Lorenzo and Mario Turelli in a '37 Lancia Aprilia win the Coppa Giulietta & Romeo

The Brescia Corse standard bearers take an encore in the Verona race, the first round of the CIREAS organised by the Verona Automobile Club celebrating its 100th anniversary and ACI Verona Historic. There were 106 starters who put on a spectacular show. On the podium were Franco Spagnoli and Roberto Rossoni in a Fiat 520 and Malucelli and Bernuzzi in a Fiat Duna, who also won the Nicolis Trophy.

Lorenzo and Mario Turelli , Lancia Aprilia del 1937 - PHOTO ©Roberto Deias

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The crew from Chiari in Brescia, made up of Lorenzo and Mario Turelli in a 1937 Lancia Aprilia, are the winners of the Coppa Giulietta & Romeo, the first round of the season in the CIREAS 2023 Italian Historic Car Regularity Championship and organised by the Automobile Club Verona, which is celebrating its centenary with this first event. The race also saw the indispensable support of ACI Verona Historic and was directed by the expert Alberto Riva.

The Scuderia Brescia Corse bannermen sealed an encore of the Verona race after their victory in 2022, where they took useful references to also lower the average compared to the last edition.

"We are obviously happy with the result," said Lorenzo Turelli, "We realised last year that this is a very fun and challenging competition. We really appreciated the cadence of the trials, the hidden tables and tubes, and the slope markings. We applaud the organisers because every year they put on an event of the highest level".

Among the teams success for the Brescia Franciacorta Motori team

 

Second in the general classification are the Brescia team of Franco Spagnoli and Roberto Rossoni, also in a car of great value, the 1928 Fiat 520. Extraordinarily on the overall podium, as far as the car is concerned, come Andrea Malucelli and his wife Monica Bernuzzi in a Fiat Duna 70 of Franciacorta Motori, authors of the best performance without a coefficient. They practically conducted a masterful drive, without any particular flaws. Result thanks to which they won the Nicolis Trophy, already won by them in 2019.


At the foot of the podium, but satisfied, are Guido Barcella and Ombretta Ghidotti from Bergamo, who crossed the finish line with just 267 penalties on their trusty Fiat 508 in C trim, i.e. with 5 gears and 32 horsepower. The same car for team-mates Alberto and Federico Riboldi, fifth overall ahead of Nicola Barcella and Simone Rossoni in an Autobianchi A112 Abarh. on which they topped the Under 30 classification, followed by Giorgio Bossi and Davide Dolce in a Lancia Fulvia Coupé of the Club Orobico Bergamo and Michele Vecchi and Gabriele Soldo in a Lancia Appia C10S of the 0-30 Squadra Corse Asd.

Returning to the top ten, Ezio Sala and Gianluca Cioffi in the much-admired and stylish Lancia Aprilia, proudly bearer of the Emmebi team, Top crew, conquered an excellent seventh place, preceding Nino Margiotta and Marco Bertocchi in the A112 Abarth of the Nettuno team. Completing the top ten in the general classification are Andrea Belometti and Doriano Vavassori from Bergamo in the Fiat 508 of the Scuderia Brescia Corse, who precede the best-placed Veronese crew of Paolo Salvetti and Roberto Bortoluzzi.

 

The Coppa Giulietta & Romeo, due to the selectivity of the route, offered several twists and turns, such as the withdrawal of the former Italian champion of major events Mario Passanante, who had to slow down due to the breakage of an accelerator linkage of his usually reliable Fiat 1100/103 '55. A cheap patch with canvas tape to hold the connecting rods together after a 'precious' bushing came loose was of little use.


Among the women, the top step of the podium was taken by Brescia driver Rossella Torri and Canneto co-driver Caterina Vagliani, tenacious on the A112, ahead of Gabriella Scarioni and Ornella Pietropaolo on the Innocenti Mini Cooper of Nettuno Bologna and the recent winners of the 'ladies' classification of the just-ended Winter Marathon Emanuela Cinelli and Loretta Stofler.


The next appointment with the Cireas is scheduled for 17 and 18 in Ala (TN) with the 30th Coppa Città della Pace. 

 

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