If you think about growing F-Register and its predecessor you will notice quickly that you have to enter a big network and that certain people are more relevant in the community than others.
I came over Mike Sheehan at a quite early stage, it must have been around 1994 or so. He did not know me at that time and I did not know to become a part of the big Ferrari community later on.
The first I learned was the meticulousness that Mike used to describe the cars he had for sale. The details were given in a format that became a high standard for me. Beside the Serial Number or VIN, all other relevant numbers on the cars a always mentioned and Mike always tries to give the complete history of the car. The "biggest thing" ever was, when Mike brokered good fellow Bill Preston's 250 GTE - each service record and every maintenance invoice was mentioned. That's what we all call complete so that the buyer could fully trust in what he purchased.
Over the years, Mike and me got closer, I have to admit in a virtual way and some time zones between us. But we are exchanging mails about certain cars very frequently and it is a kind of give and take related to information about Ferraris.
Mike is one of those who are frequently asked to provide columns for certain media, be it Forza, be it Sports Car Market or his own Online Exclusive.
I am happy, that Mike sometimes picks up some of my thoughts or uses some of my research and Serial Number information.
In his most recent Online Exclusive he speaks about the number of Apertas built and I have been involved in his research for this for a few months. You can see the result by following the link below:
http://ferraris-online.com/pages/article.php?reqart=FOC_201304_SS
Thank you, Mike, for recommending "The Ferrari Serial Number Manual" and F-Register. I am looking forward to the next paper, probably F-Register can be of help once again!