Military airport Gilze-Rijen, August 11, 2001
This event was organised by the Historic Auto Race Club, Royal Airforce Historic Flight and the Rotary Club. It
was held at the Military airport of Gilze-Rijen, and blessed with beautiful sunny weather. The debut of this
combination event showed off classic aeroplanes and cars, respectively in the air, and on the start- and landing
strips of the airport.
A plethora of classic cars was gathered in the various improvised parking lots, and a small number of these
cars were run during the race demos. Furthermore, the track was opened for all visiting Ferraris and Porsches
for some laps behind the pace car.
Dutch Ferrari enthusiast and collector John Bosch brought the 156 formula 1 replica he acquired last year. Not a
single chassis of this 1961 formula 1 monoposto had survived over the years. This inspired pop star Chris Rea
to have a replica of the "Sharknose" build for his movie "La Passione". Since Bosch has such a wide collection
of Ferrari models, he attends almost every event in Europe with a different Ferrari from the Bosch garages.
Actually, this particular event was the first time ever that Bosch had driven the monoposto in public. Taking this
into account and watching the exciting way he took the reincarnated car round the temporary track, it was yet
another display of his driving skills. This was the first and last time that Bosch would drive the car in the current
configuration, since directly after the event, the Sharknose was shipped to Terry Hoyle Race Engineers in
England, to have an original 156 engine s/n 0002 installed.
The Ferrari drivers were invited by Dutch importer and race enthusiast Frits Kroymans, rather than the Ferrari
Club Netherlands. This probably accounts for the very small turnout of classic Ferraris among the visitors.
Nevertheless, it's always nice to see these Italian horses taken out for a drive, albeit that they were mainly
modern variants.
Ferrari of particular interest in attendance:
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