In happier days, Bergman and Roberto go for a ride in s/n 0299.

And now may we present another ridiculous idea in Retro-marketing. Coachbuilders now are creating one-off specials dedicated to famous but long dead Ferraris owners, in this case Italian film director Roberto Rossellini. According to the Carrozzeria Castagna, they have built, on a Ferrari chassis, a "custom built car (to be premiered at) the "Concorso di Villa d’Este" that will be held in Cernobbio, April 25th-28th, 2003." They go on to state that "It is dedicated to the great Italian director Roberto Rossellini, a real Ferrari enthusiast. In fact, he ordered a lot of coachbuilt Ferraris. Among them everyone remember the famous 375 Mille Miglia, often with Ingrid Bergmann (sic)at the wheel." (www.carrozzeriacastagna.com)

While the great director did indeed purchase many Ferraris, (none bodied by Castagna, whose coachwork never graced any Ferrari chassis) the famed "Ingrid Bergman" 375MM (serial number 0456), referred to above, was not ordered by her, for her, and most certainly not ever driven by Ingrid Bergman. The actress didn’t much care for cars, or Ferraris, in the first place, and by the time of the 1954 Paris Auto Show, where Rossellini spotted and bought 0402, she not only didn’t like cars but disliked Rossellini--they were already separated. But the myth continues. For the record, here are the Ferraris associated with Rossellini:

011S 166 Stablimenti Farina Cabriolet
0076E Vignale bodied 212, ex-006I spider corsa (it is not known if Rossellin actually purchased this car or simply borrowed it)
0235 212 Inter Pininfarina Cabriolet (again, it has not been proven Rossellini ever actually owned this car)
0265 212 Pininfarina Coupe The only Ferrari with any definite connection to Bergman, who wanted a car with a large trunk.
0230 250MM Vignale Spyder Rossellini actively campaigned this car.
0299 250 GT Pininfarina Coupe Bergman and Rossellini were often photographed with this car.
0402 375MM Rebodied by Scaglietti for Rossellini after a racing accident.
0456 375MM Paris Show car, the "Ingrid Bergman Ferrari".
For more details, see Forza issues 21 and 22, The Passion of Roberto Rossellini.

Laurel, Maryland, March 5th
Chuck Wray’s shop in Laurel, Grand Touring, has been the temporary home to Dick Merritt’s fascinating Bizzarrini rivet car for some time. But it won’t be long before it will make it’s appearance on the show circuit. Now in a beautiful shade of burgundy, Dick’s find is ready to accept the driveline and engine. He hopes to enter it in a few events before taking it to Pebble Beach in August.

Imola, Italy, February 26th
Mario Marchesini reports on the recent Minardi testing at Imola…
Minardi, the often forgotten backmarker of Formula One, was doing shakedown runs, just to see if everything is working, at Imola on February 26th. It was a typical end-of-winter sunny day at Imola as Jos Verstappen climbed into the new PS03. Paul Stoddardt called it a PS03, but in reality it is a modified PS02 from last year, and not a new chassis. When Stoddart, (an Australian who owns an airplane company) bought the Minardi team everybody thought that that would mean the end off the financial problems of the team. However, Minardi has the lowest budget of all the Formula 1 teams (Euro 40 milion compared to the 348 million of the Ferrari). That means that they now have the necessary money only for the first four races (Australia , Malaysia , Brasil and Imola).

Jos Verstappen lapped at: 1'26"127, while teammate Justin Wilson, turned in a 1'27"310. They were a good six seconds off the 1’20"441 time made by Schumacher the week before. During the test, Minardi was running a Cosworth CR-3 V-10, the same one that was used in 2002 by the Jaguar team . What's new is the electronics, which is now 100% Magneti Marelli. Minardi made the tests on Bridgestone tires.

Minardi drivers for this year
Jos Verstappen (born in Holland March 4th, 1972) started his carrier in F1 in 1994 with Benetton-Ford and in 1998 drove for Stewart-Ford, then to Honda as a test driver. In 2000 Verstappen drove for Arrows.
Justin Wilson (born in England , July 31, 1978), winner of a F3000 championship and known as a tough-guy, someone who will cut the top of his shoes if necessary to better use the accelerator. He won the F3000 championship in 2001. In the past other F1 teams were also interested in him but did not take him due to his height (at 192cm,he is the tallest F1 driver ever).
Matteo Bobbi (born in Italy, July 2 1978) is the team's test driver. In 1997 won the Asia Pacific kart championship. In 1998 and 1999 he drove in the European Renault Cup and the Formula Nissan series from 2000 to 2002.

Sonoma, California, March 9th
David Seibert reports on the lastest Ferrari Challenge and Historic event
Tom Price collected four trophies and Tom Hollfelder two this weekend at the second round of the 2003 North American Ferrari/Maserati Historic Challenge at Northern California’s Infineon Raceway. Price took a pair of overall wins in the Drum Brake category race driving his Maserati 200 SI, and a pair of class wins in the Disc Brake group driving his Ferrari 250 GTO. Hollfelder drove his Ferrari 512 F to a pair of overall wins in the Disc Brake races. The same drivers took class wins in both Drum Brake races behind Price’s Maserati. Peter Giddings used an ex-Tazio Nuvolari Alfa Romeo 8C/35 to win the pre-war class and David Love’s 250 Testa Rossa narrowly beat Steve Dudley’s 250 LWB (Tour de France) for a pair of wins. Love has owned his TR for over 40 years. Defending Disc Brake champion Ray Hartman used his 512 BB/LM to challenge Hollfelder, and while Hartman led portions of both Disc Brake races he finished behind Hollfelder but with class wins in both races. Chuck Wegner’s unique 196 SP, a car hidden away by its previous owner for almost 40 years, joined Price’s GTO as a dual class winner. Bill Noon won his class in Saturday’s race driving a 365 GTB/4 Daytona.

On the same weekend, Doug Peterson, second-place finisher in the 2002 North American Ferrari 360 Modena Challenge championship, began the 2003 season with a clean sweep. Peterson, racing for the Shelton Sports Cars Ferrari team, was the fastest qualifier and led every lap of both races at the Infineon Raceway in Northern California this weekend. Jim Kenton (Ferrari of Washington) started alongside Peterson for Saturday’s 30 minute race, but T. J. Jermoluk and Dan Kennedy, Peterson’s teammates, passed Kenton at the start. Kennedy and Kenton battled for much of the race, but a late lap spin by Kenton dropped him to the rear of the field, leaving Jermoluk and Kennedy joining Peterson on the podium. Peterson again took an early lead in Sunday’s 45 minute race, with grid positions set by finishing results from Saturday. The Shelton driver led flag to flag, but Kenton provided much of the excitement, moving from his 13th starting position to second at the finish. Emmanuel Anassis (Ferrari of Quebec) finished third, taking a podium finish in his first Ferrari Challenge weekend. Participants in the Ferrari Challenge compete in specially-built racing versions of the Ferrari 360 Modena, with preparation and race support handled by teams formed by authorized Ferrari dealers in North America. The next race for the North American Ferrari Challenge will be at the Miami-Homestead Speedway on April 4-6.