As
some people may know, the 90 year anniversary of Maserati
has just been celebrated in Italy. There was some fuss
about the organization before. It was not totally clear
beforehand who could go and who could not. After some mail
and telephone calls to Italy we were told that we were
welcome with our Kyalami, of course after the payment of
a certain amount of money. We arranged the hotels for the
other days we wanted to spend before and after the event,
and off we went on Wednesday, September 15.
Without
any problems we arrived at the Swiss/German border on the
first day, and we found a small hotel in Rheinfelden, which
appeared to be the place where my car originally came from,
and where it spent about 20 years in a private museum.
The
next day we passed through Switzerland where I got my first
speeding ticket with the Kyalami. 14 Euros for the gross
crime of going 9 km/h too fast, which I found quite a bargain,
actually.
That
evening we reached Modena. The Factory arranged a hotel
for us, with a private parking garage. Great! We spent
the rest of the evening checking if everything in Modena
was still in place since last year. It was.
We
also found out that the meeting place for the next morning
was, in fact, around the corner from our hotel, so we could
shove the Kyalami if necessary, if it would fail to start.
Early
the next morning we arrived (the Kya fired immediately,
as always) and found the meeting place (Piazza Roma) to
be buzzing with activity. I guess about 150 classic Maseratis
were there or were just arriving. We registered and received
a bag full of goodies, like stickers (which we had to put
on the hood of the car), booklets and so forth. Then we
were taken to the Factory by bus, where several tents were
put up. The staff was not clear if we were entitled to
a cup of coffee or not (“no coffee yet, sir… Oh
yes, there is coffee. No. No coffee.. Yes. Coffee over
here”), but the pressure of the group was big enough
to convince them.
The
tour of the Factory was a short version of the one I had
last year, and we were not entitled to take any pictures.
Another group was, however, so it
seems we haven’t been persistent enough. Well, one can’t have all…
The
lunch in the other tent was perfect, as one will expect
in Italy. After that, we were allowed to enter the showroom
to buy the latest in Maserati fashion, like bathrobes,
polo shirts and so forth. When everybody got what he or
she wanted, we were taken back to the parking lot where
we lined up for the drive to Mugello. The start was like
the start of the Mille Miglia, with hundreds of cheering
people along the road. Although there was a police-escort,
we succeeded in getting lost after the first corner. Luckily,
we found our own way to the Autostrada, where we picked
up the rest of the group, or to put it in other words,
the rest of the group passed us at about 120 mph, which
didn’t seem to bother the Italian police the least.
We did our best, and it was fun to blast away with such
an enormous amount of classic Italian exotica.
Arriving
in Mugello, we parked the car on the paddock of the circuit,
and another bus drove us to our hotel, which was close
to Firenze (Florence). We only had time to take a shower
and dress for dinner, which was in a castle about 30 minutes
from our hotel in the same direction that we had just come
from.
In
front of the hotel some classic racing cars from the Panini
collection were parked, amongst them was the famous 250F
Eldorado, prepared especially for Indianapolis.
The
atmosphere was perfect, and I was astonished how they managed
to serve such an excellent meal to so many people at once,
spread over so many small rooms of the castle.
The
next day was Mugello day. There were regularity races on
the circuit, to participate in which one had to hand over
a medical statement. If you didn’t have one, it was
possible to get a (very brief) check-up at the spot, and
get the necessary papers anyway. I was very happy that
I had managed to get the Kyalami there in one piece and
didn’t want to risk the rest of the trip, so I declined
to drive it on the circuit, and took some pictures instead.
Some
of the things I will always remember are the sound of the
16-cylinder 1929 Tipo 4 and the looks and sound of the
magnificent A6GCS Pininfarina (which is the most beautiful
car I know) during a high speed pass on the straight end
in front of the pits.
Hostess
Maria Theresa de Filipis was also very determined to give
it a blast, notwithstanding her age. She did that with
her hair blowing in the wind, driving
a Vignale Spider.
Soon
it appeared that the drivers could be divided in two groups:
those who wanted to win the regularity thing (and actually
stopped on the track to pass the finish on the exact right
time!), and those who didn’t give a damn and just
wanted to hit the pedal to the metal.
We
chose to leave a bit earlier and head for Rome before the
others, so we could take it easy. We joined an ancient
3500 GT and brabbled the remaining 240 miles at a peaceful
80 mph, being passed by the group of 4200GTs and other
modern Masers who were in the 90th anniversary tour. Those
cars had enormous stickers on them (sponsored by 3M) each
depicting some event from the last 90 years (like the first
man on the moon in 1969, or the invention of the Barbie
doll in 1959 (!) Poor sods, having to drive the whole weekend
with an enormous Barbie doll on your Maserati. Now we are
talking a butch car, aren’t we?). I was told that
the stickers could be removed afterwards. Hopefully that
is true.
The
finish was at the Rome Hilton. When I stepped into our
room, I couldn’t help wondering if my credit card
would cover all this, but then I realized that all had
been paid for beforehand. The “normal” room
we had was, to say the least, adequate.
The
gala dinner that evening was in an adjacent castle. It
was a very festive occassion; everybody dressed in black
tie and evening gowns. An MC-12 was parked on the terrace,
sitting there looking quite happy with itself. Later on,
the President of Maserati, Martin Leach, unveiled the Maserati
Spyder 90th anniversary, which was especially adored by
the female part of the public, it seemed.
The
gala dinner was some kind of a deception. I must add that
there were about 400 mouths to be fed, but some of them
didn’t get the opportunity to get much in them. I
myself waited for the warm part of the meal after the (I
presumed) starter, but the only thing that came was ice
cream and pudding. Anyway, the evening was nice, the company
was entertaining and the food was miserable, to put it
short.
We
were longing for the gigantic beds in the Hilton, so we
didn’t stay till the last tune. Some did, and some
even went to go for a midnight boat ride on the Tiber River.
In Rome it happened to be Notte Bianca (White Night) that
night, which means that they simulate 24 hours of daylight
and the shops are also open. (In Europe this is rather
exceptional, you should realize).
This
very special boat tour seems to have been a real nightmare.
I heard that there was a bottle of wine and a bottle of
coke, and some music. The arrival back was supposed to
be at 4 AM, but actually it was at 5 AM, so the bus was
gone, and there were no taxis there at that time of the
night, so that some walked back to the hotel (which lays
on the top of a hill), a good two hour hike (on high heels).
So they arrived back at the Hilton at seven, right in time
for breakfast.
Nice
to know that a 650 Euro empty room has been there for you
all night, isn’t it?
The
next morning a big parade was to be taking place through
Rome. Now imagine Rome, a loud and busting city (even on
Sundays). Imagine 450 Maseratis, which have to go there
on a sightseeing trip in a close formation with police
escort. Imagine thousands of loud Italians going bezerk
when they have to stop. Get the picture? It was FUN!
The
groups of cars gathered again at a restaurant for lunch,
in the middle of Rome, and astonishingly we arrived all
right in time for a lunch that made us forget the gala
dinner before.
A
gathering near the Coliseum was the finish for us. Martin
Leach thanked everybody (and this time he didn’t
bother to try to speak Italian, which he had done on all
other occasions during the weekend) and some Italian politician
(I think it was the Minister of Transport) said some nice
(I think) words, too. Some people have been waiting there
as decoration and out of solidarity, but nothing happened
further. It kind of fizzled out for them.
This
ended the trip, and we spent more days in Rome on our own
before travelling back to Holland, again without a single
problem. Classic Maserati’s rule!
Luuk
de Weijer
Maserati Club Holland |
