. I was using the sharpness filter earlier but with the compression the impact was lost.

Guys keep giving me advice - that's the only way I will improve.
Well, after i took a couple of the local JW pros' advice, I only shoot in Raw now.... for a couple reasons.
1. PS can calculate a JPG much more cleanly then the camera can
2. the controls on color are 100 x more accurate, and IMO faster to work with.

about sharpness, i think TT's tutorial helps qutie a bit.
you lasso around the car, then only sharpen that, and that will save on how much jpg space you are taking... but only sharpent the car after you have re-sized it.

beyond that, sharpness is a control of the lens more directly...

i'll let the others explain and give advice better :)

[sameerrao]

Have fun tomorrow Nth ... I'm sure you will have a blast.!!

Processing RAW is OK for few pictures but when you take about 200-300 pictures it becomes a big PITA. At least with JPEG you can browse thru the pictures in Windows Explorer and delete the worthless pics and focus on the rest. With the NEFs (Nikon RAW format), either you need to open it with Nikon Capture software on load it into Photoshop to see what the heck it is. It just takes too long.

I think I will continue to use a blend of JPEGs and RAW in future with heavy weightage to the former.

[sentra_dude]

8) :P

Whoa sameerrao, that looked like an amazing day! A really good turn out too, wow, a lot of really nice Ferraris there. I'm really glad to see the black F50 showed...that's such a badass car, especially so with the roof on. I believe that car has something like 25,000+ miles :shock: (I could be way off, I just know its a good bit, and for a while it was a daily driver :!:, on the bumpy streets of New Orleans no less, talk about hardcore! 8)).

Great pics, but as to tips...I'm no pro myself, but the fisheye lens, its nice for a few shots, but it does get a little tiring, since it distorts the edges, especially when people are in the picture, they look a bit weird. ;) Great pics tho!

Franco is the guy who organizes the French Quarter Classic (http://www.frenchquarterclassic.com/) over in New Orleans, which is just a blast, so I'm sure this was tons of fun. Sameerao, you should really think about clearing your calendar for Nov. 4th-6th this year and making the trek to New Orleans! :D ;)

[sameerrao]

Sentra:
--> I will see if I can make it to the French Quarter Classic this year - it is a legendary event.
--> It is a 12-24 wide-angle lens and not a fisheye. The main reason that I use it is that I was to lazy to walk about 20-30 feet from the car in order to capture it with my 70-200 lens (it cannot take car pics closer). Maybe I should use the 70-200 more and avoid the wide-angle lens unless it is a group of cars that I am photographing or if I am trying to accentuate the curves. And even if I use the wide-angle maybe I should focus on 24 end of it and not the ultra-wide end of it.

Bmuller-
Yep it is a Gallardo that missed the run but joined us afterwards for lunch.

[davide]

wow... I have to tag along with our Porsche Club, which I'm a member of (but no porsche :( ), this was awesome!

Police escort and everything, really cool!

Thanks for the pictures!