nuzzaci - an online journal

Via an article on the Top Gear website I found out about the RM Auctions Ferrari auction that was held at Ferrari’s own test track in Fiorano on the 20th of May this year. The auction included 33 classic Ferrari’s. The cheapest got sold for €44.000 (1986 Ferrari 328 GTS), while the 1962 Ferrari 330 TRI/LM Testa Rossa got sold for the record high bid of 6.8 million Euros.

After have stumbled upon these websites, I did a quick search on Google to see if I could find more info on this auction and the 1962 masterpiece.

Turns out that the guys over at Hemmings saw RM Auction as a good excuse to run through the history of twenty different Ferrari’s on their blog!! It stretches from 1953’s 340/375 MM Competition Berlinetta to 2006 599 GTB Fiorano.

Below I have compiled a list with a thumbnail, link and a short excerpt for each car they covered. The list is not meant to replace the original articles, see it as a springboard to the original juicy content; so, don’t thank me — thank the guy’s at Hemmings.

1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Competition Berlinetta
According to factory records, Ferrari completed 0322 AM in June of 1953 as a 340 MM and immediately sent it to France as a factory entry for the 21st running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans on June 13th. Driven by the Marzotto brothers, Paolo and Giannino, 0322 AM finished fifth overall – the highest place finish for a Ferrari that year.

1953 Ferrari 340 MM Competition Spyder
The first of these Lampredi-engined Ferraris were 3.3-liter cars built in 1950. Two of these 275 S models driven by Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi entered the 1950 Mille Miglia, but dropped out with driveline failures. It was a classic problem – the new engine’s outstanding power and torque simply overwhelmed the existing gearbox and axle.

1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione
The 250 GT SWB Berlinetta is unmistakably Ferrari. It is devoid of superfluous bulk, features or embellishments. It is aerodynamic. The driver’s visibility from the ample greenhouse is good. The corners of the car are tightly wrapped around the wheels. Its gently rounded masses speak unambiguously of potency and power.

1962 Ferrari 330 TRI/LM Testa Rossa Spyder
The Testa Rossa was already a racing success when it was introduced in late 1957 and it went on to a string of victories that are simply too numerous to describe in anything less than a book, and indeed, several have been written. But it was at Le Mans where the Testa Rossa established its reputation.

1963 Ferrari 250 GTE
The 250 GTE was a huge commercial success for Ferrari. Between the introduction at the 1960 Paris Salon and the evolution into models fitted with a four-liter V-12, almost 1,000 cars were built. Although history does not record his opinion, Enzo Ferrari no doubt enjoyed this success as it contributed substantial profits, which he could then allocate to the factory’s increasingly expensive racing efforts.

1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2
330s have never been the first choice of the cognoscenti, but the somewhat controversial styling and real GT usability make them about the best bargain you’ll find in 1960s V-12 Ferraris.

1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4
The 275 GTB/4 was unveiled at the Paris Salon in October 1966 and was the first production Ferrari to feature a quadruple camshaft V-12 power unit. Many consider the resulting car to be the finest production Ferrari ever built, combining the thoroughbred mechanical pedigree of its road racing forebears with sufficient creature comforts to make the 275 GTB/4 a superlative grand touring automobile.

1966 Ferrari Dino 206 SP
Lightweight. Aerodynamic. Powerful. The Ferrari 206 SP is the lithe, sinuous, brilliant V-6 son to the V-12 father. It is similar in many respects, but accomplished with conscious differences.

1967 Ferrari 330 GTC
Nothing more clearly shows the evolution of Ferrari into the premier constructor of grand touring automobiles than the 1966 Geneva Auto Show debut of the 330 GTC. Borrowing liberally from many successful Ferrari automobiles, it offered the 4.0-liter engine in a chassis closely patterned after the 275 GTB. Coachwork by Pininfarina combined a gorgeous nose borrowed from the 400 Superamericas with a prominent beltline from the doors back culminating in a tail that clearly paid homage to the 275 GTS.

1969 Ferrari 365 GTC
Ferrari introduced the predecessor to the 365 GTC to the world at the Geneva auto show in 1966. The 330 GTC was a happy marriage of three elements: the chassis of the 275 GTB; the new larger engine from the 330 GT 2+2; and sleek new two seat coachwork penned by Pininfarina.

1970 Ferrari 512 S
Ferrari’s 512 S represented yet another attempt by a manufacturer to take advantage of the homologation rules laid out by the C.S.I. (Commission Sportive International). It was a practice the C.S.I. was trying hard to avoid; manufacturers would build prototype racers, produce them in the required quantities and fit them with lights, horns, and spare tires - all the trappings of a road car. On paper, the 512 S was a car for the average Joe, but in reality, it was the fastest car Ferrari had ever built, capable of more than 235mph.

1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Spyder
Ferrari was more than back on their game at the dawn of the 1970s; at a time when other manufacturers were floundering, Ferrari created a modern, hugely capable and appealing car that became an instant superstar, the 1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Spyder. Many enthusiasts consider the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 to be the definitive front-engined sportscar, the ultimate example of the traditional grand tourer, and it is undoubtedly a classic design. The open Spyder configuration is a favourite among the world’s Ferraristi, and often mentioned as one of the cars most would like to own.

1983 Ferrari 126 C2B Formula 1 Grand Prix Car
Introduced in 1981, the new 126 was a technological marvel – initially producing 580hp from just 1.5 liters, the new V6 engine was more compact and allowed better aerodynamics. Handling was a challenge that first year, partly because of the boost characteristics of the new engine.

1985 Ferrari 288 GTO
When the FIA introduced new Group B Race and Rally regulations in 1984, Ferrari created a model that looked back to the glory days of their 1962-‘64 250 GT models. The 400 horsepower, twin turbo 288 GTO of 1985 was the result. It benefited from the intensive race and rally experience the Michelotto Company had gained from their successful and active campaign of the Ferrari 308 models.

1986 Ferrari 328 GTS
Introduced at the 1985 Frankfurt Auto Show, Ferrari created the 328 to replace the 308. Although the greenhouse remained unchanged, by smoothing out some of the 308’s more angular lines, Pininfarina managed to modernize the 328 and improve its aerodynamic efficiency. In GTS guise, the vinyl-covered fiberglass roof section was simply carried over from the 308.

1987 Ferrari F40 (prototype)
Something truly unusual, a prototype marking the birth of a car that defines “supercar,� one of the eight known 1987 Ferrari F40 prototypes, chassis 74049.

1992 Ferrari F40 (production)
Introduced in Europe in 1987, Ferrari’s new supercar was a shock to the senses. An engineering tour-de-force, the F40 combined raw-edged radical styling with state-of-the-art technology in engine, body and chassis design.

1997 Ferrari F310B Formula 1 Grand Prix
More than any other carmaker, Ferrari is and always has been a builder of racecars. A glance at the quarter-billion-Euro budget for a single season of F1 gives a glimpse at the scale of their operation, and the point of building street cars for then has always been to finance the racing operation. Maybe that’s why, rather than a flash in the pan, Ferrari comes back again and again, decade after decade, to the podium. Today’s car, their 1997 F310B Formula 1 Grand Prix car, is one that with the help of Michael Schumacher took them to the very peak of the sport once again.

1953 Ferrari 500 F2
The 500 F2, aside from being the first Ferrari not to have a 12-cylinder engine, is remarkable for the way it cleaned up in Grand Prix racing. In 1952-’53, the 500 F2 won an incredible 14 of the 15 races it entered, with 11 of those wins going to Alberto Ascari, giving him the world championship in both years. The 500 F2 was powered by Aurelio Lampredi’s 1,985cc inline four, which used dual overhead camshafts to produce 165hp at 7,000 rpm (bumped to 185hp at 7,500 rpm by 1953).

2006 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano represents an artful blend of Ferrari’s famous front-engined V-12s from the past and a great deal of the modern technology found in their road and race cars. It is fitting that Pininfarina, famous for many Ferrari designs, including the famous 365 GTB/4 “Daytona� from which the 599 clearly descends, designed the all-aluminum body. With its long sloping nose and short upswept tail section, Ferrari claims a 200 mph-plus top speed. Aerodynamics certainly help: The vacuum created by the 599 GTB’s lower-side venturis can exceed the car’s lift by over 400 lbs. Meanwhile, the freestanding flying rear buttresses that control the airflow laterally around the 599 GTB’s curved rear glass minimize drag.

As a christmas present from POKE this year, Simon Ridgwell and I received a Ferrari Experience from Red Letter Days. People who know me know that I’m not only a huge fan of the Scuderia Ferrari (Formula 1 Team), I’m also a huge fan of the the main sponsor of the team: their amazing road cars, and that this present is realistically the closest anyone could get to giving me the perfect present without spending about £100000 (which would be overwhelming, but I wouldn’t turn it down).

It was something special.

As the title implies, I lost my license two days before I was scheduled for my mighty experience. I didn’t lose it on a traffic related incident, rather in a weird “Disappeared Along With My Wallet and Mobile Phone From My Fat While I Was At Home” incident… it is still not resolved (and probably never will). It looks like someone just walked in through the front door and picked them up from the table and left.
When I realised that the wallet was nowhere to be found, I got a cold-sweat whether or not I would be allowed to drive with no physical driving license, just a photocopy of the passport and driving license I sent to the Smile bank when I applied for an account.
It turned out that the people at Donington Park were very relaxed (and understanding) over the fact that I just had a black-and-white copy of my driving license.

Getting there

Since it was a bit of a special day, and since Simon Ridgwell is a proud member of Classic Car Club, he decided to go there in style. We left from Hammersmith at 6.30 and arrived to Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit at 9:14, which gave us about 60 second to sign in — which was plenty, in a Rolls Royce Silver Spirit. To be honest, the gasoholic Rolls Royce probably shares more genes with his cousins at sea (boats) than it’s fellow friends on the road (cars). Smooth ride though.

Introduction

Before we got guided to the track we had a short introduction. It was a brief outline of the day, some rules and some history about the track. Very brief but very helpful. What I didn’t know (and that was a pleasant surprise) was that they actually had a Formula 1 race at Donington Park, the 1993 European Grand Prix, which is mainly remembered for Ayrton Senna’s opening lap.

MINI Copper S

The first step was to learn the track, so we got behind the wheel of a MINI Cooper S for 15 minutes with an instructor. The MINI Copper S was a very pleasant surprise and a very very funny ride.

For me the first step was split into two parts.

1. Learn to change gear with the right hand.
2. Learn the track and drive it race-driver style and not road-driver style.

After the first corners, Redgate, going into Craner Curves, my instructor asked me, very politely, “Nico, have you ever driven a manual?” Obviously I wasn’t doing that great on point A. I told him, “Yeah, just need to get used to the gears”. Around corner 7, McLean’s, still on the first lap, he asked me again, this time with a bit more seriousness in his voice. “Nico”, he said, “are you sure you have driven a manual before?”. Then I just had to give the long explanation that I’m not use to having the gear stick on the left side.

On the third lap going into corner 4, Old Hairpin, I was already making huge progress, and about 3 laps later I was throwing the gears into place (mostly just between 3rd and 4th) and could finally focus on part B — drive the track like a race-driver and not a road-driver.

Towards the end of the session I was doing OK. But I wasn’t like, “get on with it, I know this!”, rather, “can’t I stay in the Mini for another 15 minutes?”

Single-seater

So, going into the single-seater I wasn’t that confident. I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t be able to get the most out of it.

The single-seater had the gear-stick on the right side, which was nice, but what a gear-stick…

The cockpit was tight. And everything was in “race mode”, with that I mean the clutch, the break, the throttle and the gear box were not very polite; they were very stiff and — you know — not very “comfortable” or “forgivable”. It took me four attempts to get the car going. It stalled 4 times. It wasn’t that embarrassing, it was more worrying to what would happen on the actual track…

But once I got going it was just fine. It wasn’t a comfortable ride as in leather seats and classical music (or lovely engine sound), but it was comfortable as in: this thing is stuck to the road. The max speed was (supposed to be) 145mph (234km/h). I don’t know if that was true or not. All the indicators in the car were switched off. On the Strakey’s and Weatcrof Straight it felt like the car had reached it’s full potential, and it didn’t give the sensation of 234km/h… maybe I’m just greedy ;)

Ferrari 360 Moderna

And then it was time for the finale — the Ferrari 360 Moderna. During the day the Ferrari’s had been on the track creating lovely acoustic, and every time they got on the straight you just had to look down towards the end of Weatcrof Straight. I’m sure it’s just a novelty, but the sound of the engine is hypnotising.

Im not unique being a great fan of the Ferrari road cars or the Scuderia — they are very easy to like — but Ferrari, to me, is something unique, and the more this world “evolves” the uniqueness of Ferrari as a brand and idea just grows. It might seem as an easy formula, but they do what they do with great passion, the heart in the right place and for the right reason.

The 360 Moderna had no clutch or gear stick, instead you, in true Formula 1 style, use paddles situated behind the steering wheel to change gear. This was soooo nice. I don’t know whether I would prefer it over a normal gear-stick on the right side (probably not on a race track), but now, sitting on the left — this was just perfect. Now I could focus on listening to my instructor, focusing on the apex and improving my driving.

It was magical.

I have no idea, and to be honest — I don’t care, what top speed I got up too. It didn’t really matter once you were out there. A) Because it did go extremely fast and the car just kept begging for more. B) It was more about getting the whole thing to flow smoothly and letting the engine sing. I actually didn’t look at the dashboard once during my drive.

To me, if somethings gonna be magical, special, unique; it has to have at least two reference points or units. Having a high top speed, being rich, being happy etc and so on, it’s not special or even a hard achievement; it’s when you add a second or third unit to the equation it’s get interesting, special, hard or admirable.

Having just a high top speed is a bit like buying a pair of “nice” and expensive sunglasses and not understanding that it is totally irrelevant how the sunglasses look on the shelf, it’s when they are resting on you nose in-front of you eyes that they should fit. Ironically, the sunglasses mistake is something Italians do all the time.

The biggest disappointment with the Ferrari was the amount of time I got to spend with it. Think we only did four laps.

Lotus Elise

As a bonus, we got 2 laps in a Lotus Elise with a professional race driver. He was good. Very good. Professional.

I wished I got this ride before going into the Ferrari… but I do understand why they give you this treat after. Quite sure that if I drove the same line as he did, today Donington Park would have one less Ferrari.

Finally

Before I post the last photo of me getting out of the Ferrari, I’d like to raise my hat to everyone who works at Donington Park — especially the instructors. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. A huge plus and many thumbs up.

And, to be honest, if I was the instructor in the Ferrari sitting next to myself, I wouldn’t have pushed or let me drive as hard, and fast as he did.

After Michael Schumacher won the 2002 driver championship by 67 points over his team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, Bernie Ecclestone (Formula 1 “boss”), in an attempt to close the gap and spread the points, decided to change the point-scoring system so more points went to drivers finishing 2nd place down to 8th — from top six finishers (10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1) to top eight finishers (10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1).

That same scoring-system put in place in 2003 is still used today, but Bernie is planning to change it once again in 2008, this time in an attempt to do the opposite of what he wanted to achieve back in 2003 — make the win of a race matter more; encourage drivers (and teams) to fight for first place rather than settle for second and third.

Many people argue that the system never should have been changed back in 2003. Since it was done for the wrong reasons, a reason that left the sport at the end of 2006 — Michael Schumacher.

And I agree.

The current system is wrong. When introduced I remember drawing similarities to amateur golf and it’s handicap system — which enables golfers of all skill levels to compete on an equitable basis. There were also discussions about adding extra weight to the Ferraris…

If you look at the current stand in the 2007 Championship, after three races, we have three drivers on the same points.

But isn’t Fernando Alonso’s 1st, 2nd, 5th, and Kimi Räikkönen’s 1st, 3rd, 3rd worth more than Lewis Hamilton’s 2nd, 2nd 3rd? As well, if you look at the current 4th and 5th place, only 2 points difference Felipe Massa and his 1st, 5th, 6th and Nick Heidfeld’s 4th, 4th, 4th. Theres a thought, thought, thought.

If we apply the old point-scoring system to the current standing, it would look like this:

And if we would introduce 1 point for the fastest lap and pole position as well, it would look like this:

If we do the same three lists for the Constructors Championship, it would look like this:

Personally I believe that the old 10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 system (introduced 1991) is the best, and the above lists prove it. If you have followed this years season the 2nd and 3rd lists reflects better what has happened so far.

10, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 rewards the winner and consistency.
A 2nd and 3rd place is equal to a win and not better.

Giving 1 point for pole position and 1 point for the fastest lap might be interesting… but i’m not sure how that would pan out with the current qualifying system and it’s race fuel tank in Q3. A bit worried that some teams then would put more value in getting those points than fighting for them in the race (a bit like Toyota’s political pole position attempt at the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix).

So… how would the tight 2006 Championship have looked if Bernie never introduced the Schumacher-golf-handicap-system?

Well, the same really.

It’s easy to sit here now and analyse the above graph and say,

“Well, with the old point-scoring system, leaving race number 16 (China) M. Schumacher would have been in the lead and not just tie with F. Alonso, and then maybe have a different and less aggressive strategy going into race number 17 (Japan) where the engine blew”.

But so many other things would have been totally different along the way if the old point-scoring system was in place so it’s not fair or reasonable to draw these kind of conclusions.

BUT! Having said that.

If the old point-scoring system was in place in the 2006 season, Ferrari would most probably have won the constructor championship. Felipe Massa’s 6 podiums (2 victories, 3 second places and 2 thirds) would have been more rewarding against Giancarlo Fisichella 5 podiums (1 victory and 4 thirds) and given Ferrari the Constructors title. And I have a hard time believing that any change in strategy would have changed that.

So intstead of a 5 point win for Renault (206 Renault against 201 Ferrari), Ferrari would have won with a margin of 3 points (159 Renault against 162 Ferrari).

So, Scuderia Ferrari, with a cheeky smile on my face — congratulations ;)

You see… I have this thing against Vodafone. So one of the pleasant surprises I found while building my Lego 1:8 model replica of the Ferrari F1 car (that was given to me by willow’s mum Michele), was that I could choose whether or not I wanted to add the sponsor stickers. Its good that the sponsors didn’t have a deal with Ferrari that branded all models and variations of their Formula One car.

On monday Ferrari revealed their Ferrari F2007, and it’s a beauty. But it wasn’t until McLaren revealed their McLaren MP4-22 the day after, that I realised that Vodafone is no longer sponsoring Ferrari!

This is like the perfect angry management. I will now be able to aim most of my anger in the same direction. The team (McLaren), the sponsor (Vodafone) and the driver (Alonso) have gathered under the same roof. Wonderful. Like killing three birds with one stone.

See what a beautiful smile that brings to my face!! I will post a photo of my Lego 1:8 model replica of the Ferrari F1 car when it’s finished (done 3/5th), in the mean time, you can have a look at some of the photos on Willow’s flickr

So, we are now a few weeks into 2007 and it’s about time to look back at 2006 and see what actually happened. Since I have had this digital online journal for almost a year (1st of May), 80% of what I’m mentioning here have already been documented earlier.

2006 for me started with coming back from San Francisco (where I had celebrated Christmas (in Lake Tahoe) and New Years (San Francisco) with my girlfriend Willow and her family) and began moving in with Willow to her flat.

During 2006 we had done quite a few improvements to this flat. First we extended the loft so the bedroom got a bit bigger, then we changed the flooring and built a loft bed in one of the bedrooms. But 2006 has just been the beginning… If everything goes as planed, during 2007 I will tell you all about the new kitchen, the new bathroom and the new staircase up to the loft.

 

Work

I don’t talk much about work on this journal. And that’s not because I don’t do any work or that nothing exiting happens at work. No, the main reasons is when i’m not working, and sitting by the computer, I prefer not to talk, reflect or spend time on work related stuff.

I have been at POKE for over three years now, and during these three years a lot has happened e.g. we have grown 462.5% in size, changed offices twice, rolled out a lot of really nice work and won more awards than I can remember. So, as a big reward for our great achievements, about a month ago, we moved into 10000 sq. ft. of dedicated private space.

So 2007 surely kicks off big.
It’s a bit of a fresh start.
A new start.

Two of the bigger pieces of work I been involved in during 2006 was the new topshop.com and the GoodFood magazine website. Thanks to a brilliant team and exceptionally brilliant client, I can look at them both and be extremely satisfied.

 

Sport (F1 basically)

2006 brought me back to Formula One, and the 2006 season was amazing and it definitely made way for an exciting 2007!! The biggest news was of cause the creation of the new 10th of September tradition of German beer and spaghetti tomato sauce, a new tradition to salute and remember the announcement by Scuteria Ferrari of Micheal Schumacher’s retirement as a race driver.

 

Music

So what’s the best album 2006… well it turns out being quite hard… all the ones I’d thought of, turned out being released in 2005! Such as With Teeth by Nine Inch Nails, Go Down! by David Sandstrom and Potemkin City Limits by Propagandhi.

Don’t know, was 2006 a dry year for people with my kind of music taste? What have I missed…

Born In The U.K. by Badly Drawn Boy, 9 by Damien Rice and Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of The Mountain by Sparklehorse are OK, wouldn’t go so far and give them the title ‘Best Album of 2006. (they have done better).

The one album that took me by surprise was Comfort Of Strangers by Beth Orton. So, until further notice Comfort of Strangers can wear the crown of Album of the Year 2006.

 
During the end of 2005 i decided to ‘grab myself in the collar’ and take care of the concert opportunities that comes with living in London. So I ended 2005 strongly with seeing Anthony and the Johnsons, Eels, Unseen, Randy, Flogging Molly, Millencolin and Jeff Tweedy, and have followed through into 2006. Some concert reviews pre this blog can be found on my last.fm journal.

2005 I also left The Above. Which means that during 2006 I have been ‘bandless’. Think that’s one of the main reasons I have managed to get up to so much stuff. I do miss playing though, and might just pick it up again in 2007…

Below is a list of the gig’s I went to during 2006. The absolute highlights was the acoustic Foo Fighters concert and the Tindersticks concert.

1. Jason Mraz, warm up by Raul Midon

   The Mraz gig was probably this years biggest disappointment. Saw him preform an ‘absolute masterpiece’ two years prior, and this time he just managed to reach ‘average commercial ass-selling and record label selling shite’. He didn’t even get close to his potential and wasn’t even near to meet my expectations.

2. Nizlopi

   Willow almost passed out on this gig.

3. Iron & Wine and Calexico

   Saw Calexico back in 1998 in a small pub in Stockholm, Sweden. Calexico 2006 is definitely another band on stage (in a good way). For Iron & Wine the venue was a bit to big.

4. The Shins

   Read more here.

5. Foo Fighters

   One of the best concerts I’ve been to. Read more here.

6. Foo Fighters, warm up by Juliette & the Licks, Angels & Airwaves, Queens of the Stone Age, Motörhead

   The biggest concert I have ever been to. 85.000 people in Hyde Park. It was HUGE. Read more here.

7. Death Cab for Cutie

   Saw DCFC twice in 2006, first in March and then in June. Tom Hostler took me along to the March gig, and since they were so damn good, we booked tickets for June gig as well. Read more about the June concert here.

8. The Cult

   As Billy Duffy changed guitar a few songs into the set, I told Willow, “That’s probably the nicest guitar in the world”. Then, on my 28th birthday, Miss W gave me Miss G.

9. The Rolling Stones

   Read more here

10. The Veils

    Another suggestion by The Hoss, and again, another band I saw twice in 2006. Read more on Willows blog.

11. Tindersticks

    Tindersticks preforming their album Tindersticks II. Totally amazing. Read more here.

12. Hello Saferide

    The most common ’search keyword’ that brings traffic to this site is ‘songs about ocd‘. The search brings me on place nr 8 on Google and points to the post I wrote about this concert. Read the post here.

13. Tom Mcrae, Joe Purdy, Steve Reynolds, Jim Bianco

    Read more here.

14. Robyn

    A weird 5 song mini gig at a small bar in Shoreditch.

15. David & the Citizens

    See photos from this gig on Willow’s flickr

 

Travels

I have never travelled as much during a year as I have done during 2006. The weird bit is that even if I have been around a bit, I manage to have 6 holidays left towards the end of the year, which leed to an extra week off in London. To prevent this from happaning in 2007 I have already booked off 15 days of my holidays, all 15 to be spend before the second week in March.

1. San Francisco, United States of America

   Even though the year stared in San Francisco: The Lake Tahoe and San Francisco trip belongs in an non-existing 2005 review and not in this. But it [the trip] was very very nice.

2. Paris, France

   We spent Easter in Paris. Which was a bit of a disappointment. Paris was not even close to what I expected it to be…

3. Rome, Italy

   In May we went down to Rome, Italy, to celebrate my dad and his 60th birthday. It was lovely. Think the Paris trip made me realise how much i like Rome. You can read more about the Rome trip here and here.

4. Rosili Bay, Whales

   In June we went to Rhossili Bay, Swansea, Wales, with David Marks. Read more here.

5. Skelleftea, Sweden

   As a tradition done every year since I moved to London, Middsummer was spent in Skelleftea. Read more about the trip here and here.

6. Hel, Poland

   Read more about the amazing week in Hel, Poland, here

7. Skelleftea, Sweden

   Went back to Skelleftea in the end of October to celebrate my sisters 30th birthday. Read more here.

8. Newcastle, United Kingdom

   Similar to the midsummer tradition in Skelleftea, Thanksgiving is a trip to Newcastle. This year I made something special.

9. Dover, United Kingdom

   This was just a one day trip down to the white rocks in Dover. I didn’t know that it was just an hours boat trip between Dover and Calais. The Freestyle song Dover-Calais make it seem like it is at least a few hours; since in the song they meet ’somewhere between’. Read misleading lyrics here.

10. Rome, Italy

    Anyone who ever meet or knew my uncle Antonio Nuzzaci will remember the end of 2006 as a very sad moment. During the early hours of Thursday 21st of December he passed away. This cast a shadow over the ending of 2006. Willow and I flew down to Rome to attend the funeral on the 22nd of December, and then we stayed in Rome over Christmas.

11. Taranto, Italy

    Last week of the year was spent in my parents house in the south of Italy. This might have been the last time we visited Viale Die Pini 18, since a few weeks back they sold the house and are planing to move up to Tuscany. Photos from the Italy trip can be found on Willow’s flickr.

A couple of hours ago, Michael Schumacher announced that the current season will be the last he will do as a Formula One race driver.

So tonight I will celebrate, and thank one of the greatest sportsman up to date by cooking spaghetti pomodoro and drink German beer. This celebration will also be a form of voodoo ritual preformed to wish Michael the best of luck to bring home his 8th world championship.

bon appetito.

And so again it’s friday

This morning wasn’t a normal morning. This morning i woke up early(er) and went out for a run.

In my pre-london day’s this wasn’t such a big deal, but since this is the first time I did it in london (and add the fact that I have been living here 3 years) - it is kind of a big deal.

What actually got me going is the fact that I sit by a computer all day, and that has given my back and shoulders a higher voice of complaint.

So three days ago I bought the NikePlus kit - the shoes, the iPod, the accessories - all of it. I like statistics - so if I can get it - why not!

So how was it?
The NikePlus/iPod experience was fine. I’m actually a bit impressed how well they have put it all together - the shoes, the iPod, the website.

The running experience was awful.
I have never really been a fan of running to start with. I’m a team player. There is just not enough excitement in running. It’s just you. No-one to adjust your “play” to. Just you. Before I ran so I would be capable of doing something else better… this time I guess that thing is my ability to sit in front of a computer - living the life I live without turning into a public health risk.

And so again it’s friday.

This weekend it will be a very very interesting Hungarian GP. Really hope Schumacher will put Alonso were he belong - back with the other young promising drivers. I’m even looking forward to hear him complain about the tiers again. If I could decide - Button win, then double Ferrari and Alonso breaks down.

And so again it’s friday.

This weekend Willow and I are going up to Newcastle to visit her parents. More on this next week.

And so again it’s friday and I have shit loads to do and I better get started.

Friday.

• Ferrari Enzo Crash in Malibu
  More then you ever need (or probably wanted) to know about Stefan Eriksson Ferrari Enzo crash.