After his struggles growing up as an impoverished, the circumstances and obstacles he faced as a poor child in the country side of the island, he transcended from fitting in to standing out.
Jamaican sprint superhero, world record holder and Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt took a break from his training to visit the Ferrari headquarters in Maranello. The World's Fastest Man has a long-standing admiration for high performance sports cars and was clearly delighted to test some of the legendary cars of Ferrari current range.
After trying an F 430 in Montecarlo at the end of the triumphant 2008 Beijing Olympics, in November 2010, following a tour of the factory, the current 100m and 200m world-record holder spent some time at Ferrari's Fiorano test track as both passenger and driver of the 599 GTB Fiorano and 458 Italia. Two speed myths compared. “But I don't think I'm becoming a F1 driver” - he joked – “I'm too tall”. He was used to spending his days at a track, but for once he was not the fastest thing there.
Ferrari test drivers Dario Benuzzi and Raffaele De Simone took the wheel first, before handing the keys to Bolt for some laps and lessons on car control. "It’s a little bit like me, very reactive and determined!" Usain said, having stepped out of the 458 Italia. "Taking laps in the Fiorano track was a thrill. It's the first time I've had a chance to drive a Ferrari on track and it's a dream come true," said Bolt when he had finished. "I thought I was fast; but these incredible cars give the word fast a new meaning. You have to respect these machines. Being here at Ferrari headquarters is a memorable experience; there's so much history here. I'm looking forward to getting one of these cars to give me my fix for speed."
Later on Bolt joked about the high heartbeat provoked by test-driver Dario Benuzzi, who showed him how to control the car on a wet track. "I was really scared, but it was a good scare. I'm excited like a child." The tour ended with a visit to the atelier, Ferrari's personalisation area, where Bolt met Ferrari CEO, Amedeo Felisa.
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