Modena, 21 April, 2002
Three Separate Events With a Link
The third running of this little known event outside the Modena region took place in
mid-April, and seems to grow in stature each year. It is organised by Modenatur, who
bring together a combination of ancient and modern, speed and elegance, culture and
art, to provide a broad ranging event to celebrate the town’s inescapable link with the
automobile.
The date span may make it sound like a marathon event as it encompassed three
weekends, but it was in fact broken down into three separate weekend events each with a
different theme. The link was two exhibitions that ran for the duration of period, ”I Pionieri
Della Velocita”, and ”Il Vento Rosso”. The former was a photographic exhibition, where a
hundred Modenese automobile images spanning the period from 1909 to 1950 were on
display in the Café Concerto and other premises around the Piazza Grande, and the latter
a motoring art exhibition in the Chiesa San Vincenzo on the Corso Canalgrande. The
organisers also published a book featuring a number of the photographs in the
exhibition, which has the same name as the exhibition, and is available direct from them.
On each Saturday there were also guided tours available for visitors, to see the most
significant monuments and landmarks around the town, of which they are justifiably
proud.
Primo Piatto
The ”first course” was a classic car concours held in the Spa town of Salvarola Terme
close to Maranello on the Sunday of the first weekend. However, participants had travelled
the roads around Modena on the Saturday with a visit to the Galleria Ferrari in Maranello,
a visit to the Maserati factory in Modena for lunch and a drive to Sassuolo in the afternoon.
Over the weekend there was a display of modern cars produced in the region, in the
Piazza Grande in Modena, with examples from Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Pagani, De
Tomaso and Edonis. The latter marque being based on the now defunct Bugatti EB 110,
whose remaining stock of chassis’ and spares have been purchased as the
underpinnings of the latest model to emanate from the town. On the Sunday, the
concours prizes were presented on the podium erected to display these cars.
Secondo
The second weekend’s activities comprised of a selection of exhibitions with different
themes in various squares around the city. The theme of the main exhibition in the Piazza
Grande was Ferrari and Maserati from the fifties, whilst the Piazza Mazzini on the opposite
side of the Via Emilia to the Duomo, was an exhibition of cars from the Biscaretti Museum
in Turin. Two hundred metres west on the Via Emilia was a display of historic
motorcycles in the Piazza Matteotti, with a further general historic car gathering in the
Piazzetta San Eufemia close to the Piazza Grande.
Ultimo
For the final weekend there was the first running of the Modena Historic Challenge in the
Parco Novi Sad, the old horse racing track just to the west of the historic city centre. Here
a circuit had been laid out on the perimeter track for regularity runs, incorporating tight
chicanes at strategic points, not only to reduce speed but also to test driving skills in
manipulating them without dislodging the barriers. This new event attracted over fifty cars,
from the miniscule Osca 4MT and Moretti 750 to examples of Lamborghini Miura and
Countach, Maseratis, a selection of Ferraris, including no less than three 250 GT TdF
berlinettas and a 500 Testa Rossa, to a pair of raucous De Tomaso Panteras. Not all
cars were of Italian origin, there was an Alpine A110, Mini Cooper, Lotus Elans, Jaguar E
Type and some fleet Porsche 911 variants.
The real spectacle was the demonstration run by a pair of rally Lancias, a Martini liveried
Delta S4 and a 037. Both circulated extremely quickly in flamboyant style, the former
getting crossed up at one of the chicanes, fortunately with little more damage than a
broken lens to one of the battery of driving lights. They completed the run by performing
”doughnuts” in front of the main grandstand, somewhat to the consternation of the
organisers, but definitely to the joy of the crowd!
Adjacent to the track there was a marquee where local artisan companies, members of
the Associazione Autorestauratori Modena, involved in automobile repair and restoration,
had displays of their wares and demonstrations of their crafts. The Italian Post Office also
had a stand, where a pair of commemorative event postcards could be purchased with a
special event franking.
As mentioned earlier, a relatively new event on the classic calendar, but certainly one
worth looking up if you are in the region, as it enjoys popular local support and should go
from strength to strength.
Further details about this, previous and forthcoming events >>>
Participating Ferrari Models
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