Fisichella stuns Jerusalem with Ferrari

Ferrari's Giancarlo Fisichella completed a demo run as part of the Jerusalem Peace Road Show today in front of up to 180,000 spectators. He ran a Ferrari F60 over a local 2.8km long course through the city.

The crowd was enthusiastic and in party mood and got into the spirit of the theme of this event, which was to bring a series of motor sport symbols both two and four-wheeled to the fans and to the people who live in a country where motor sport was actually banned up until two years ago. Jews, Christians, Muslims and foreign tourists were all gathered together today to see this event for themselves, which not by chance has the word “Peace” in its official title.

The star attraction was of course the Formula One demo run. Ferrari thereby became the first team to fire up a Formula 1 car and run it through the streets of Jerusalem. At the wheel of the F60 for a dozen or so laps was Giancarlo Fisichella. “It was an honour for me to be here and I want to thank Ferrari, Kaspersky Lab and the city for having made this event possible,” he said live via the on-board radio linked directly to Israeli television which was broadcasting the run. “I really hope I can come back here next year!

“Even if I’m not racing in Grands Prix anymore, I still get to drive fantastic cars like the Ferrari Formula 1 in events like this, but I don’t believe I’ve ever experienced such a special atmosphere as here in Jerusalem. These have been historic days and unforgettable ones for me.”

Next up for the Italian is the Le Mans 24 hours race where Fisichella will once again race an AF Corse 458 GT2 Ferrari. Fisichella won Le Mans in this class last year, but realises it will be difficult, yet not impossible, to repeat it this year.