On Sunday the whole world of Ferrari, including new F1 signing Fernando Alonso and the recovering Felipe Massa, were at the Valencia circuit to celebrate the end of the motorsport season together some of the fans of the Prancing Horse.

On Sunday the whole world of Ferrari went onto Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit to celebrate the end of the motorsport season together with the fans of the Prancing Horse. At its debut on the Spanish track, the 16th edition of this traditional event usually connected to the home race tracks, the F430 taking part in the Italian, European and North American series of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli went onto the track to fight for the world title, while the historical cars from the Shell Historic Challenge held this season’s conclusive race. Apart from the exciting final stages of the motorsport season the spectators could follow the free practice sessions of the historical cars maintained by the F1 Clienti department in Maranello and the Ferrari FXX part of the development programme bearing the same name.

The unforeseeable race held by the Trofeo Pirelli drivers crowned champion Lorenzo Casé: behind the driver from the Motor/Piacenza team Marco Mapelli (Rossocorsa) and the Austrian Philipp Baron (Baron Service) crossed the line, while amongst the gentlemen drivers in the Coppa Shell it was Vincenzo Sauto, with Erich Prinoth and the Ferrari started by the Ineco/MP dealership, who won the title. The Italian crossed the line ahead of Gianluca Carboni (Rossocorsa/Pellin) and Massimo Mantovani (Motor/Malucelli).

In its fourth and final race even the Shell Historic Challenge found its 2009 champion: the Mexican driver Nicolas Zapata, who has been taking part in the extraordinary series dedicated to the jewels from the history of the Prancing Horse for more than ten year, won the overall classification behind the wheel of a magnificent 1956 Ferrari 625 TR. Victory in the race for grid A, for the cars with drum brakes, went to Sean Danaher with the 1938 Maserati 6CM, ahead of Gigi Baulino, behind the wheel of a 1954 Maserati 250F and the new champion Nicolas Zapata. The race for grid B, with cars with disc brakes, was won by Dieter Roschmann with the 1970 Ferrari 512 M, ahead of Darius Ahrabian, behind the wheel of a 1992 F40 LM and Mister John of B with a 1980 Ferrari 512 BB LM.

After the intense racing it was time for a show with the protagonists from the Gran Turismo championships: in front of the more than 17,000 spectators Gimmi Bruni, Toni Vilander, Niki Cadei and Alvaro Barba Lopez took turns behind the wheels of two F430 GT2 from AF Corse, the team which won the constructors’ and teams’ titles in the FIA GT Championship, next to the Ferrari, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by the Risi Competizione team drivers Jaime Melo and Pierre Kaffer. The spectators gave Felipe Massa an enthusiastic welcome: the Brazilian driver, accompanied by Giancarlo Fisichella, Marc Gené and Luca Badoer, performed behind the wheel of a F60 at the traditional Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro show, while he was joined on the track by the local hero and future Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso.

A satisfied Luca di Montezemolo left the Ricardo Tormo di Cheste circuit yesterday. "I am very satisfied by this day. We were warmheartedly received by the fans and there were numerous clients, who didn’t want to miss this event, coming here from all over the world,” the Ferrari Chairman said. “Things like this make us proud to be part of the Ferrari family, a group of incredible people, who build dream cars and who never give up.” Naturally Montezemolo made some reference to the next Formula 1 season: “For me Felipe and Fernando are the best drivers couple in Formula 1. I am convinced that they both will be very motivated and will want to win. I am not worried about having two Latin drivers, which may be for the first time in our history. They both know very well that first of all they are racing for Ferrari and not for themselves. I enjoy reminding you that here we have a real team spirit; not just in words but in reality: an example is the relationship we have with a person like Michael Schumacher, who this year didn’t hesitate to be available to help the team in a difficult moment.”

Sunday was the first day when the whole of the 2010 Scuderia came together. Alonso’s public debut as a Ferrarista started with an entertaining episode. When the Spanish driver, on board of a Ferrari California with his future teammate Massa and driven by Chairman Luca di Montezemolo, tried to get as close to the grandstands in turn 1 as possible, the car got stuck in the gravel of the run-off area. Therefore the spectators got a good view and enough time to greet their local hero. The trio was “rescued” by the second California on the track, driven by the President of the Comunità Valenciana, Fernando Camps, with Valencia’s mayor Rita Barberà on board. Once the three guests had been collected the light blue car drove back to the box and the passengers went for a walk onto the track along the main straight. “This is a very important day for me, because here I can understand what the world of Ferrari is really like,” Alonso told the spectators. "In 2010 I hope to fight for the world title together with Felipe and that all the fans can be proud of us and our professionalism.”

If it was Alonso’s first participation in the Finali Mondiali, it wasn’t Massa’s debut, but it definitely was a special day for him. The Brazilian driver, was back behind the wheel of “his” single-seater, the F60 he had to leave after his accident in Budapest on 25 July. It wasn’t the first time Massa sat behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car since his accident. He drove several laps in Fiorano on 12 October, but this was just an appetiser. yesterday he was driving in front of the Ferrari fans, which had a special flair to it. “I am very happy to be here, that I can work with the team,” Massa said. "It’s true that I’ve been with them in Sao Paulo and in Abu Dhabi, but driving is really extraordinary! Today I also want to thank all the fans, who were really close to me over the last months. The messages I received were wonderful. Lets hope that we can give our fans some satisfaction in 2010: Fernando and I rally want to be the best couple in Formula 1." Massa drove around 20 laps, first with his teammates Gené, Fisichella and Badoer and later on, after a couple of pit stops, alone, before finishing with a parade together with the other Formula 1 single-seaters and the F430 GTs from the AF Corse and Risi Competizione team, the winners of the Constructor’s and Teams’ titles in the FIA GT and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans respectively. "It was fantastic and I am so happy. Although I could drive just a little, I really enjoyed being here," the Brazilian driver said at the end of the show. "I am very motivated: this today for me is like victory. It was just like before the accident at the Hungaroring."