FIORANO. CRUCIBLE OF THE SCUDERIA’S RACING efforts and the place where countless legendary road cars have been put through their paces. The most famous test track of them all has been central to Ferrari’s activities for more than half a century. Tifoso or not, it is sacred ground.
Arriving at the gates is always a goosebumps moment. Getting beyond security is always a challenge – even when you’re an invited guest attending an international media event they are as welcoming as US Immigration – but once inside you can’t help but lose yourself in the specialness of this place.
It’s tidier than in the old days, the track and its surroundings developed and groomed for an increasingly customer-facing role. Still, if you manage to slip away from the media scrum and find a quiet space in the old courtyard, you can picture Villeneuve, Berger or Schumacher scuffing around with overalls casually rolled down while their mechanics make some set-up changes. Or perhaps feel the spectral presence of the Old Man, sitting in his office listening to the wail of a solitary Grand Prix car carried through his office window on the warm Modenese breeze.
It’s all too easy to over-romanticise anything to do with Ferrari, but with good reason. There’s certainly no doubting the power of the fairy dust it sprinkles over Maranello’s most special cars. Cars like the SF90 XX.
It’s a
