2006 Ferrari 599 Panamerican 20,000 - 2

(from Ferrari Press Release)  Uyuni, 5th September 2006 - The Ferrari Panamerican 20,000 tour restarted early this morning. At 8.30 the 599 GTB Fioranos left Calama for Uyuni. The expedition crossed the immense Salar, populated by pink flamingos. The crews were surrounded by 3000 metre high mountains and volcano craters. The sparse Andean fauna gave the area a spooky feel.

Having crossed into Bolivian territory, the plant life became a more common sight. The greenery was not lush but there was enough of it to suggest that life is possible here, despite the cold. The uneven road surface meant that the convoy travelled slowly for over 300 kilometres before reaching Uyuni in the middle of the night.

Lima, 15th September 2006 - Organised by the Italian ambassador in Lima, Fabio Claudio de Nardis at the headquarters of the Banca di Credito Popolare, a huge party was thrown for the Ferrari Panamerican 20,000 on the evening of 15 September. Thousands of people were invited, from members of the Italian community, diplomats from other countries, government and council representatives and local business people.

Red was the colour used extensively while images of previous tours in North East Europe and China as well as from F1 GPs scrolled across the walls. The ambassador welcomed the Ferrari Panamerican 20,000 team in a celebration of Italian enterprise across the world.

Lima was the setting, a city in which the modern triumphs over the old. There is an almost permanent cover of cloud that hovers over the city. This means that its inhabitants see the sun only at dawn and dusk. The establishment of the city in this position is probably due to the easy access to the sea. The other feature that charaterises the city is the chaotic traffic, common to all large cities in this zone. Here a host of minibuses criss-cross the city, cutting up other drivers as they stop suddenly to pick up passengers.