Ferraris take over St. Armands Circle for the day

The middle of St. Armands Circle served as a parking lot on Saturday, Nov. 2 for bright red, yellow, blue and various other colors of Ferraris.

The Ferrari Drivers Group Sarasota hosted an exclusive, “Ferraris-only” event on the Circle to benefit Flight to the North Pole, a local organization that supports terminally ill children and their families in Manatee and Sarasota counties. Christmas music wafted throughout the Circle while Santa strolled around the area where spooky decorations had been draped only two days earlier.

Despite the strict Ferraris Only rule, the Batmobile was allowed to park in the Circle, to the delight of the kids at the event. 

“We do events constantly,” said owner and Longboat resident Eugene Nock, who once owned the original Batcopter.

Elsewhere, Valerie Breyton, who’s not a Ferrari owner but has Ferraris in the family, acted as the “bodyguard” for a displayed car on the Circle. She’s been learning the ropes of driving the powerful cars and loving it.

“All she’s (the car) got to do is exhale and…” Breyton imitated the rev-up of a Ferrari. “Once you put it here (in sports mode), you’re in no-man’s land. 

“PS is for ‘berserk,’ and we don’t push that button yet,” Breyton said of the "Partenza Sportiva" button, which in English means Sport Departure.

Breyton wasn’t the only car bodyguard on the Circle, as owners stood close to their cars to ward away the fingerprints of curious onlookers, microfiber cloths clutched in their hands to preserve the detailing job. Breyton said she spent a good chunk of time detailing the Ferrari she guarded the night before. 

Despite the steamy day, a few hundred folks poured in and out of the Circle, posing with the cars and chatting up the owners, who were always ready to tell their Ferrari stories.