Ferrari Club of America to hold meet on Hutchinson Island

The Ferrari Club of America’s 2011 International Ferrari Meet is under way. The five-day event kicked off Wednesday at the Hutchinson Island race track and runs through Saturday.

The event is open to the public for the very first time beginning today. Admission is $20 for adults, $10 for children 9 years old and up and free for children younger than 9. An expected 200-300 Ferraris, including all types of models, will be either competing or showcased over the course of the event. Thousands of people from around the world are expected to attend.

The meet kicked off at 8 a.m. Wednesday with the Grand Prize of America F1 and Formula Race Track Day as well as tech inspection of cars and a reception Wednesday night at the Westin hotel. The Ferrari Challenge Race 1 took place Thursday.

Today’s competition will feature the Historic Ferrari Challenge Race beginning at 11 a.m. and the presentation of the Seibert Cup. The Coppa GT Track Evaluation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. today. The day will conclude with the Make-A-Wish Charity Auction in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday’s action kicks off with a Charity Walk for the Juvenile Diabetes Association at 8 a.m. That will be followed by the Concours Car Show on the Westin golf course from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a fun run to Old Town Bluffton, S.C., to conclude Saturday.

The meet will come to a close Sunday morning with additional awards being presented.

The meet is a charity event, with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Juvenile Diabetes Association. About $21,000 was raised last year without the event being open to the public, and this year officials are hoping that more than $100,000 will be raised with the extra revenue coming in.

Piper Aircraft jets

to be displayed

Piper Aircraft, Inc., which also is sponsoring the International Ferrari Meet, will be displaying some of its new aircraft at the event.

“The Ferrari meet is a great occasion to feature Piper programs and airplanes before a contingent of people with an appreciation for styling and performance and the wherewithal to become aircraft owners who may not yet be pilots,” Piper Executive Vice President Randy Groom said in a statement. “This is an opportunity to tell them about our Ready, Set, Fly program that helps new Archer LX owners learn to fly safely and efficiently in their own aircraft at our Vero Beach, Fla., facilities.

Ferrari Club of America gears up for Savannah meet | savannahnow.com

The otherwise peaceful and serene Westin golf course on Hutchinson Island was anything but that on Friday, as the Ferrari Club of America hosted its second media day at the surrounding race track in preparation for the 2011 International Ferrari Meet, which will be held at the track June 8-11.

Twelve various Ferrari models arrived in a convoy and took a quick speed lap around the track, sparking the curiosity of golfers, who stopped to take photographs and admire the cars. Among those displaying their cars at the media day was Savannah resident Alex Salguiero, who showed off his 2007 convertible top, black 430 F1 Spider, which he got from his brother in January after his brother acquired a newer car.

“It’s the last body style they came out with prior to the latest 458 model,” said Salgueiro, who traded in his older car. “It’s a lot nicer than the old car I had. It’s got a lot more comfort features, and it’s much faster.”

Beaufort, S.C. resident Gerald Cummings said he loves his 1999 360 Modena F1, which can go up to 180 miles per hour, as he raced it around the track for a test lap.

“You always want to hit the apex,” he said rounding a corner at about 80 mph. “It’s the fastest way to get around that corner. The best of the best hit it within a dime’s width every time.”

Salgueiro’s and Cummings’ Ferraris will be two of the expected 200 to 300 cars that will be competing and showcased in various races and shows in the upcoming event. For the first time ever, the meet will be open to the public for two days, June 11-12 at 8 a.m. each day, and thousands of people are expected to attend the event according to Ferrari Club of America spokesman and member Thomas Curry.

“We’re expecting people from all over the world to come,” Curry said. “The Westin hotel has been booked for this thing the past two months, so that tells us that this may be the biggest international meet we’ve had. People are going to see every possible kind of Ferrari out there race around the track.”

The meet is a charity event with proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and The Juvenile Diabetes Association. There will be a charity auction for Make-A-Wish and a walk for the JDA. Admission will be $20 for adults, $10 for children 9 years old and up and free for children under nine. Since the event is open to the public for the first time, Curry, who is on the Make-A-Wish Board of Directors and the founder of the Curry Foundation, anticipates that a more significant amount of money will be raised this year.

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