Grouptyre, Pirelli promotion winners gain “once in a lifetime” experience

Andrew Warne and Danny Georgiou agree that their VIP trip to Maranello, courtesy of Grouptyre and Pirelli, was a “once in a lifetime experience”. Warne, who runs the BMW and Mini servicing business Warne Motors in Bury St. Edmunds, and Georgiou, whose business is Thetford-based tyre and exhaust centre Burrell Way Tyres, won the all expenses paid visit to Italy in the latest Grouptyre/Pirelli promotion. Both businesses are supplied by Grouptyre member, We Sell Tyres (Wholesale), whose business development manager Danny Jackson hosted the trip.

The pair visited the tyre brand’s home-town of Milan to see the sights and dine out, before being chauffer-driven to Maranello for a tour of the Galleria Ferrari factory museum and the processing plant, where engines for the road cars are manufactured, including the 458 Challenger, 599 and GT production line. A guided tour of the Formula One factory followed, enabling the Grouptyre/Pirelli promotion prize-winners to see where the cars piloted by Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa are built.  Two of the six F1 cars on site were equipped with the latest upgrades, ready to go to the Turkish Grand Prix.

Georgiou, who was joined on the trip by his partner Michelle, said: “We had a fantastic time – everything about the trip was absolutely brilliant, the hotel, the organisation, the restaurant, everything was excellent. We saw some amazing cars, cars you just don’t see every day, and went to parts of the factory that aren’t included on the tours open to the general public. The factory was a real eye-opener. The attention to detail is something else, they really don’t cut any corners, and the buildings are amazing, not what you’d find in a typical engineering facility that’s for sure.”

Warne, who was accompanied by his wife Karen, was equally enthusiastic, saying: “It was an excellent trip and one we’ll never forget. The Ferrari factory was so impressive, quite different from others we’ve visited, and the scale of the production there is just amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and were surprised, but delighted, that we were able to visit so much of the facility.”