Italian Speed Festival

Canossa’s second Italian Speed Festival, held at the Misano World Circuit on 21-22 October, was a weekend of activities built around the automobile and the racing car in particular.  The presence of clubs and race teams, areas dedicated to culture, including two concours, a Ferrari Poster exhibition, conferences on automobile related topics, as well as track demos and sessions for spectators to take their own cars out onto the circuit, was the backdrop for Canossa’s three racing series, the Alfa Revival Cup, the Youngtimer Cup and the Cavallino Classic Cup (for Ferraris and Ferrari Cup cars of any age) to have their final rounds over the weekend.  In short, it’s a grand celebration that marks the beginning of a special week for the Motor Valley, commencing with the Italian Speed Festival at Misano and culminating in the Auto e Moto d’Epoca, which has now moved to Bologna.

The Alfa Revival Cup concluded with a spectacular final race won by relative newcomer to the series, but highly experienced driver, Daniele Perfetti, who was followed home by teammate Peter Bachofen, sharing with Roberto Restelli.  Luigi and Nicoló Mercatali completed the podium, all three in GTAMs.  Peter Praller from Germany punched above his weight to win his class and finish in sixth place overall in his 1600 GTA.

The Youngtimer Cup had two 20-minute races, in which Nazareno Compagnoni scored a double victory in his Alfa 147, breaking the established dominance of Matteo Panini’s Marcos Mantis Challenge.  The pair qualified within a tenth of a second, but Panini slowed in the first race and bounced back to finish just behind Compagnoni in the second.  This series only started last year and still has not reached full grids.