With a special free practice session, which allowed the participants to gain confidence on the track, the Ferrari World Finals, the Prancing Horse’s traditional event at the end of the motorsport season, started at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo circuit yesterday.

From 1994, the first year the World Finals were held, this extraordinary event leaves Italy and is held in Spain to greet the fans under a sunny sky with temperatures of almost 30°C and the Comunitat Valenciana’s generous hospitality.

The intense programme over four days foresees the races for the World Title in the three series – Italia, Europe and North America - the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, the finals of the Shell Historic Challenge, the fascinating Championship dedicated to the historical cars, and the shows with the participants in the international GT competitions, celebrating important results in 2009.

The non-competitive appearance of the Formula One single-seaters used in past seasons by the Scuderia writing history, and the laboratory cars from the exclusive FXX Programme – involving client-test drivers in the ambitious development of future Ferraris - will add further suspense. Greetings from the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team will conclude the event on Sunday.

Ferrari