Bologna, 3 December - Giancarlo Fisichella, the Scuderia Ferrari driver who races in the GT Championships was the guest at “Incontri della Gazzetta,” the usual chance for fans to meet motor sport personalities, organised by the Italian daily paper “La Gazzetta dello Sport” at the Bologna Motorshow.

Fisichella faced a barrage of questions about his winning run in the GT championships, as well as about the F1 season just ended, which he answered both as a keen observer and based on his long experience as a Grand Prix driver. “This year, Formula 1 did not produce the expected results for Ferrari,” said Fisichella. “However, the team never gives up and is already concentrating on winning again. We have everything we need to succeed.”

Asked about his own future, the driver confirmed that once again next season, he would be racing for Amato Ferrari’s AF Corse team, with which he won pretty much everything this year. “In GT racing, alongside Gimmi Bruni and AF Corse, this year we took the Drivers and Team titles in LMS and the team one in ILMC, which contributed a great deal to Ferrari taking the Constructors’ trophy in both series. Next year, we face a new challenge in the shape of the World Endurance Championship, organised in collaboration by the FIA, which gets underway in Sebring next March. I cannot deny that, at first, I found it quite difficult switching to cars with enclosed wheels after a long time in F1, but with every passing race I managed to extract more of the potential of the cars that Ferrari gave us, so I was able to make my contribution to these important wins.”

On the subject of his brief time as a Ferrari driver in F1, following Felipe Massa’s accident in 2009, Fisichella explained how difficult he had found it to adapt to a very different car to the one he had raced up to that point. “I was unable to show what I could do, but I am still proud to have been able to do a few GPs in Ferrari colours. The Maranello Scuderia is still the dream of all drivers and for me, as an Italian, it represented one of the most exciting moments of my career.”

Before leaving the fans, Fisichella took the time to give some good advice to a very young kart racer who asked him how he could become a Formula 1 driver. “Always believe in yourself and if you really want it with every part of yourself, you can do it.” At the end of the meeting organised by the Gazzetta newspaper, Fisichella met members of the Scuderia Ferrari Club who got him involved in a pit stop simulation. After that he headed back to the Ferrari stand where he handed out the prizes to the Challenge drivers who had been racing today.

Bologna, 3 December – The opening day of the 36th Bologna Motor Show offered Ferrari fans a truly unique opportunity to see examples of the Maranello marque’s main racing activities.

The usual Ferrari activities at this event was split into three, two of them featuring races between no less than 16 cars from the Italian and European series of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli and the third, a Formula 1 demonstration run with Giancarlo Fisichella at the wheel.

The two races were run in three legs and best of those driving the 458 was Philipp Baron: the Austrian driving for the team that bears his name managed to take the win in the final, beating Stefano Gai (Rossocorsa) with Lorenzo Bontempelli coming home third for the Kessel Racing team, while Dario Caso (CDP) crossed the line fourth. Andrea Belluzzi came off best of the F430 drivers, in the Motor/Modena car. The driver from San Marino won this years F430 category in the Italian Trofeo Pirelli, as well as the overall title at Mugello during the World Finals. Behind him at the motor show came Riccardo and Roberto Ragazzi both running in Ineco/Ram colours. Just off the podium was Diego Romanini in a Rossocorsa/Pellin 458.

At midday, the race track in area 48 was the scene of the traditional demonstration from Scuderia Ferrari: Giancarlo Fisichella did some laps and a simulated pit stop at the wheel of an F10, the car that the Maranello team used in the 2010 World Championship, getting a very enthusiastic reception from the fans who packed the grandstands.

Bologna, 30 November – The 36th edition of the Bologna Motor Show provides the venue for the unveiling of an evolution of the extreme, non-homologated sports berlinetta, the 599XX. Ferrari has introduced a package of performance-enhancing technical features available to clients participating in the track-based research and development programme for the 2012-2013 seasons.

Already the fruit of the very finest Ferrari road car and Formula 1-derived technology, the 599XX now features improved chassis dynamics thanks to an active aerodynamic package integrated with the vehicles’ electronic control systems, and the adoption of new Pirelli tyres. The car is also more powerful than before (750 CV) and weighs 35 kg less.

The key to the aero package is the active rear wing design which represents a new aerodynamic concept called ‘opening gap’. The wing features two flaps, with profiles similar to those used in Formula 1, which rotate electronically to adjust the downforce between the front and rear axles in function of vehicle speed and the manoeuvre being effected. The result of this concept is better performance in cornering.

The 599XX active rear wing is actuated automatically according to specific parameters which are integrated with the car’s other control functions (ESP, ABS, SCM and F1-Trac). As a result of this integration, all the electronic controls have been suitably recalibrated. The ‘opening gap’ system logic is based on the following parameters:
- steering wheel angle
- longitudinal acceleration
- lateral acceleration
- vehicle speed

The new aerodynamics package for the 599XX also includes a modified front splitter and a new rear diffuser featuring a larger surface area and redesigned fences and foot-plates. Total downforce at 200 km/h is boosted to 330 kg when the flaps are open and 440 kg in the closed configuration.

The adoption of side exhausts allowed the engineers to increase engine power by 20 CV to 750 CV (again at 9000 rpm), while maximum torque has been increased to 700 Nm. When combined with a final gear ratio that’s slightly shorter to improve acceleration on technical, medium- to high-speed tracks, the result is that the car laps Fiorano in just 1’15”.

The Ferrari stand at the Bologna Motor Show is devoted entirely to its racing activities and features the 458 Challenge, the mid-rear V8 berlinetta derived from the 458 Italia and Ferrari’s fifth model for its single-make championship. This series, now in its 19th year, will span three continents – Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

Also on the stand is the 458 Italia GT2 fielded by AF Corse. This is the car that won the Drivers’ and Teams’ title in the Le Mans Series and the Teams’ title in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, and also contributed to Ferrari’s taking the Manufacturers’ title in the respective championships. The line-up of track-only Prancing Horse models is completed by the 458 Italia GT3 which made a superb FIA GT3 debut by winning the Drivers’ title, and the FXX, Ferrari’s “laboratory” car and one of the most technologically advanced non-competitive models in the world.

On December 3rd, the Show hosts three events featuring the Prancing Horse, two of which will see no less than 16 cars from the Italian and European Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli series taking part in the traditional end-of-year challenge.

The extensive programme planned for the competition arena will culminate in the traditional Scuderia Ferrari salute with an exhibition of the F10, the single-seater with which Ferrari competed in the 2010 Formula 1 season. The car will have a very special guest driver on this occasion: Giancarlo Fisichella.

Maranello, 29 November – Ferrari Corse Clienti brings its racing season to a close by taking part in the Bologna Motor Show, the international event being staged this year for the 36th time. The programme for this regular appearance to showcase racing activity has its highlight on track on 3rd December. There will be three events linked to the Ferrari brand, two of which involve no less than sixteen cars from the Italian and European series of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, which has seen action this season at some of the most famous circuits in the world, as they tackle two races with the 458 and F430. The two races will feature some of the stars of the 2011 season, the year in which the 458 Challenge made its debut and which, from next year, will be the only car used for this fascinating series aimed at the marque’s owners. So while the 458 Challenge makes its debut at the Motor Show, it will be a finale for the F430, a perfect way to end a career dating back to 2006.

The busy arena programme will also see Scuderia Ferrari put on a display with the F10, the car it used in last year’s Formula 1 World Championship, on this occasion in the hands of Giancarlo Fisichella.

On display in Bologna will be some of the cars that brought Ferrari great success in the most important GT championships: among the beautiful cars on show will be the AF Corse 458 Italia GT2, which took the drivers and team titles in the Le Mans Series and the team prize in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, which gave Ferrari the constructors’ titles in those series. Also on show will be a 458 Italia GT3 which made its debut this season in the FIA GT3 championship winning the drivers title. In addition visitors will be able to see the FXX, a laboratory car that represents one of the highest levels of car technology outside of racing.