The eve of the 2016 Modena Cento Ore has seen cars and crew assemble in the Adriatic resort of Rimini. Whilst Tim had a fairly uneventful flight from HK via Milan, Richard, Keith and Chris drove overland from UK via Monza and over the fabled St Gothard Pass. Pounding across Europe in an Aston DB5 and Ferrari 355 is the stuff of dreams and replicated the iconic scene from the Bond movie Goldeneye with Bond racing Xenia Onatopp over the Alps. The journey was for the most part uneventful. However Keith’s 355 was making a curious knocking noise subsequently identified as a failed wheel bearing. Modena is probably the best place for this to happen and the car is now back at Ferrari being sorted out. We hope that’s the only mechanical failure on this trip.
Following scrutineering and a fabulous dinner at the Grand Hotel it’s an early start from Rimini to the Imola circuit where the first race starts at 9am. With the GT 40 running without silencers and an earlier sound check to ensure Richard and Tim can hear each other over the intercom while the engine is running, suggests that firing up the car at 7am on Wednesday will provide a wake up call to the whole of the Adriatic coast.
It’s an incredibly strong field this year drawn from 18 countries, but provided the E-type can stay out of the gravel and the GT40 can hold together unlike the first day of the Tour Auto in France last year, a hoped for steady run will bring positive news tomorrow evening when returning to Rimini for a cocktail evening hosted by Max Mara.
