The Attilio Bettega Cup ended tonight and, for the third time in a row, the Seno Giammarino couple has won it.

The ninth edition of the Attilio Bettega cup also goes to the archives. The winter race considered the Italian Monte-Carlo Rally ended with clean roads.

The start is given at 3 pm from the park of the historic Pedavena Brewery, the largest in Italy, built in 1897. The 360 ​​kilometer long route, between the provinces of Vicenza, Trento and Belluno in a route designed to put the driving and navigation skills of the crews and the resistance of the cars, saw the 54 starters face the hairpin bends of the 10 timed trials of Col Perer, Desene, Menador, Sella Valsugana, Morello, Val Malene, Col Falcon, Arina, Celado, Val Nevera, a total of 125 kilometers of special stages. 11 hours of driving with a 45 minute regroup in between. Seno and Giammarino, from the second special test, took the lead of the classification without ever leaving it, separating their pursuers by many seconds up to almost a minute. 

1st place SENO – GIAMMARINO on OPEL KADETT GTE with 419 penalties

2nd place CONCARI – FRASCAROLI on LANCIA DELTA 4WD with 943 penalties (524 tenths of a second)

3rd place RIGO S. – LIVERANI on LANCIA FULVIA HF 1600 with 972 penalties (553 tenths of a lead)

All three crews started with a high average; congratulations to the winners, but also to all the participants who took part in this exciting race.

The standard bearers of Scuderia Promotor close respectively 

18th position ORSINI – MAZZA on OPEL ASCONA 1.9 

40th position SIMANI – GANASSINI on FIAT 124 SPIDER 1.8

The female crew is in 7th position ALEXIA GIUGNI – ORNELLA PIETROPAOLO On a splendid PORSCHE 356.

Cristina Biagi x Promotor Classic Magazine

A return to the past, to the glorious times of countersteering and crossings, on the roads that saw the strongest drivers in world rallying compete in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

The ninth edition of the Attilio Bettega Cup also partially follows the classic rallies routes of the time from Liège-Sofia-Liège to San Martino di Castrozza and Prealpi Venete. Severe routes, which require skill with the steering wheel, sensitivity with the accelerator, dexterity with the radar. Qualities that allowed pilots of the caliber of Munari, Kallstrom, Pinto and Darniche to achieve prestigious successes and champions such as Rohrl and Andruet to demonstrate all their value.
Along the 360 ​​kilometres, designed by the Rally Club 70, between the provinces of Vicenza, Trento and Belluno, the competitors will have to compete with the hairpin bends of the Valenevera test, Passo Brocon, the pitfalls of Arina and Celado, the pitfalls of the “Morello” ( Grigno) and the Brocon Pass.

A menu for connoisseurs, with a fine palate, and never mind if the Bettega Cup is not a rally but a medium regularity race. The difficulties will not be few and for eleven hours they will accompany the crews, testing their driving skills and the robustness of the vehicles, with the snow which will make the Coppa Bettega even more fascinating.

The race is divided into two parts, by a 45-minute reshuffle, with a single stage. The first part will start at 3.00 pm on Saturday 17 February from the historic Pedavena Brewery in Pedavena (BL) and will end in Pieve Tesino after 5 average tests and a refreshment point to give pilots and navigators the opportunity to refresh themselves and recover from the fatigue. Checkered flag in the middle of the night, after as many 5 average tests in Cismon del Grappa.

Two crews at the start of the race for the Scuderia Promotor Classic: with no. 25 the Simani-Ganassini crew on board a Fiat 124 Spider 1.8 and with no. 26 the Orsini-Mazza crew on board an Opel Ascona 1.9.

Photo Credits: Coppa Attilio Bettega website

The first CIREAS race ended with the victory of Angelo Accardo and Linda Messina, in a Fiat 508C of Franciacorta Motori.

The first race of the Italian Championship, organized by the Automobile Club Verona, ACI Verona Sport and AC Verona Historic, saw the departure of 130 crews (121 historic and 9 modern) who took part in 62 timed trials under the constant rain that accompanied them throughout the day and added further difficulty to the competing crews.
The overall win was won by the regular drivers on a Fiat 508, Angelo Accardo and Linda Messina, followed by Fabio and Marco Salvinelli also on a Fiat 508 and the last step of the podium went to the young Nicola Barcella and Simone Rossoni, who also won the Under 30 cup , with their A112 Abarth and the Nicolis Trophy, a splendid crystal cup which is kept at the Villafranca Museum, bearing the name of the winners from year to year, delivered by Silvia Nicolis.
Federico and Alberto Riboldi (Fiat 508C) won the classification of timed trials 4, 14, 24, 34, 44 and 54 and won the PIT Top Trophy, dedicated to the memory of Fabrizio Pitondo, (artisan model maker) with a splendid scale model 1:43 of a Porsche Cayman in Sandeman livery from the Cayman Interseries USA 2010.
Gaetana Angino and Enrica Russo on an Autobianchi A112 Abarth win the women’s classification. The award was given by Dr. Claudio Pagliai, President of ANDOS Onlus, an association that works alongside women affected by breast cancer to support, help and make this path easier, who received a donation from the Automobile Club Verona in support.
The bearers of the Scuderia Promotor, Luca Patron finished in tenth place overall, winning the RC1 category and Alberto Diana, following a problem that cost him a 300, finished in 47th position.
Victory for the Franciacorta Motori team, which preceded Nettuno Bologna in second place and Brescia Corse in third place.
Cristina Biagi x Promotor Classic Magazine

The Giulietta&Romeo Cup has started, the first round of CIREAS 2024

Under heavy rain, over 130 crews showed up at the Start on the Lenotti lakefront in Bardolino, on Lake Garda in the Veronese area. 

Under a leaden sky of rain and fog that merges the border between the sky and Lake Garda, the CIREAS Italian Historic Car Regularity Championship has just begun in the traditional setting of Bardolino on the occasion of the Giulietta&Romeo Cup, a classic regularity event organized by the Automobile Club Verona in collaboration with ACI Verona Sport and AC Verona Historic which will see around 130 crews at the start, coming as always from all over Italy.

The route of approximately 200 kilometres, marked by 62 timed tests, 5 time checks and a stamp check, will wind its way from Bardolino, where the cars will move towards Affi, Caprino Veronese, Lessinia, the upper Valpolicella and the Veronese bank of the Benaco, also passing through Fumane where a stop for lunch is planned.

The event also offers the Nicolis Trophy, reserved for the crew with the best overall performance net of correction coefficients, and the wonderful PIT Top Trophy, dedicated to his friend Maurizio Pitondo, who will pay homage with a 1:43 l Porsche model. the best performing crew in Time Trials 4, 14, 24, 34, 44, 54. 

The Giulietta&Romeo Cup is also valid for the newly created Verona-Mantua Regularity Challenge which combines events of this type in the two provinces.

All the big names announced were present, including the 2023 Italian champion crew, the one made up of Mario Passanante and Alessandro Molgora, at the start on Fiat 1100/103 TV. The two standard bearers of Franciacorta Motori say to each other: “Concentrated for the wet race but excited to start again with the championship”.  

The end of the race is scheduled for 3.45 pm, followed by the traditional ACI Storico Power Stage Classic, a real show of skill on three pressure switches right on the Garda lakefront, a test that this year will be included in the official ranking of the CIREAS.

Source: ACI Sport

We have reached Tuesday 6 February, the last day of the competition. The competitors say goodbye to Valence at 7:00 am to head towards the SR13 the famous Saint-Nazaire-le-Désert – La-Motte-Chalancon of 19,987 km. Even today the day is characterized by clear weather and completely dry roads already in the early hours of dawn when we scouts pass, 2 hours before the first competitor. In the first two positions we find Michel Decremer and Giorgio Schon who continues to fight to keep the lead for the first, and to catch up with the second, but Maurizio Aiolfi from 5th position, climbs up to third position in the SR14 the Roussieux – Laborel of 19.932 km with the Col de Reychasset (1052 m) and the Col de Pierre-Vesce (1013 m).
The day continues south, towards the Principality of Monaco, the last special test of the day will be Collongues – Col de Saint-Raphaël, SR15 of 19.738 km where the first three group up a few seconds apart from each other:
Michel Decremer 890
Giorgio Schon 980
Maurizio Aiolfi 1000

What will the last two special tests have in store? Will they confirm or revolutionize the podium of the XXVI Rallye Montecarlo Historique?

Cristina Biagi for Promotor Classic Magazine

Photo Credits: ACM