Enjoy Ferrari 2007

Sunday 3rd June 2007
Organised by Roy Twycross

Roy Twycross is the organiser of previous Ride In a Ferrari and Help Fight Spinal Muscular Atrophy events. This year he's organising something a little different and has written the following preview report to describe this exciting event:

I am writing with an invitation to a new event to be staged at a familiar venue in south Dorset. This new event, to be called Enjoy Ferrari, will be a static show at which I will invite members of the Ferrari Owners Club, Bentley Drivers Club and the Pre-'50 American Auto Club to show their cars to the public in return for a £20 donation to the Jennifer Trust, at Wyevale Garden Centres branch at Owermoigne on the A352 Wareham Road south east of Dorchester.

This new event will be held on Sunday 3rd June 2007 between 11am and 5pm. Different event, different day and different timings it was felt but at the same venue as my previous Ride In A Ferrari events. I intend to have four areas on the show day - one for each of the above car Clubs, Charity members and the general public of course, to Enjoy Ferrari, Enjoy Bentley and Enjoy Classic American Cars and a mixed area for owners of Porsche, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz cars I am looking to invite through knowing owners in either their respective Clubs or, individually.

I am aiming to have at least 15 cars in each section with the emphasis, as the name of the event would suggest, on Ferrari, with perhaps as many as 20 examples in that section. After all, this is going to be the 60th Anniversary year of Ferrari production and the 40th Anniversary of the Ferrari Owners Club, not to mention the 20th Anniversary of the F40 model. Mind you, I wouldn't want the other participants to be overshadowed!

The event will be staged in an L-shaped area just inside the main site entrance. The venue will be familiar to those who have taken part in, or who have followed news of my previous event, Ride In A Ferrari, based at the same location. For those of you who have followed my progress since suggesting this new event, I did try many different locations for a new venue but all to no avail mainly due to cost. When I returned and asked about staging it with Wyevale, the manager was almost offended that I would suggest taking it anywhere else, so keen is he to have this new event staged there that he has once again offered hospitality for free!

Enjoy Ferrari will be an informal gathering of like-minded enthusiasts to meet and discuss their ownership of such cars and will raise money and awareness for the Jennifer Trust for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, whilst giving a donation of a third of the profit to the Renal Unit at Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester. A work colleague nominated them for a donation from my event.

I intend opening the show to the public of course and asking £8 per head to see the cars take part in the event in the extended grounds of the superb garden centre facilities with views from the top of the field overlooking south Dorset. Club or Charity members are invited to bring a picnic. I am hoping to entice the owners of certain Ferrari's to offer rides just as Tom-Bola, raffle or auction prizes. The 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo which attended in 2005 proved so popular, rides were pre-booked for the whole day by around 10:30. It has been suggested already that auctioning the rides would be the best way to make a lot of money. As an alternative to rides in many cars, I have asked if any owners would be willing to let the great British public sit behind the wheel, perhaps for a photograph, and to sample what life on the open road in a car such as these, would be like, in return for another donation?

A small number of traders will be invited with stands selling motoring-related memorabilia. There will be a Tom-Bola draw throughout the day with again, motoring-related prizes as well as one or two donated items to make further money for the JTSMA and the hospital unit. An invitation will be going out to Meridien Modena, the Ferrari dealer at Lyndhurst and again to Straight Eight Bentley in the New Forest who kindly provided a Continental GT to give rides as a "guest" car at the last Ride In A Ferrari event held in June, 2006. I will be asking both Meridien and Straight Eight whether they would like to not only bring cars but to stage a display and perhaps bring regalia items to sell.

All those interested in this new and exciting opportunity to meet with those who will share the experience of their ownership of any of these fine cars, whilst donating and helping to raise money and awareness for the JTSMA, will be very welcome indeed. If you are an enthusiast of one of these types of cars like me, perhaps you would like the opportunity to look over the participants' "pride and joy" for your own chance to either Enjoy Ferrari, Enjoy Bentley or Enjoy Classic American cars and with the extras I'm hoping to invite giving you the chance to perhaps Enjoy Porsche, Enjoy Aston Martin or Enjoy Mercedes-Benz, who knows?

Please do not hesitate to contact me for further details (through the Charity office) or look out for upcoming news right here (thanks again Gareth!) at where else but: www.jtsma.org.uk/ferrari

Roy Twycross

Update 8/1/2007

Dorset police have said that a limited number of Ferrari rides in the event will be allowed, but only as auction or raffle prizes. Roy is hoping owners of certain cars will be nominated for this. Rides in Bentleys and classic American cars may also be offered subject to owners' agreement.

Update 2/2/2007

Roy reports that interest is growing in the event, and a Google search has led one kind owner (Dan Potter) to agree to bring his Trans-Am to the event and he will be mentioning it to his club, http://www.solent-renegades.co.uk which may lead to more cars! You can see the car in question at www.solent-renegades.co.uk/cars-dan2000trans-am.asp.

Update 19/2/07

Update 2/3/07

Update 27/4/07

Added to the Tom-Bola draw this year is a book by Geoff Willoughby, one of the very first members of the Ferrari Owners Club. Mrs June Willoughby, Geoff's widow, and well known within Ferrari owning circles will be a particularly welcome special guest this year.

A Ferrari owner who has attended previous years with his exotic Ferrari F40 and F50, is hoping to bring one of both of his recently acquired Ferraris, a 575 SuperAmerica (below, right) and an alloy bodied Ferrari 275 GTB from the 1960s (below, left).

Roy attended the Wessex Ferrari Owners Club Area Group in April. As a result Roy is hoping to see his favourite car attend this year's event: a 456M GTA model (below, left)

Expect also to see a Ferrari F512M (above, right), the last generation of the Testarossa line and a "guest" Mercedes-Benz W123-series coupe. Both owners contacted Roy after reading the articles in the Ferrari Owners Club and Mercedes-Benz Club magazines.

Roy's recent Silverstone track day visit should also lead to the arrival of some guest cars courtesy of the "Three Shires" Ferrari owners club, based around Northamptonshire. Attendance by the Wessex and Westcountry Area groups should also see a good range of Ferraris presenting at the vent.

The Dorset Police traffic division's Chief Inspector has approved two convoy rides in the Ferrari's during the day. This was an idea proposed by one of the Ferrari owners - to have the lead car as a pace car sticking to the speed limits and all the other drivers following in line to make a spectacle on the road. Therefore there will be a limited number of rides in the Ferrari's available as well as rides in the Bentley and American cars throughout the day.

Join beneficiary of this year's event is the Renal Unit at Dorset County Hospital.  They were nominated by a colleague of Roy's and will receive one-third of the money raised, with two-thirds benefiting to Jennifer Trust. Next year Ridgeway Ward at Dorset County Hospital will be receiving a share of the proceeds and Roy hopes they will be able to finish their Resources Room started with the £1225 they received in 2006.

Update 21/5/07

Roy has had an offer from a professional photographer to take pictures of people sitting behind the wheel of cars during the day.  Alan MacNee (aka "Mac") freelances for various publications - his work on the Ferrari events has appeared in the Western Gazette in the last few years - and has kindly waived his fee. The photos will be available through the Jennifer Trust website after the event so and you'll be able to buy your own souvenir pictures by donation to the JTSMA.

Roy also has confirmed an exhibitor for the event, John Lawson of the Yew Tree Gallery in Gloucestershire - see www.yewtreegallery.net for more details. John's stall will sell motoring and motor racing pictures with a 10% "cut" benefiting the event's fundraising.  He has also said he will donate a set of prints for the Tom-Bola prize, which you can see below:

With Roy's enthusiam and the support of many generous owners of prestigious cars, it looks like this is going to be a great event - so block out your diaries!

Event Supporter

The supporter for this year's event is Dorchester Motor Company, Allington Avenue, Dorchester, DT1 1EX. The company are a non-franchise service and repairs specialist for Japanese cars.

See also:

• Read Roy's Article about Organising Ride in a Ferrari.
• Read the event reports for previous years: 2006, 2005 and 2004.
• Read the event details for previous years: 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003 on our Fundraising Events Archive page.