Ferrari shows up in South Africa

The F60 has arrived in Soccer City, prior to Saturday’s first street demo of 2014 for Scuderia Ferrari. There is a buzz of expectation in Johannesburg around the event organised by Shell to launch the new V-Power Nitro+ fuel in the rainbow nation. The event will take place in an area opposite the stadium that hosted the football World Cup final in 2010. The highlight will be a demonstration run by Marc Gene, at the wheel of the car that the Scuderia used in the Formula 1 World Championship in 2009.

The F1 Clienti department crew arrived in South Africa two days ago and immediately went to check out the temporary circuit prepared by the organisers, which is just under one and a half kilometres long and to prepare the area that will serve as the pits.

Gene arrived in Johannesburg yesterday morning and the Spanish test driver’s programme involved a visit to the Nelson Mandela Museum in Soweto itself.

“It was a wonderful feeling for me to be able to visit Mandela’s house,” Marc told ferrari.com. “Anyone who comes to Johannesburg must absolutely come here to realise who this man was and what he achieved in the promotion of human rights, democracy, reconciliation, mutual respect and tolerance among all the population of South Africa. His lessons should always be remembered by everyone.”

In the afternoon, Marc was able to inspect the track where tomorrow he will drive an F60 in Scuderia Ferrari’s first street demo of 2014, in an area set up opposite the Soccer City Stadium, where his fellow Spaniards beat Holland in the football World Cup Final four years ago.