This was a really proud moment for AA as a team. 2 years prior someone asked me if I had any cars on display to which I said no, but I will one day! This was before I had ever even polished a Ferrari.  2018 we actually had a car win best in show that we prepared a week earlier for Zagames, but I couldn’t really take credit for that…  2019 rolled around and I wanted to make a statement. I got permission from a few customers with the heavy hitters. These being an F50 and F40 that we looked after.  One owner was out of state, and the F50 had to be trucked So logistically it was going to be hard. We called on the one and only Evil ( Motorsport mover towing ) to help us out. We then got Mr Tony DeFelice onboard to bring his F12 TDF into the mix that we’d completed just prior to this.

Amongst a few other scattered display cars we had a great line up for concours judging ( F40 not set to be judged as it has some tasteful modifications ).

Pretty much 2 days before the concours the judges informed us that Tony’s F12 wasn’t old enough to participate in the concours, a rule that was changed a few days before that…

With pretty much 24 hours to go we switched focus to his menacing 599 GTO and the F12 was to be on display only.

Having a plethora of other work to get done to the F50 and 40, Nathan set to work on the 599 GTO, in one (really long) day, he managed to get the car dialled in and ready for the concours with a last 5 minute effort from me. It was at this point Tony offered us both a steer in the GTO to and from the concours as a thank you. Thats a proper dream come true for both of us!

Next morning I set to work loading up the F40 on behalf of the customer ( thanks for trusting us again ) and Nathan went to pick up the GTO and follow the F12 TDF. They drove all the way out to the Yarra Ranges following the speed limit and never did anything silly…

At this point I had unloaded the F40 off the truck with Evils help, he truly is the best around. The F50 was a bit of a secret not many people knew it was coming and it created a bit of a stir when it turned up on the tow truck. We unloaded and let me say when a crowd of older people who have worked hard for their money see a young 23 year old drive an F40 into the concours, followed by a bright yellow Giallo F50, there is some serious stink eye going on.

We went to town and did all our final checks of the F50 and GTO ready for judging. The judges went over the GTO first and picked a couple of smaller things like missing paint on bolts, and a tiny rogue bit of tape behind a door latch.

The F50 was second last in line, the judges came up and asked who was the owner/representative of the car to which I stuck my hand up. They then proceeded to tell me they weren’t judging the car! To which I laughed and said “good joke”, they weren’t joking. They tried to argue that the car wasn’t registered for judging and lucky I had the confirmation with me to argue that point. They said due to what the car was, they were going to pick it a part like it was ay pebble beach, fine by me.

They picked 3 things. Too much grease on the suspension linkages, a single fresh drop of oil on the bottom of the engine, and a missing authentication sticker on the inside of the front shell. We appreciated the hard marking because it educated us to a higher level again, what a great advantage for next year. The car also had a nice shiny Tubi exhaust system, which loses points but looks/sounds 100x better than the stock system!

After lunch is the awards and the GTO took best of show + its platinum award, what a feeling after So much hard work. As great of an experience as it was, it was extremely stressful being in charge and trusted with millions of dollars worth of cars, I think the first time I relaxed was when they were all home and tucked away again. A drive home in the GTO was all the reward I needed, and by god what a terrifying car that is. At the speed limit of course. Super proud moment to see someone you’ve taught from not knowing how to properly wash a car to winning a concours.