Date: 25-05-19
Car: Ferrari 488 Pista
Track: Goodwood Motor Circuit (parade lap)
It was about time for another trip to Goodwood so why not make it a day with the Ferrari Owners Club GB? We head up to the circuit and arrived at about 10am to shoot at yet another track day but this time it was a track day with one of my all time favourite brands- Ferrari!
When we arrived, we first went to the paddocks to have a look at some of the stuff that we would see blasting around the track. The most common car was likely the 488 GTB, closely followed by the F430 but even still they are all amazing to see as there are very few events at which you can see that many Ferraris together in one place. Isaac and I took to our cameras and started snapping, we first took to our usual spot on the start/finish straight before heading round the track to the longest straight, all the while discussing our favourite cars at the event etc.
We came back round to the paddock not long before the track line-up where all the cars park up on the track and then head out for a parade lap. I was pacing around the paddocks getting shots left, right and centre when the two 488 Pistas that were at the event came out together to go out onto the track. I figured this would be a great opportunity to get some nice shots of a pair which you surely won't see all that often. As I was walking around the cars, I noticed that one had the windows open and the driver was sat in it. I decided to just lean in through the window and say that the driver had "a really nice car" and that "I really like it!" This was very much where the unexpected happened, Dave (the driver) asked if I wanted to hop in and take the parade lap with him. I must admit I did think he was joking at first but of course I was going to get into one of my favourite cars for my first ever ride in a Ferrari! To be honest, I was a little beside myself so Isaac likely got a very incoherent, rambly view of what was going on at this point but somehow we managed to sort out what camera stuff we were going to be doing to capture this ride, I'd have my DSLR on me to film while he would do a small amount of filming and take some static shots for me.
I hopped in the car to go and line up on the track and as soon as Dave started it up I could tell that this, despite not being the fastest, would be a very special ride. The car is so raw that you can feel the engine through the back of your seat even at idle, it's something I don't think I've experienced before! Once the car was parked up on the track we got out and I took a few more pictures before we set out for our parade lap just to make sure I had a decent few.
The car was fitted with the four point racing harnesses which was a very nice touch considering the masses of carbon fibre and alcantara on the interior.
So we were all strapped in and ready to go, I was filming on my camera and Isaac was at the ready to film me leaving. We had to set off at a pretty mellow pace as three rows had to merge down into a single file lane but already the noise of the twin turbo V8 with 710 horses ready to run behind your head gets you amped up and ready to go. After we had got past the bottleneck, some people were slowing down and giving themselves a bit of a gap to push a little bit harder, us included! Just after the first corner, we had a decent gap to the car infront so Dave let loose a bit and showed me a small amount of what the car is capable of through the straight and up toward St. Mary's corner. My only real comparison here is against the McLaren 675LT which I was incredibly lucky to get a ride in too earlier on in the year but this was a whole different ball game. While they share similarities by both being twin turbo V8's, RWD and upgraded versions of base cars they are definitely completely different animals.
The Pista is up by about 50hp compared to the 675LT and it feels lighter, more stripped out and more track focused. The entire experience was so visceral and engaging, you feel like you become part of the car even at speeds below 100mph. The sound is addictive and the vibrations you feel is like no other, I really feel as though at speed on the track the Pista would be a complete beast! I genuinely believe that the 488 Pista is the best car I've ever been in and may be hard to top for some time and I truly hope I get to experience it flat out at some point as I'd love to feel a proper comparison to the 675LT and I may hopefully be able to experience Dave's McLaren 600LT at some point too! So yes, while this was't the quickest lap of Goodwood I've been in, it sure was a special one and a very good memory of my first ever ride in a Ferrari!
Thank you so much to Dave for letting me jump in his Pista for this opportunity! Hopefully I'll be able to create more content with him and his amazing cars in the future!
Let me know your thoughts about the Ferrari 488 Pista via Instagram @parkers_pics19
Thanks for reading!