Ferrari Festival Sydney review: a first timer’s day at Sydney Motorsport Park

I went to the Ferrari Festival Sydney at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday 28 June 2025. It was the first time the festival was run, and I believe it's now an annual event. I went as an ordinary spectator on a free ticket, just to see what it was like. This is my honest review: what you can see, whether you can get a ride, how to get there and where to watch.

Before I went I read the coverage on Broadsheet, WhichCar, Man of Many and a few other sites. The articles all used almost the same wording, which suggests they came from a single press release sent out to build awareness of the event. I expected a celebration of everything Ferrari and set my expectations too high. There were lots of Ferraris to look at, but it felt more like a dealer track day than a public event built for thousands of people.

What is the Ferrari Festival in Sydney?

The Ferrari Festival is essentially a big track day that runs over two days. The feature category in 2025 was the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Australasia, a one-make series where professional drivers and Ferrari owners race the 296 Challenge or the older 488 Challenge Evo. The Sydney weekend was a round of the series' first season.

Other categories on track included the Passione Ferrari Club Challenge, Club GT, Esperienza Ferrari SF90 and a Ferrari owners' parade.

Tickets were free, parking was free, and it's child and family friendly. Through the Ferrari dealer network you could also buy VIP hospitality tickets. These included reserved parking, an air-conditioned suite with catering and drinks, a 30-minute on-track parade, grid photo opportunities and guided paddock tours.

Cars were on track at regular intervals. Access was excellent. You can walk or drive to almost any viewing point around the circuit, stand right at the fence, and move freely around the paddock and the backs of the pit garages.

My honest review of the Ferrari Festival

I worked in the automotive industry for a few years with Lotus sports cars, and I've been a car enthusiast for a long time. I've managed some events and been to plenty of others, here and overseas.

There's enough to keep kids happy for a few hours. But I've been to the Goodwood Revival, the Silverstone Classic, the Shannons Classic, HSRCA festivals and Muscle Car Masters. Those are large events with displays, shops and demonstrations all around the track. The Ferrari Festival doesn't really have that.

It didn't have a buzz. It didn't feel like a celebration of the brand's history, and food was limited to a gozleme truck, ice cream and the standard cafe. There wasn't even an F1 car on display. It felt like an event put on for the dealerships supporting the race cars, the owners, and the people given free tickets.

The crowds weren't big. I'd guess there were about 500 people or so. That made it easy to see things, and it's hard to complain when entry and parking cost nothing. I'm grateful I saw an F40 actually moving on track and got close to a Daytona SP3. But it was a bit of a tease. You could see the special cars, but you were kept just far enough away that you couldn't really enjoy them.

Can you get a Ferrari ride in Sydney at the festival?

Some people search for a Ferrari ride in Sydney, so here's my honest answer. I saw 12Cilindri road cars on track with passengers in helmets, but I don't think passenger rides were open to the public. The VIP hospitality package included an on-track parade, but a free ticket gets you a spot at the fence, not a seat in a car.

Getting there and parking

Drive. A bus passes the track from the nearest train station, but it isn't practical. It wasn't super busy, so there was plenty of parking, and it was free.

Best places to watch the cars on track

If you like photographing cars at a racetrack, this is a good event for it. There aren't many people, you can get around the pit area and the track, and you can focus on a small number of cars. Here's a short highlights clip from the day.

I photograph track days and motorsport too. Those are quoted by location and time, and you can see how it works on my car photography in Sydney page.

A Ferrari F40 on display and on track in Sydney

One of the very few F40s in Australia that gets driven around Sydney on historic plates sat in a pit garage next to an Enzo. It also did some laps of the circuit, and seeing an F40 moving on track was the part I was most grateful for.

A Ferrari Daytona SP3 and Monza SP1 in Australia

There was an F50 at the festival too, though it isn't in my photos. What I'd never seen in person was a Daytona SP3.

The Daytona SP3 is part of Ferrari's limited Icona series and was revealed in November 2021. Only 599 were made. It has a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 making 840 cv (618 kW) and revving to 9,500 rpm, and Ferrari quotes 0 to 100 km/h in 2.85 seconds. The name honours Ferrari's 1-2-3 finish at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours. It sat roped off in a pit garage, so nobody could look inside it. That's understandable given what these cars are worth.

Sharing the garage was a Monza SP1, the single-seat speedster that launched the Icona series in 2018. It has no conventional windscreen and takes its cue from Ferrari's 1950s barchettas. Its 6.5-litre V12 comes from the 812 Superfast and makes 810 cv (603 kW) at 8,500 rpm, with 0 to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds.

A Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo on display

In the paddock there were two display tents, one with the current range and one with Ferrari Approved used cars. One of the race cars on display was a 488 Challenge Evo, a track-only car for Ferrari's one-make Challenge series. Ferrari unveiled it at Mugello in October 2019 as an evolution of the 488 Challenge, with reworked aerodynamics. It uses a 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 of about 670 hp. This one had Passione Ferrari Club Challenge on its rear wing.

Seeing a Ferrari Testarossa in Sydney

On the skid pad the NSW Ferrari Owners Club had a classic Testarossa on display, the poster car of the 80s and 90s. It was one of the most popular cars there, with a constant crowd around it, even with newer and faster cars parked nearby.

The Testarossa was built from 1984 to 1991, with more than 7,000 made, and was followed by the 512 TR and 512 M. It has a 4.9-litre flat-12 making 390 PS (287 kW). The name means red head in Italian, after the red cam covers, and with the engine cover up you could see them for yourself. If you zoom in on the gear knob photo in the gallery, you can see the numbered ball is slightly cracked.

Ferrari Challenge racing on track

The Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Australasia ran its first season in 2025. The Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell classes raced the 296 Challenge, and there was a separate class for the 488 Challenge Evo. The Sydney Motorsport Park round in late June was part of the Ferrari Festival.

Is the Ferrari Festival worth going to?

I stand by my verdict. It's essentially a track day for Ferrari owners that the public can watch, not a true celebration of all things Ferrari.

If you're a casual motorsport fan, or you want a cheap day out with the kids, it's a good free day. There's enough to look at, access is easy and entry costs nothing.

If you've been to big events with trade displays, hundreds of cars and lots of pit garage action, it will probably feel underwhelming, unless you're a very passionate Ferrari fan. If you enjoy classic racing or a mix of marques, have a look at the Phillip Island Classic, the HSRCA festivals, the Shannons Classic, the Adelaide Motorsport Festival or the Australian GT4 series.