Reignite My Passion

Jared undergoes a life-altering experience as he pilots a Ferrari 488 GTB around the legendary Daytona International Speedway.

- Jared Solomon

I remember the first time I drove a car. I must have been around 12 years old, and I really didn’t care what it was as long as I could get behind the wheel of anything. The excitement of just being in the driver’s seat overshadowed everything else, and I couldn’t care less if it was a tiny hatchback, a minivan or a busted old Gypsy. That kind of passion for driving is what I miss sometimes.

My passion for motorcycles surpassed my love for cars when I first started working at autoX, as the adrenaline rush that I got from riding some of the fastest litre-class sports bikes and hard-core adventure bikes soon took over. It’s no secret that we test some of the best cars on the planet at our home track, the Buddh International Circuit, but after experiencing the acceleration of a BMW S1000RR or a Kawasaki Ninja ZX10R, driving sports cars – even if they were really fast – just wasn’t as exhilarating an experience anymore. But, then, along came Ferrari!

I was invited to witness the Finali Mondiali, which was the final round of the legendary Italian carmaker’s glamorous one-make championship. The final races were being held at the Daytona International Speedway, and, of course, I accepted their invitation and headed over to Florida. It was an action packed weekend that ended on a brilliant high, but what happened on the final night was life changing.