12th September 2009 - The Italian Job

» Merano, Italy
» Pfatten, Italy
» Tavarnelle near Florence, Italy

The second day offered two special highlights: one for the cars and one for vintage gourmet pleasures in a distinctly exclusive location. Close to Meran the Torpedo Runners visited the new Safety-Park in Pfatten, which is located south of Bolzano. The park offers all modern safety modules including a race track.

The driving event in the Safety-Park started with the dynamic plate, which ensured safe spinning-experiences with high speed and brought lots of fun. This is a rare opportunity for drivers of extremely expensive and powerful sports cars to bring their vehicles to the limit and experience the reaction of their cars. The water made this a sparkling driving experience in the true sense of the word, which even had the effect of a training lesson.

To increase the fun of the Torpedo Runners, high-speed drifting on a watered and tire-sparing area and a 2 kilometers long race track followed in the course of the driving lesson. Without speed limits, we had a blast on the closed race track. The track satisfied all needs by offering a long straight for pedal to the metal fun and a lot of different corners, in which real driving skills were necessary. Everybody hat a blast bringing their car to the limits and enjoying the engine sounds under full load!

In Tuscany, the Torpedo Run took a break at the Hotel Castello del Nero, which is located just south of Florence in the infamous chianti-region. The fully restored castle, which was originally built in the 12th century, has been transformed to a luxury refuge and is now one of the “Leading Hotel of the World”. The Hotel indulged our senses with top-level comfort and a great panorama view on vineyards, olive groves, cypress trees and Tuscany villages - a perfect postcard idyll.

We did not just dine in a gourmet restaurant - instead, we were guests on the private estate of Leonardo Ghezzi, a famous chef from the Tuscany region, who has given proof to his talent by cooking for various celebrities. For example, Leonardo Ghezzi has been booked by the famous artist and Oscar-winner Emma Thompson.

As the Tuscany is also famous for its wine, we did not want to miss the wine challenge in the course of a tasting ceremony of splendid drops of the region. The winetasting was led by a famous Italian wine specialist, who was teaching us the secrets of tasting wines and selecting exquisite drops for us. It is impossible to experience the Tuscany as intensely as we did in this unforgettable night.