Back To The Roots
Words by Alessandro Marrone
Photos by Giorgia Rossi
What is love? Love is when you have in front of you a strip of asphalt with no speed limits or traffic. It is that awareness that you can reach your limits and do everything possible to push them over, lap after lap, along a racing circuit, vicious circle to which in less than no time you won’t be able to give up. It is that feeling of thrill you feel when you fasten your seat belts, helmet and gloves ready and caress the steering wheel as if you had seen that for the first time, bringing your right hand on the gear lever, to shoot a gear after the other, in the fastest possible way. Love is many things and can be experienced in many ways, but ask what is it to a driver and he will always find a way to describe his fastest lap, his best overtaking, that day when he drove so free from rules and restrictions wearing, at least for a few hours, the role of a professional racing driver, the costume of a hero that instead of a mask and tights, wears every day a heavy fireproof suit and a helmet, throwing himself headlong into a pit made of engines and tires screech. Love is motorsport.
And motorsport is ready to return – or rather come back again – for the second edition of “Emilia Romagna Motorfest”, which over the weekend of 24 and 25 September, will host its second edition at the Autodromo Riccardo Paletti in Varano. After having tested the enormous potential of an event the Italian automotive landscape desperately needed, we confirmed our presence at the one man band Angelo Antonelli, who with his own strength and sacrifice has set up a real battering ram, ready to break through all preconceptions about the fact that track day events are only intended for those who have a lot of money to spend. The incoming Motorfest is going to be the perfect place for any true fan and the response of sponsors and the many clubs that have confirmed their participation have already scored a “Sold out” months and months before approaching the event, proving the goodness of a project materialized last year and which in its 2016 second edition will entertain you with a whole host of innovations and surprises. So we went to the racetrack in Varano in late March, in order to breathe the magical atmosphere that is created on a battlefield, before dogs of war will be unleashed and we had a chat with Angelo and had the opportunity to meet the boys at Team Cars Engineering Matteo Tassara and Edoardo Berto, Ligurian reality that thanks to the experience and talent of its own members, including the exceptional racing driver Ferdinando Monfardini, have (to date) already conquered the highest step of the podium, winning the first stage of the championship, in that of Monza, at the end of April. While “Monfa” runs laps on laps at the wheel of his Lamborghini Gallardo, we look at the paddock area that will be crowded with people, cars and stands of exhibitors from all over Italy, but not only. important names in the world of the four wheels such as Sparco, Michelin, but also the precious support of official brands like Alfa Romeo and Abarth, which will provide the new Giulia QV and the 124 Spider. And then the main ingredient, enthusiasts: all those speed freaks who can bring their cars between the curbs of the Emilian circuit to drive, using subsidized turns, everything surrounded by performances held by professional drivers at the wheel of legendary cars – did anyone said Group B rally cars?
I will not reveal too much, since the changes from the previous edition are many, from the Street Race Night, a night treasure hunt, restricted to a small number of crews and that will take place starting on Saturday evening, with the grand final surprise. In short, the basis for repeating and exceeding the success of last year are here and we sincerely look forward to be there, welcoming to our stand a group of supercars and sports cars who want to use our paddock VIP area. But then the roar of the V10 of Ferdinando’s Lambo smahses again my vision projected in September and makes me come back to reality today, on a day bathed in sunlight and that is a prelude to what will happen from here to a handful of months. Angelo confirms the tremendous feedback from media and those who will take part in the two-days festival. One of the key points is precisely the simplicity of a format without too many frills and that wants to make fun and engagement its focus points. In the end, what do you really need to be happy? A car and a safe place for being able to take our car to the limit and then, without mince words, without boundaries or strange contradictions typical of other realities, the E.R. Motorfest offer to those who wish, a chance to get on track, stepping on the gas as if there was no tomorrow and get back in the pits with a big smile on your face. Just enough time to cool down the brakes and throw yourself again between the curbs, having a better idea of the braking points, and thus lower your lap time. Moreover, playing at being racing drivers, at least for two days, has never been so close at hand, and looking at professionals like Ferdinando makes our mouth watering, starting the countdown to the moment in which we will all wear helmet and gloves for two days straight.
Before you rush to book your spot on track, I would underline that a single person has been able to do the work of an entire office, proving that if you have a proper passion in your blood, nothing can stop you and Mr. Antonelli it is proof of that. Bravo Angelo, you managed to bring back motorsport to its origins, those made of speed, noise and fun. Because this is the kind of motoring we, the fans, want.
Auto Class would like to thank the Autodromo Riccardo Paletti, in the persons of Alessandro Meggi and Daniele Piroli, the Cars Engineering Team and especially Edoardo Berto, Matteo Tassara and professional racing driver Ferdinando Monfardini, and the model Mara Burattoni.