HISTORIC MINARDI DAY 2017
Friday 5 May 2017: Golf Club Faenza, 'Le Cicogne'
The 'Historic Minardi Day' is dedicated to the work and cars of Gian Carlo Minardi, one of the great gentlemen in the history of F.1.
It was organized in cooperation with Club Romagnolo Auto e Moto d'Epoca (C.R.A.M.E.) one of the best motoring Clubs in Italy. Andrea Gallignani, great motor enthusiast and a VIP collector in his own right, helped organize the Classic part of the HMD with Bruno Brusa, the ultra-efficient President of the Club, of which I am a member
Saturday 6 May: Imola, Brisighella etc
On Saturday, the first part of the motoring event was staged at the Autodromo di Imola, a famous track once home of the Gran Premio di San Marino. It is a great place to stage such a gathering of racing cars. This car is almost a legend as it is the first 'Minardi' ever built, a daring creation of a six-cylinders 750 cc engine made adding 2 cylinders to a 500 cc Fiat block
Gian Carlo Minardi has always been one of Formula One most respected gentlemen; he is respected for his loyalty and his entities, an 'old-fashioned racer' as somebody wrote some time ago, and I think that this is one of the greatest compliments that you can pay to him. I am honored to be a friend of Gian Carlo, and the world of motorsport would be much better if there were more people like him
Gian Carlo welcomes Lorenzo and Heike Matteucci
Andrea Gallignani, great friend and exquisite enthusiast, did most of the work for the 'Classic' Tour and led us around with his splendid Ferrari
The assortment of cars was remarkable, ranging from the intriguing pre-war Fiat Aerodinamica of Bruno Brusa to the stunning Ferrari 575 of Andrea Gallignani
Anna checks the road book
Scuderia del Portello and Museo Storico Alfa Romeo were there in force: their cars are real masterpieces, and this 33 is one of the best
Driving out of the pit lane
Gian Carlo did drive one of his Formula One cars at last, and this one has a Lamborghini engine
A better perspective of the 403 along the pit lane
Onboard video of the first part of the Imola track (pls click on the image for a short movie)
A couple of very nice photos, the 403 chased by a Ginetta.....
...and then by a Alfa GTA
After 2 leisurely laps of the Imola track, the classic cars were directed out of the Autodromo for a leisurely trip around the beautiful hills of Romagna between Imola, Brisighella, Faenza and so on
Brisighella is a very nice little town only a few kilometres from Faenza, and it's well known for its oil and monuments. The classic cars lined along the main street were a beautiful sight; I think that this stunning Alfa Romeo Berlinetta, bodied by Touring, is probably the most beautiful car in the world, and she belongs to the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo. The noble Italian marque did participate to the Minardi Day with several classic racers, one of them being this extraordinary beauty
Brisighella is rightly famous for its Rocca (the Castle) the Santuario di Monticino and the Torre dell'Orologio, three monuments overlooking the Middle Age centre of the town; Anna is now looking out of the arches of the 'Antica Via Degli Asini'
The 'Antica Via degli Asini' is a sort of covered street where the donkey could walk being protected from rain, snow, excessive heat etc, being the animal the most important possession of a working family in the Middle Age
This is a view from the street where our cars were parked, looking up to the Antica Via degli Asini and the Torre dell'Orologio overlooking it
Just around the corner, 'La Grotta' is a beautiful restaurant created inside an old cavern. In ancient times, this is where the wealthy families kept the ice; now it's a fascinating restaurant with a very interesting menu, mainly based on local specialties and very good indeed. We had a nice lunch with Heike and Lorenzo, one of Italy's greatest Porsche cognoscenti and collector. A true reference for the Marque
A Suunto GPS map of our Imola-Riolo- Brisighella- Faenza trip. Short but tortuous
After leaving Brisighella, we drove our cars in Faenza, a town renowned around the world for its ceramics, that in some places is known as 'faience'. As this is the birthplace of Minardi, our cars were allowed to park in the main square, the beautiful Piazza del Popolo, then all the participants were invited to visit the main palace and the Mayor, Dr Giovanni Malpezzi, spoke briefly to us all, thanking Gian Carlo Minardi for his work on behalf of the whole town. As I am Minardi's official biographer, I was invited to speak as well to underline the achievements of Minardi and his team. It was a very nice short stop on the way back to Imola
One look from above at the 403 is all you need to understand her aviation ancestry
The Minardi 750 ready to go; not the best of weather conditions for this small sports car....
Lorenzo and Heike's beautiful 356
The interior of the Mayor's palace in Faenza is magnificent. The 'Fasci' amply predated Mussolini's movement and were linked to ancient Roman symbols
Start....
...and finish: 2000 miles!
SUMMARY
The 'HMD' tour (Faenza- Bologna- Imola- Riolo Terme- Brisighella- Faenza- Bologna) was only 105 miles, 276 miles long as return trip to/from Bologna). Fuel consumption was around 10 litres/100 kms, but didn't pay much attention to this parameter. Oil consumption was negligible and the 403 drove very well, but the driver's side windscreen wiper ceased working near the end
