



Wait till you see the other cars! … read on …
I am often called to provide my driving services outside the Motorsport Industry; TV Ads, film shoots, music videos, etc.
Most of these “gigs” are really fun to do and occasionally some jobs are really special. The picture above is one of a handful of very special cars I had the privilege to drive during a TV advert film shoot. This is a gorgeous Ferrari Daytona Spider – in British racing Green – beautifully restored to its original spec. I am sure it looked no different when it first drove out of the showroom, back in 1972 (I think?) … A stunning example, owned by Joe Macari.
The value for the car above is estimated at around £2 million … and I can tell you, that fact kept my mind well focused when driving through the narrow roads around Lake Como! Yes, beautiful Lake Como in Northern Italy, but that was not the only beautiful place we found in our travels. There were many … and what a stunning country Italy is. Bellissimo!!
The four ‘fellas’ in the background are (from left-to-right): Matt Jennings – DOP (Matt is also a film director in his own right but played the DOP part for this shoot), Toby Thirling – Sound Engineer, Diz Williams – Director and our trusted Italian runner and the fastest van driver in northern Italy (so he says!) – Carlo.
The crew had been in Italy about a week before I arrived, mainly doing static as well as some slow moving shots.
I joined the crew on the 18th June and started my journey in the mountains above Sanarno, a lovely town set on top of a hill in northern Italy with a fantastic stretch of road that is actually used for Hillclimbs … effin’ dangerous if you ask me!! But a lot of fun nonetheless.
In the photo above you can see winding road down the mountain. I had a blast with a mean-looking black Lamborghini Murcielago – seen below, next to a row of patriotically wrapped straw bales displaying the Italian “Tricolore”. Matt (in the blue shirt) is seen working on the support mounts for the bonnet-mounted camera, which offered stunning shots of the road ahead. Plenty of action too, and I can’t wait to see the final cut. Do your magic Diz!
OK, ready for more stunning machinery?!! …
I know what you’re thinking … nice suspension! hmmm.
That was the gorgeous Lamborghini Aventador, in bright yellow and black wheels. A mean looking weapon!
Here’s another shot of her, this time without the suspension – just with the bloke that owns her. If only!
This night shot – above – was taken in a beautiful Piazza in Ascoli Piceno, another stunning location for our second day’s shooting. The bright yellow Aventador was the star of the show. You can see the crowd around it – there was never any danger of running out of “extras” for this shoot. Diz – our Director – was concerned we would struggle to get enough extras to pose as “paparazzi” and general crowd, which we needed for this shot. The Piazza was the centre of attention that evening. It seemed that a large percentage of the local population in Ascoli was at the Piazza that night. The Aventador took all the credit for that. I was amazed to see how much passion Italians have for their Supercars. I thought they would be pretty blasé about a Lambo or a Ferrari, but at the end of the day, these cars are made in Italy, and surely they see them everyday? How wrong I was. They flocked to wonder at this automotive art, and that was exactly the same everywhere we went. Mind you, we were displaying some of the finest examples from two of the most iconic brands in the Supercar world … Bravissimo!
“It’s a wrap” says Diz, at around 23:00hrs that night at the Piazza – and that was an early one!!
Next day I wake up to find my next “ride” waiting for me in the hotel car park; a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera. Not only that, but it turned out to be the very car that once belonged to the President of Lamborghini!
There’s a lot more to this story…but I’ll pause it here…or it will never make it online…!
More stunning cars…and scenery..
To be continued..