Yesterday in the press conference at Monza, Jean Todt, Chief executive of Ferrari S.p.a., Andrea Bozzoli, Commercial and Marketing Director; Antonello Coletta, head of the Corse Clienti and Roberto Vaglietti, head of Ferrari Classiche, participated in a meeting with the press at the Ferrari Finali Mondiali 2006.

Jean Todt drew attention to how the World Finals represented "a special weekend for clients, who are our representatives in the world and who take the company's patrimony around the world. During the year it is Formula 1 that enjoys high visibility and so we would like to dedicate this event to our clients and celebrate with them". Todt touched on the themes mentioned during the press conference, underlining how, for Ferrari, races are not only represented by Formula 1 but also by the activities of the clients, who are an important foundation for the company. The chief executive especially highlighted the year's new projects. These include the special FXX programme, the Ferrari single make championship, the Historic Challenge, the F1 Clienti and the GT competitions.

Andrea Bozzoli then analysed these issues in more detail: "Corse Clienti is one of the activities that has become established over the past few years", began the Marketing and Commercial Director. "Ferrari would like to build an ever closer relationship with its clients. I would like to see them have a personalised relationship based on their particular needs. One example is the possibility of using single-seaters with an F1 Clienti dedicated team. We have a long tradition of single-make championships. This year is the fourteenth and has seen the establishment of the F430 Challenge. In historic Challenge, clients can continue the great tradition of Ferrari classic cars and, in 2006, the FXX programme has been added. To conclude, we should remember the support given to GT competitions: after twenty years we have claimed the Constructors', Team and Drivers' titles in the FIA GT2 as well as the ALMS championship. Talking of gran turismo, we should make clear that Ferrari's programme is based on the F430 GT2 and, at the moment, there are no GT1 programmes".

Antonello Coletta, head of Ferrari Corse Clienti, then gave a very positive overview of the year, spearheaded by a new, high performing GT car. "We also triumphed in the Italian and English championships and we are leading the Spanish series: twenty-eight races won in total. The 2007 package will be on the track from November. The ALMS championship will be very important and we would like to have the same aims as in the FIA. Our single-make championships end here. In the fourteenth year since the Ferrari Challenge we introduced the new F430 Challenge.
 

"It has been a fortunate year with 130 cars on the track divided into three championships: the Italian, European and USA. In the Historic Challenge, we fielded nearly eighty cars, among them many unique and priceless models. Despite the high value of the cars, our clients really compete and put on exciting races. 2006 was also the FXX's debut year. We have seen the enthusiasm of the clients and a record year for Formula 1 Clienti with 37 cars ensuring excitement levels are high".

Roberto Vaglietti, who oversees Ferrari Classiche, outlined the aims, structure and functioning of the newly created Maranello department. "At the company there is a department dedicated to vehicles produced twenty or more years ago. The objective is to safeguard the vast and important patrimony. The site is the oldest in the company, the foundry, and includes an archive with the technical designs and rundowns of the cars produced as well as the maintenance handbooks. The project is based on the guidelines for certification. This offers clients the chance to authenticate their car after a technical and document check. The COCER - the certification committee - is made up of Piero Ferrari, Jean-Jaques His, Nillo Zagni, Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Angelo Bedei and Roberto Vaglietti himself. Their task is to consider and certificate the cars. The workshops activities offer the clients the chance to restore and repair the cars, as well as reconstruct spare parts based on original designs.

Discussing the FXX programme, Andrea Bozzoli added: "It has been a year since the FXX programme was set up. We would like to state that we have not sold 29 vehicles plus one - that purchased by Michael Schumacher - but that we have attracted 29 clients plus one. They are making a huge contribution to the development of new cars. This year there have been seven occasions on which each driver has covered over a thousand kilometres. Further, all the technicians involved in the FXX programme have experience in Formula 1. These events will be repeated next year and the feedback, including technical data, is very important, both for the development of the FXX and also the new supercar that we will be developing in the near future."