Warren's Place

The demonstration laps of the 1913 Peugeot Indy car had just completed. In pit row, the #1 garage door slowly rolled open to reveal a bunch of Ferrari red jumpsuits pushing a car out into the pit lane. It was the exhibition that all of us had been eagerly anticipating. The F2003-GA was last year's Formula One world championship car as driven by the great Michael Schumacher. The contrast could not have been greater. After the aged, vintage Peugeot racer completed its relatively leisurely (by today's standards) exhibition, the F2003-GA seemed to be from another planet. Once the engine was started, the outrageous sound of it's high-revving V10 engine completely dominated the moment. The car was piloted by Ferrari factory test driver Andrea Bertolini. With every flick of the accelerator pedal, the engine would make it's high pitched shreik, like a million caged, angry bees on steroids. Bertolini drove four laps around the race course, going faster and faster with each succeeding lap. I've never seen a car go as fast around the track. And in about five minutes, it was over all too soon. Even so, it was an experience that I'll remember for a long time.

In the end, I have a new respect for the type of man who can successfully drive these amazing technological marvels, let alone win the world championship. I later found out that Michael Schumacher is the highest paid athlete on the planet, making an estimated $80 million last year.

Thanks for reading.

--Warren

Some specifications on the Ferrari F2003-GA:

V-10
1325 lbs.
930 bhp @ 19,000 rpm
7 speed electronically shifted sequential transmission

Here's a picture of the F2003-GA that I found on the Web:



Factory crew hovering around the car in pit row: