Canada gets Ferrari's first North American driving school

A "sei-stella" experience would perhaps be the ideal way to express what Ferrari has in mind for the "pilota" who visit its first official driving school in North America, but for the folks who "non parla italiano" the point also works in English -- "six-star."

(Photo: Ferrari North America)

That's the way Marco Mattiacci, the vice-president of marketing for Ferrari North America, describes the Ferrari Driving Experience, a two-day training session in F430s around the recently renovated Mont Tremblant track, with nights in one of the 30 largish suites at the Quintessence Hotel, all of which look out onto Lac Tremblant.

There's a six-star price to go with this of course -- US$8,200, which hurts a bit more in Canadian funds but does cover a pretty good looking time on the track, where you will not -- wink, wink -- be trained to race, but to drive safely at high speed.

The school is part of a growing bond between the Modena firm and Canada, says Mattiacci, which probably started to develop when Gilles Villeneuve drove for the Scuderia and includes the events around the popular F-1 race in Montreal.

Anyway, the tariff shouldn't scare away people who spend six figures for the car itself and then drop $25,000 (on average) for a bunch of customizing touches, which Mattiaccia says is what every buyer in Canada does now, with the dollar value going up 40 percent in 2005 alone.

(Photo: Ferrari North America)

The program is open to please Ferrari owners of course, but it is possible that there might be spots available for non-owners as the year develops. Mattiacci suggests non-owners pay regular visits to the website at www.experienceferrari.com for updates on that.

That is also the website for Ferrari owners looking for more information or a place to sign up, though any of North America's 36 stores (including two in Toronto and one each in Montreal and Vancouver) can also help you.

Whoever attends the programs will join about 14 other drivers sharing a dozen new F430 models, with lots of instructors to go around.

All of the instructors are approved by Ferrari and "trained at the professional level," Mattiacci says, with backgrounds that include road racing experience in North America as well as in Europe. "All instructors have years of experience instructing both novice and advanced drivers in other driving schools as well as in the Ferrari Challenge," he promises.

These instructors will be helping the "pilota" to learn various driving techniques including threshold braking, vehicle weight transfer, managing acceleration, maintaining the correct driving line, and "discovering the limits of adhesion" in wet and dry conditions.

(Photo: Ferrari North America)

"The school takes a step-by-step approach beginning with vehicle dynamics," Mattiacci says, "and progressively builds your skills, culminating in invigorating lapping sessions around the complete Mont-Tremblant race track."

Most of the day will be spent on the track, but there will also be several classroom sessions where driving theory and driver analysis will be "reviewed in detail."