F1 Traveler Magazine | March 2013

Red Red Texas.by Joey Franco

Umberto Bonfa and Emmanuel Anassis

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The 2012 United States Grand Prix was an event not to be missed by any Ferrari fan in Texas.

Between the 32 Ferrari 458s that com-peted in the Ferrari Challenge, the vintage F1 ve-hicles in the Historic Grand Prix, and the six teams (Ferrari, Sauber, Toro Rosso) powered by the Ma-ranello based marque, there were probably more Ferrari engines at COTA during GP weekend than any other manufacturer in racing.

This should come as no surprise to anyone who un-derstands the fabled history of the prancing horse.

The Ferrari Challenge, a single-marquee racing series created to allow Ferrari owners to compete with fellow Ferrari owners on some of the world’s greatest race tracks came to COTA during this his-toric weekend. Emmanuel Anassis of the Ferrari Quebec team won both races which took place dur-ing the weekend.

Ferrari Quebec President Umberto Bonfa could not be prouder of the outcome, stating, “When the Fer-rari Challenge series takes part at a Formula One venue, it gives the series and our dealership much more visibility- thus putting the Montreal and Aus-tin venues on a whole different level.”

Bonfa is quick to note that Enzo Ferrari went into business in 1947 to race and that the street cars which he produced at the time were initially only a source of income to finance his racing ac-tivities. “Today we should be honored that this race car company also builds the best luxury street and sports cars using that same racing DNA,” said Bonfa.

Altough many spectators at COTA might see a clear difference between a “street Ferrari” and an “F1”, Marco Mattiacci, President & CEO of Fer-rari North America delineated a clear relationship between what happens at the street level and on an F1 circuit. “It [the relationship] is fundamental be-cause there is a very important transfer of technol-ogy,” said Mattiacci.

“Our clients understand the return on the develop-ment in Formula One, which is the most important automotive competition in the world. It is absolute-ley appreciated,” added the Chief Exectutive of Ferrari’s North American operations.

“Ferrari is emotion and passion,” explained Mr. Bonfa, noting that this phenomenon is easy to explain just by looking at the COTA grandstands where the majority of fans are wearing red and waiving around a prancing horse flag.

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