599XX and FXX at Spa-Francorchamps w/Video
#1
09-24-2011, 08:15 AM
599XX and FXX at Spa-Francorchamps w/Video 
599XX and FXX at Spa-Francorchamps
Hey guys!
Thought I'd make a little thread to share my experience with a little written article, as well as with some pictures and videos I made from a day at Spa-Francorchamps racetrack (Belgium), where I was lucky enough to see some Ferrari FXX and 599XX on road, as well as some F1s. First of all, I'd like to thank my friends that made this possible (Thomas and Vincent), as well as Arthomobiles (Arthomobiles, Carnet de voyage d'un passionn la poursuite du cheval cabr) for the info! So except some quality pictures and a much more detailed report from him too!
The two days I spent there were pretty incredible, that's for sure. I was spared by the weather the first day and it was almost sunny. The second day, on the other hand, was cold and a bit rainy. At Spa, there were the FXX and 599XX programs, as well as some F1 Clienti. In other words, the lucky owners who were free could take their exclusive cars to the track! There were only two FXX (let's not exagerate by saying I was disappointed haha) and about 15 599XX, and a bit more than 10 F1s. I was lucky enough to be able to freely walk in the paddock area as well as the pitlane, which gave me total freedom for taking pictures and videos, and finding nice view angles.
The first thing that I was impressed with is the logistic deployed by Ferrari: everything is well organized and taken care of! The huge red trucks outside gives you an idea of their means and what they can do = they don't mess around! There were 3 to 4 Ferrari mechanics for each car, and they did a wonderful job keeping them clean and 100% efficient between runs! Each XX has its own tool box, but it's no ordinary toolbox = 2 x 1,5 meters wide and 1 meter tall. Quite impressive. The care and attention they gave to each car was astonishing, always checking carefully each part: tires, interior, brake disks and so on. They had two boxes in the paddock only for stocking tires = that was also quite impressive. The paddock are was very clean, and seeing all of those cars next to each other was quite a view, and a privilege! Red was the dominant color, as you might expect from Ferrari. However there also were two white 599XX (one even had a grey racing stripe) and a yellow one (which didn't race, sadly). However, there was a vast array of different reds, which also shows the large palette available at Ferrari. A fun fact to know is some of the owners/pilots came to the track with their personal cars, and it was fun seeing other Ferrari parked outside. The ones I remember above all were two red 599 GTOs and a beautiful yellow Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.
The track time was separated with XX and F1s, with 20 to 35 minutes sessions. When their track time got close, all the XX were lined-up in the pit-lanes by the mechanics, one after the other, waiting for the green light. And off they went to the Spa-Francorchamps track, which is BEAUTIFUL. The sound of those beasts is, of course, the best thing a man car enthusiast can witness. The 599XX is, in my opinion, the best sounding of them all: the downshifts are simply CRAZY and sound like gunshots which echoed all around the track area and the forests all around. You could hear them throughout the whole area, and therefore knew when they braked and could easily guess more or less where they were, so you could anticipate them. From time to time, the cars stopped in the pitlanes during their session for multiple reasons: cool the brakes with what looked like intense leaf-blowers, take a new passenger, check with the mechanics if everything is allright... The turn after the straight line following Eau Rouge (I sadly didn't go there) is very interesting: after a long straight line, the cars brake. They brake hard. So hard the brake disks glow from all the heat and work they're doing = the sight is impressive and unique, especially when knowing, at the very same moment, you hear the downshifts.
The FXX also has an incredible sound, but much louder. Kind of like a constant swarm. In my opinion, although the FXX downshift is incredible in every way, I feel the 599XX's sound is a bit more melodic and pure. Could this be explained by +100 horse power difference between the cars? I wouldn't know, I just fell in love with the 599XX. But don't get me wrong, the FXX is a monster on the track, and you would regularly see them overtaking the 599XX on straight lines, or from lap to lap. Sadly I didn't see neither shooting flames. But the track had its king that day, and it was called FXX. No contest.
The F1 were much much louder, on a category of their own, as you might guess. We could almost call it "noise", and very very strident when they flew pass you. Wearing earplugs with the F1 was an absolute necessity for me! I could stand one or two cars, but it quickly became quite hard to bear when the 3rd and 4th arrived, and I didn't want to lose my earing while knownig I still have so many cars to hear!
Anyways, it was a great experience.
Now to cut things short, I'll leave you with the pictures and videos! If you watch the videos, make sure you watch them in 1080p using headphones = it's almost as if you were there! BTW, I haven't uploaded all the videos, nor treated all my pictures yet, so I'm bound ot upload the thread from time to time = be aware! Hope you enjoy!
Pictures:
Videos:
#6
09-24-2011, 02:22 PM
I'm glad you liked the story / pics / videos!
Thanks DJ!
#8
09-24-2011, 02:51 PM
That second video is a symphony from heaven. Such an incredible sound. Thanks a ton for sharing!!
