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Ferrari
News
Crown
Casino Client Ferrari Stolen With Virgin Valet, by
Greg Tingle - 14th May 2010
Down
under in Melbourne, Australia, one casino punter was
feeling extremely lucky, pouncing on an opportunity
to steal (not win) a Ferrari F430, when a casino valet
handed him the keys. Media Man and Gambling911 follow
the story in high speed pursuit...
Melbourne
Police have now arrested the formally lucky punters
after a Crown Casino valet mistakenly handed over
the keys to a Ferrari F430 Spider and he took off
for a joyride lasting half a day to Coolaroo of all
places.
The
32-year cheeky fella was reportedly wearing a tracksuit
when a casino valet gave him the keys to the bright
red, V8 supercar about 12.30am today.
Police
advise the punter drove north up the Tullamarine Freeway
but was pinched by police about 6.30am as he fuelled
up at a servo in Coolaroo, on Melbourne's outer northern
region.
"He
is currently assisting police with their inquiries,"
she said.
Forensic
police will today examine the car, which has been
towed to a holding yard in Campbellfield.
The
attendant at the servo advised the man filled the
beast up with petrol before police nabbed the bandit.
"He
just filled up with petrol, came in here, paid for
it and the cops were outside and just got him,"
he said.
"The
cops I think were already after him."
The
happening starting to generate a serious of state,
national and international news stories, with Melbourne
3AW radio enjoying banter with a witness "Mark".
"Someone
walked out of the casino past me and the security
guard, got in and drove off,". The security guard
said to me - because he only had an old tracksuit
on - and he said 'you can't pick 'em can you'."
Crown
Casino spokesman, top brass, Gary O’Neill said
the incident was a first for the casino. He explained
customers using valet parking were provided with a
ticket to be returned to the casino parking attendant
when time to collect your car.
"It
has happened in the past from time to time that people
lose their tickets, and in these circumstances we
ask for proof of identification and a valid driver’s
licence. Those procedures were followed on this occasion,"
he said.
"The
procedures that we have followed in the past have
not resulted in this particular incident, but that’s
not to say our system is perfect," he said.
"We’re
cooperating fully with the police investigation."
Mr
O’Neill said the incident had been caught on
film by their CCTV cameras and the footage would be
handed over to police. Crown Casino is known for its
world class security, as is it's Sydney competitor
Star City. The Australian land casino industry was
forced to upgrade security in recent years following
a succession of undesirable incidents. Industry insiders
sometimes joke about the plastic handcuffs initiative
and footy and cricket stars getting pissed at casino
events but this matter was very serious in nature.
The casino wants its VIPs, high-rollers, whales and
the like to know that their transport is in safe hands
at Crown Casino.
Melbourne's
Police 'Highway Patrol' is known to be world class
and its understood that at least 99% of police corruption
as featured on Network Nine 'Underbelly' has been
cleaned up.
Crown
tag lines include 'World Of Entertainment' and 'Wear
The Crown'.
Mr
James Packer, Australian and Asia Pacific casino and
gaming king remains the owner of Crown Limited. He
also owns Burswood Casino aka Burswood Entertainment
Complex in Western Australia, and a number of interests
in Macau, Britain and new media - internet. Packer
remains passionate for sport, meeting Virgin king
Richard Branson last year at the Melbourne F1 Grand
Prix and enjoys polo, as did his late father Kerry
Packer.
Ok
you want more on the sports car...we hear you...
The
F430 went on sale in 2005 with the Spider convertible
going for a cool $444,000 AUD, plus options and on-road
costs.
F430
production was ceased earlier this year and will be
replaced by the flashy458 Italia, which we understand
has a two-year waiting list.
Casinos
have long been associated with fast cars (and fast,
sexy women). In recent years the online casino and
online poker sector has plugged into the demo, with
PartyGaming
and PKR
offering sports car as high level prizes.
Last
week Richard Branson's Virgin Racing came to sponsorship
terms with online poker powerhouse Full Tilt Poker.
The massive exposure of Virgin's F1 involvement on
a international scale was a key reason the deal went
ahead.
A
number of weeks before the public Virgin - Full Tilt
Poker deal, PartyGaming's PartyPoker
signed up F1 superstars Jaime Alguersuari and Giancarlo
Fisichella as brand ambassadors. Poker legend and
World
Poker Tour mainstay Mike Sexton remains the global
PartyPoker ambassador. Last month following the sporting
theme, PartyPoker also signed up Italian football
legend Francesco Totti. The financial terms of the
poker sponsorship deals are not currently known, as
all parties appear to want to keep the details under
wraps. Speaking of big names, rumours are circulating
that PartyGaming may be in the midst of doing another
deal and announcement with movie legend of Rambo and
Rocky fame, Sylvester Stallone. Sly is featured in
the Rambo online slot game, exclusive to PartyGaming.
A
few months ago PartyGaming
and PKR
Poker had a Porsche up for grabs, but no one qualified
to win. Not to be disheartened, Party's casino and
poker brands are once again offering dream machine
grand prizes...
PartyGaming's
PartyCasino
and PartyPoker
PartyCasino
- Grand Win Auto - Win A Maserati GranTurismo
PartyPoker
- Drive The Dream - Win a Aston Martin DB9 Coupe
Crown
Casino Share Price - CWN: 8.290
*Greg
Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
Media
Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet
portal development company. Gaming is just one of
a dozen sectors covered
*The
writer owns shares in Crown Limited
Profile
Ferrari
is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello,
Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 as Scuderia
Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured
race cars before moving into production of street
legal vehicles in 1946 as Ferrari S.p.A.. Ferrari's
cars are among the most desirable of vehicles to own
and drive, and are one of the ultimate status symbols
of wealth world-wide. Throughout its history, the
company has been noted for its continued participation
in racing, especially in Formula One, where it has
largely enjoyed great success, especially during the
1950s, 1960s, 1970s, late 1990s, and 2000s.
After
years of financial struggles, Enzo Ferrari sold the
company's sports car division to the Fiat group in
1969 in order to help ensure continued financial backing
for the foreseeable future. Enzo Ferrari himself retained
control of the racing division until his death in
1988 at the age of 90.
Ferrari
also has an internally managed merchandising line
and every day high quality products are distributed
with their brand, including pens, perfume, high tech
bicycles and even a series of laptop computers.
1928–1946
Enzo Ferrari never intended to produce road cars when
he formed Scuderia Ferrari in 1929 as a sponsor for
amateur drivers headquartered in Modena. Ferrari prepared
and successfully raced various drivers in Alfa Romeo
cars until 1938, when he was officially hired by Alfa
as head of their racing department.
In
1940, Alfa Romeo was absorbed by the government as
part of the war effort. Enzo Ferrari's division was
small enough to be unaffected by this. Because he
was prohibited by contract from racing for four years,
the Scuderia briefly became Auto Avio Costruzioni
Ferrari, which ostensibly produced machine tools and
aircraft accessories. Also known as SEFAC (Scuderia
Enzo Ferrari Auto Corse) Ferrari did in fact produce
one racecar, the Tipo 815, in the non-competition
period; it was thus the first actual Ferrari car (it
debuted at the 1940 Mille Miglia), but due to World
War II it saw little competition. In 1943 the Ferrari
factory moved to Maranello, where it has remained
ever since. The factory was bombed in 1944 and rebuilt
in 1946 to include a works for road car production.
Right up to Il Commendatore's death, this would remain
little more than a source of funding for his first
love, racing.
"Scuderia
Ferrari" literally means "Ferrari Stable";
the name is figuratively translated as "Team
Ferrari". (It is correctly pronounced "skoo
deh REE ah".)
1945–present
The first Ferrari road car was the 1947 125 S, powered
by a 1.5 L V12 engine; Enzo reluctantly built and
sold his automobiles to fund the Scuderia. While his
beautiful and fast cars quickly gained a reputation
for excellence, Enzo maintained a famous distaste
for his customers, most of whom he felt were buying
his cars for the prestige and not the performance.
However, at one point, Enzo Ferrari's cars were exceeded
in performance by the Spanish firm, Pegaso, which
later went defunct.
Ferrari
road cars, noted for magnificent styling by design
houses like Pininfarina, have long been one of the
ultimate accessories for the rich. Other design houses
that have done work for Ferrari over the years include
Scaglietti, Bertone, Touring, Ghia, and Vignale.
In
2005, 4 universities (Coventry University for one)
were granted the grand offer to come up with the next
vehicle line-up for Ferrari in a student competition
named 'Ferrari Concepts of the Myth'. 20 winners were
allowed to show off their concepts in a ¼ scale
model and present their work to the board and the
compelling historic names at Ferrari to allow for
3 out right winners to have the chance at working
in the Ferrari design studio there at Maranello.
As
of 2006, the Fiat Group owns 56% of Ferrari, Mediobanca
29%, Mubadala 5%, and Enzo's son Piero Ferrari 10%.
By the end of September, 2006 the Fiat Group intends
to repurchase the 29% owned by Mediobanca, bringing
its share to 85%. Fiat has shelved plans for an IPO
because Fiat Auto has now returned to profitability,
thus removing pressure from the group.
Racing
Main article: Scuderia Ferrari
Michael Schumacher in practice at the Formula One
2005 United States Grand Prix.Enzo Ferrari's true
passion, despite his extensive road car business,
was always auto racing. His Scuderia started as an
independent sponsor for drivers in various cars, but
soon became the Alfa Romeo in-house racing team. After
Ferrari's departure from Alfa, he began to design
and produce cars of his own; the Ferrari team first
appeared on the European Grand Prix scene after the
end of World War II.
In
1949, Luigi Chinetti drove a Model 166M to Ferrari's
first win in motorsports, which was at the 24 Hours
of Le Mans. Chinetti drove the automobile for all
except twenty minutes of the Grand Prix race. Chinetti
soon became the American dealer for Ferraris and established
the North American Racing Team, Ferrari's official
racing arm. The dealership is reported to have provided
the sales that kept the company in business through
sales to wealthy Americans, such as Briggs Cunningham,
who bought the first one Chinetti sold through the
new dealership.
The
Scuderia joined the Formula One World Championship
in the first year of its existence, 1950. José
Froilán González gave the team its first
victory at the 1951 British Grand Prix.
Alberto
Ascari gave Ferrari its first Drivers Championship
a year later. Ferrari is the oldest team left in the
championship, not to mention the most successful:
the team holds nearly every Formula One record. As
of 2005, the team's records include fourteen World
Drivers Championship titles (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958,
1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
and 2004), fourteen World Constructors Championship
titles (1961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982,
1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004), 179
Grand Prix victories, 3,445 and a half points, 544
podium finishes, 174 pole positions, 11,182 laps led,
and 180 fastest laps in 1,622 Grands Prix contested.
Notable
Ferrari drivers include Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel
Fangio, Luigi Chinetti, Alberto Ascari, Wolfgang von
Trips, Phil Hill, Olivier Gendebien, Mike Hawthorn,
Peter Collins, John Surtees, Jacky Ickx, Mario Andretti,
Niki Lauda, Carlos Reutemann, Jody Scheckter, Gilles
Villeneuve, Didier Pironi, Michele Alboreto, Gerhard
Berger, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Jean Alesi, Rubens
Barrichello and Michael Schumacher.
Scuderia
Ferrari Drivers for 2006 F1 Season: Michael Schumacher
and Felipe Massa. At the end of the 2006 season the
team courted controversy by continuing to allow Marlboro
to sponsor them after they, along with the other F1
teams, made a promise to end sponsorship deals with
tobacco manufacturers. A five year deal worth a reported
$500 million was agreed.
Drivers
for 2007 have been announced as Felipe Massa and Kimi
Räikkönen.
The "Cavallino Rampante"
The Scuderia Ferrari LogoThe famous symbol of the
Ferrari race team is a black prancing horse on yellow
shield-shaped background, usually with the letters
S F for Scuderia Ferrari, and with three stripes of
the Italian national colors green-white-red on top.
The road cars have a rectangular badge on the bonnet
(see picture above) but also have this logo on the
side.
Curiously,
a similar black horse on a yellow shield is the Coat
of Arms of the German city of Stuttgart. This name
is derived from Stutengarten, an ancient form of the
modern German word Gestüt, which translates into
English as stud farm and into Italian as scuderia.
Stuttgart, called Stoccarda by the Italians, is the
home of Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari's rival Porsche,
which also uses the Stuttgart sign in its corporate
logo, centred in the emblem of the state of Württemberg
just like the city is placed within the state. Enzo
Ferrari met these competitors many times since the
1920s while competing for Alfa.
Coat
of arms of Stuttgart, GermanyOn June 17, 1923, Enzo
Ferrari won a race at the Savio track in Ravenna where
he met the Countess Paolina, mother of Count Francesco
Baracca, a legendary asso (ace) of the Italian air
force and national hero during World War I, who used
to paint a horse on the side of his planes. The Countess
asked Enzo to use this horse on his cars, suggesting
that it would grant him good luck. Ferrari left the
horse black as it had been on Baracca's plane; however,
he added a canary yellow background as this is the
color of the city of Modena, his birthplace. It has
been supposed the choice of a horse was perhaps partly
because his noble family was known for having many
horses on their estates at Lugo di Romagna. Another
theory suggests Baracca copied the rampant horse design
from a shot-down German pilot who had the emblem of
the city of Stuttgart on his plane. This is supported
by the evidence Baracca's horse looks more similar
to the one of Stuttgart (not changed since 1938) than
the current Ferrari design, especially as the legs
of the horses are concerned. Baracca using the Stuttgart
horse from a shot-down plane ties in with the fact
that his family owned many horses.
Ferrari
used the cavallino rampante on official company stationery
beginning in 1929. The first race at which Alfa Romeo
would let Ferrari use the horse on the Alfas was on
those entered by his Scuderia Ferrari in the Spa 24
Hours on July 9, 1932, which the Ferrari-led Alfa
team won. Ever since, the cavallino was shown on the
Alfas that were competing against the Silver Arrows
of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union, among others.
Count
Francesco BaraccaThe prancing horse has not always
been uniquely identified with the Ferrari brand: Fabio
Taglioni used it on his Ducati motorbikes. Taglioni's
father was, in fact, a companion of Baracca's and
fought with him in the 91st Air Squad. But, as Ferrari's
fame grew, Ducati abandoned the horse; this may have
been the result of a private agreement between the
two brands.
Austrian
Fuel Stations The prancing horse is now a trademark
of Ferrari. Yet, other companies use similar logos.
One example is quite prominent next to roads in Austria
and Eastern European countries, as an Austrian company,
named "avanti" (http://www.avanti.at) since
1972, operates over 100 filling stations marked with
a prancing horse logo which is nearly identical to
Ferrari's.
Rosso Corsa
Main article: Rosso corsa
Since the 1920s, Italian race cars of Alfa Romeo,
Maserati and later Ferrari and Abarth were (and often
still are) painted in "race red" (Rosso
Corsa). This was the customary national racing colour
of Italy, as recommended between the World Wars by
the organisations that later would become the FIA.
In that scheme, French cars like Bugatti were blue,
German like BMW and Porsche white (since 1934 also
Silver Arrows), British racing green etc.
Curiously,
Ferrari won the 1964 World championship with John
Surtees by competing the last two races in cars painted
white and blue, as these were not entered by the Italian
factory themselves, but the US-based NART team. This
was done as a protest concerning arguments between
Ferrari and the Italian Racing Authorities regarding
the homologation of a new mid-engined Ferrari race
car.
List of models
Until the mid-1990s, Ferrari followed a three-number
naming scheme based on engine displacement:
V6
and V8 models used the total displacement (in decilitres)
for the first two digits and the number of cylinders
as the third. Thus, the 206 was a 2.0 L V6-powered
vehicle, while the 348 used a 3.4 L V8.
V12 models used the displacement (in cubic centimetres)
of one cylinder. Therefore, the famed 365 Daytona
had a 4380 cc V12.
Flat 12 (boxer) models used the displacement in litres.
Therefore, the 512BB was five litre flat 12 (a Berlinetta
Boxer, in this case). However, the original Berlinetta
Boxer was the 365 GT4 BB, which was named in a similar
manner to the V12 models.
Most Ferraris were also given designations referring
to their body style. In general, the following conventions
were used:
M
standing for "Modificata," this suffix is
placed to the end of a model's number designation
to denote that it is a modified version of its predecessor
and not a complete evolution (see F512M and 575M Maranello).
GTB models are closed Berlinettas, or coupes.
GTS models, in older models, are convertibles (see
365 GTS4); however, in late models, this suffix is
used for targa top models (see 348 GTS, and F355 GTS;
exception being the 348 TS, which is the only targa
named differently). The convertible models now use
the suffix "Spider" (see F355 Spider, and
Ferrari 360 Spider).
This naming system can be confusing, as some entirely
different vehicles used the same engine type and body
style. Many Ferraris also had other names affixed
(like Daytona) to identify them further. Many such
names are actually not official factory names. The
Daytona name commemorates Ferrari's triple success
in the February 1967 24 Hours of Daytona with the
330P4. Only in the 1973 Daytona 24h, a 365 GTB4 model
run by N.A.R.T. (North American Racing Team, who raced
Ferrari's in America) scored 2nd—behind a Porsche
911.
As
well, the 250 GTO's famous acronym, which means Gran
Turismo Omologato, was simply a name the Italian press
gave the car which referred to the way Ferrari had,
in a sense, avoided the rules and successfully homologated
the car for racing purposes (somehow Ferrari had convinced
the FIA that the 250 GTO was the same car as previous
250's). This was probably to avoid confusion with
the multiple 250 models produced before the GTO.
The
various Dino models were named for Enzo's son, Dino
Ferrari, and are not formally Ferraris, though are
to all intents and purposes considered so.
In
the mid 1990s, Ferrari added the letter "F"
to the beginning of all models (a practice quickly
abandoned after the F512M and F355, but recently picked
up again with the F430). (Credit:
Wikipedia).
Websites
Ferrari
official website
News
18th
March 2007 - Ferrari wins Australian
Grand Prix
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