Tom LaPointe's Exotic Car Lifestyle Notebook

Ramblings on exotic cars, the car market, and things with wheels overall. We especially love Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche, and all the events where you find them.

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Location: Dunedin, Florida, United States

I currently publish iParent Magazine in the Tampa Bay area and work as a freelance writer for Affluent Page Index, in NYC. I grew up in Michigan near the Motor City and finished high school in Fernley NV. After attending the University of Nevada as a music major, I joined the Marine Corps as a combat correspondent. As a writer and editor, I won many publishing awards for photography, writing and editing. What led me to the auto industry is simply this: I love cars. I have raced stock cars and sports cars and competed in Land Rover off-road competitions in Vermont and Colorado. I have been a pit official for the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, and a pit crewman for Indy and a Hooters Pro Cup races. I've served as a manager of both sales and service for one the largest luxury car groups in the world. I'm still active as an off-road instructor for Land Rover and HUMMER dealers and owners. I enjoy crawling an off-road vehicle through the most severe obstacles as much as heel-toeing sports cars into hairpin turns! I am also a freelance writer for several automotive publications.

May 12, 2009

Ferrari to leave F1??


After 60 years of continuous participation in Formula One competition (more than any other marque), Ferrari may not participate in the 2010 season as a result of FIA equipment rule changes that Ferrari feels are inappropriate.
Ferrari piggybacked the information on a financial press release this month, but it's sure to rock the racing world.
According to the press release, "The Board considers that if this is the regulatory framework for Formula 1 in the future, then the reasons underlying Ferrari’s uninterrupted participation in the World Championship over the last 60 years – the only constructor to have taken part ever since its inception in 1950 – would come to a close.
"The Board also expressed its disappointment about the methods adopted by the FIA in taking decisions of such a serious nature and its refusal to effectively reach an understanding with constructors and teams. The rules of governance that have contributed to the development of Formula 1 over the last 25 years have been disregarded, as have the binding contractual obligations between Ferrari and the FIA itself regarding the stability of the regulations.
The same press release showed Ferrari profits are down by about 10 percent of the same period last year, but saving more than $100 million on its F1 team are sure to reflect on the bottom line...unless Fiat plans to use those funds to bolster any takeover of Chrysler or GM's Opal division.
Time will tell, but I will miss the Scuderia gang on the starting grid, and hope the differences can be worked out.

posted by Tom LaPointe | 8:41 PM