Ferrari Trackday - F430 passenger ride!

[dingo]

I’ve been waiting for the day to get in an F430 and finally it arrived – I knew in August it will happen anyway but its bonus to get a taste beforehand.

There was an invite-only trackday for customers of the local exotic car dealer, and the owner of the 328 was kind enough to invite me along as his passenger.

It didn’t take long for the owner of the F430 F1 Spider to offer me a ride and I obviously jumped at it! This one came with the ceramic brakes and do they stop or what…..I nearly headbutted the dash the first time he stomped on them. :shock: The acceleration was obviously brutal, but since I’ve experienced quite a few supercars (F50, CS, Murci, GT2 etc) already I’m kinda used to it – but hard braking on a race track is just a whole new feeling.

Here is a video I took from on-board showing two of my laps:

:arrow: http://www.ozcarsightings.com/F430_onboard.WMV (10Mb)

And a short one of the Gallardo flooring it down the pits – awesome sound!!!

:arrow: http://www.ozcarsightings.com/Barbagallo_Gallardo.WMV (1.6Mb)

Now for some pics:

All 57 high-res pics can be viewed on my website :arrow: www.ozcarsightings.com


The 328 that I made the journey to and from the track in….




THE F430 Spider, my first – now I need a 348 to complete the list of V8 Ferraris as passenger.




Lambo Gallardo, hopefully I’ll get a ride in this at the next trackday….



A tuned GT2 with about 600hp….. :shock: How cool is the colour?



A few 360's also turned up....



The Superamerica made an appearance, but didn’t hit the track. :bah:



Another F430 Spider, this one is from the UK – the guy just moved here and took the car with him.



Lastly a Gransport that could do with some lowering...




All 57 high-res pics can be viewed on my website :arrow: www.ozcarsightings.com

[sentra_dude]

Very nice pics as usual! The vid is awesome, makes me wish I had a video camera. 8)

Thanks dingo!

[sikx5]

Great turnout there, some very nice machines. Good to see them on the track 8)

Downloadin the vid now, cant wait to check it out

[black_magician]

All those cars look terrific in the shining sun, really bring their paint shine out. 8)

[SPEEDCORE]

Nice pics and vids. I have only been luckly enough to sight them :bah:

[yg60m]

Thanks for sharing mate, pics and vids are great What are your feelings/impressions on the F430 and 328 ?

[nejcdolinsek]

WOW! Congrats! Must have been one hell of an experience!!!

That GT2 looks mean I'm guessing it was the fastest of the bunch Did they take lap times?

Thanks for the vids + pics... downloading now!

[Pehtren]

good stuff dingo the cars are all delicous, i cant say that one pic is rubbish

Thanks for the pics and vids they rock 8)

But i would love to hear you passenger experience

[dingo]

My impressions on the car.....well I'm not so good at putting it into words (like TT manages), but here are a few points.

The sound is the first thing that gets you, even at idle or just rolling around the pits you can sense something special lies beneath. Then once the bypass valves open (4000rpm or whatever it is) it gets more menacing, and in the Spider you can hear it all so well. Once you get up above 200kmh or so the wind noise gets a bit irritating (we had the roof down) but who am I to complain.

The F1 box seemed an improvement (over the 360), obviously hard to tell as passenger but they sure felt quick and alot smoother than in the CS/360 Spider.

The brakes - I think I made my point on them already, definately the standout feature of the ride! :shock:

One thing I would be doing if I had an F430 and tracked it is buy some proper seat belts, as in the corners I was flung all over the place - not held into my seat at all. :bah:

The owner also wanted to practice lauch control but unfortunately we discovered the LC button was broken so no playing around with that unfortunately.....maybe next time.

Its obviously hard to get a true impression of the driving experience from the passenger seat, so in August (when I've been promised a drive of an F430 in Alice Springs) I'll give you guys a better insight.

Originally Posted by nejcdolinsek ...Did they take lap times?

No, but from the video I timed the F430 at about 68-69secs.....I would say the GT2 was about the same, I don't think it would get around the corners as well as the F430.

[taygunho]

thanks for pics and videos dingo

[TT]

Well, respect dude! The list of cars you experienced is growing quite quickly! Very well done

Private trackdays are a PITA when you are not allowed in, but when you managed to be there, they are just 100 times better than regular "public" events! And indeed we see it in your pics: nobody around!

Thanks for pics and vids, some pretty nice cars! I have to admit I don't think red cars with red interior.. tan is so much better. But still

And the GT2 is a stunner :shock:

[dingo]

Originally Posted by TT ...Private trackdays are a PITA when you are not allowed in, but when you managed to be there, they are just 100 times better than regular "public" events! And indeed we see it in your pics: nobody around!

They run these trackdays every 2 months or so, and hopefully from now on I can attend most of them. It seems a great place/time to get rides, as firstly there are only maybe 20 people there and alot of cars turn up without a passenger.

Originally Posted by TT ...I have to admit I don't think red cars with red interior.. tan is so much better. But still

I assume you mean the F430? Well he actually had red satin sheets (with the Ferrari logo) over the seats, underneath is the tan interior. I assume it was to keep the seats clean, or free of sweat.

[TT]

Ah LOL okok I admit they looked like normal seats in the thumb, that I clicked and just saved the high-res w/o paying attention

[Lambofighter]

great!!!

[Darkel]

You're on a roll, dude
Great experience again, it shows how everything starts, you just have to meet a kind owner and who knows, soon you'll be the photographer for an online webzine (asphalte.au)

Nice pictures, I wish it was summer over here

BTW, is the GT2 guard red ?