Cars and drivers of Minardi’s History

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2006


Model: Lola B02/50
Drivers: Rodriguez – Caceres – Tuka Rocha – Rigon – Ippoliti – Nunes
Engine: Zytek V8
Tech. Director: Breda
Tyres: Michelin

2005


Model: PS05
Drivers: Albers – Doornbos – Friesacher – Toccacelo
Engine: Cosworth TJ2005 Series 10
Tech. Director: Tredozi
Tyres: Bridgestone

2004


Model: PS04B
Drivers: Bruni – Baumgartner
Engine: Cosworth Racing CR-3L
Tech. Director: Tredozi
Tyres: Bridgestone

2003


Model: PS03
Drivers: Verstappen – Wilson – Kiesa
Engine: Cosworth Racing CR-3
Tech. Director: Tredozi
Tyres: Bridgestone

2002


Model: PS02
Drivers: Webber – Yoong
Engine: Asiatech AT02
Tech. Director: Tredozi
Tyres: Michelin

2001


Model: PS01
Drivers: Alonso – Marques – Yoong
Engine: European V10
Tech. Director: Tredozi
Tyres: Michelin

2000


Model: M02
Drivers: Gené – Mazzacane
Engine: V10 Fondmetal
Tech. Director: Brunner
Tyres: Bridgestone

1999


Model: M01
Drivers: Badoer – Gené – Sarrazin
Engine: V10 Ford Zetec
Tech. Director: Brunner
Tyres: Bridgestone

1998


Model: M198
Drivers: Nakano – Tuero
Engine: V10 Ford Cosworth
Tech. Director: Tredozi
Tyres: Bridgestone

1997


Model: M197
Drivers: Katayama – Trulli – Marques
Engine: V8 Hart
Tech. Director: Tredozi – Gennari
Tyres: Bridgestone

1996


Model: M195/B
Drivers: Lavaggi – Fisichella – Lamy – Marques
Engine: V8 Cosworth
Tech. Director: Tredozi – Gennari
Tyres: Goodyear

1995


Model: M195
Drives: Martini – Badoer – Lamy
Engine: V8 Cosworth
Tech. Director: Costa
Tyres: Goodyear

1994


Model: M194
Drivers: Martini – Alboreto
Engine: V8 Cosworth
Tech. Director: Costa
Tyres: Goodyear

1993


Model: M193
Drivers: Fittipaldi – Barbazza – Martini – Gounon
Engine: V8 Cosworth
Tech. Director: Costa
Tyres: Goodyear

1992


Model: M192/L + M192
Drivers: Morbidelli – Fittipaldi – Zanardi
Engine: V12 Lamborghini
Tech. Director: Costa
Tyres: Goodyear

1991


Model: M191
Drivers: Martini – Morbidelli – Moreno
Engine: V12 Ferrari
Tech. Director: Costa
Tyres: Goodyear

1990


Model: M190
Drivers: Martini – Barilla – Morbidelli
Engine: V8 Cosworth Mader
Tech. Director: Costa
Tyres: Pirelli

1989


Model: M189
Drivers: Sala – Barilla – Martini
Engine: V8 Cosworth Mader
Tech. Director: Costa
Tyres: Pirelli

1988


Model: M188
Drivers: Sala – Campos – Martini
Engine: V8 Cosworth Mader 
Tech. Director: Caliri
Tyres: Goodyear

1987


Model: M186
Drivers: Nannini – Campos
Engine: V6 M. Moderni
Tech. Director: Caliri
Tyres: Goodyear

1986


Model: M185/B + M186
Drivers: De Cesaris – Nannini 
Engines: V6 M. Moderni
Tech. Director: Caliri
Tyres: Pirelli

1985


Model: M185
Drivers: Martini
Engine: V8 Cosworth – V6 M. Moderni
Tech. Director: Caliri
Tyres: Pirelli

About – Gian Carlo Minardi

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Gian Carlo Minardi

Born: 18 September 1947
Birth place: Faenza (Ravenna), Italy
Nationality: Italian
Civil State: Married with Mara, a Son Giovanni
Place of Residence: Faenza (Ravenna)
Hobbies:Football, Historical Car
Email: gcminardi@minardi.it

Gian Carlo has grown among cars: his family ran a business as Fiat dealer from 1927 to 1999. No doubt, the passion for racing was passed on to him by his father Giovanni, who built the GM75 in 1948. It was a small two-seater car, powered by a 6-cylinder and 750 hp engine, whose design was carried out together with Sir Oberdan Golfieri, the Engineer. After a short period spent as an uphill racer, a rally driver behind the wheel of a Fiat 124 and historical cars meetings attendee, the young Minardi decided to hang up his helmet to deal with a new-born racing squad named “Scuderia del Passatore”, a team from Romagna engaged in lower Formulas Championships. From 1972 to 1974 the team got good results in Formula Italia: the driver Giancarlo Martini finished 2nd in the 1972 Championship and was 1973 Championship winner.

The team was renamed “Scuderia Everest” and took part in the 1975 and 1976 Formula 2 European Championships with a BMW March. These are the racing seasons in which racers such as Martini and Leoni made their debut alongside the team. In 1975 he simultaneously started to collaborate with the Ferrari. The deep admiration and respect cherished by the Commendatore Enzo Ferrari for Gian Carlo Minardi resulted in putting a F.1 Ferrari 312/B3 available for the Scuderia Everest, to wean Italian motorsport young drivers.

In 1977 the Ferrari made the Dino V6 engines available for the team from Faenza. The F.2 Ralts first and the Chevrons then, were all equipped with those engines. Drivers: Brancatelli, Leoni, Guerra and De Angelis.

Minardi himself became a constructor in 1979, when he founded the Minardi Team. The Team ran 4 brilliant F.2 racing seasons, characterized by good results and a win scored by the driver Michele Alboreto in the 1981 European Championship in Misano.

In 1985 the Minardi Team made his debut in Formula 1. In 1991 the Ferrari announced it would have equipped the Minardi with its V12 engines. It was the first time a private team was allowed to be equipped with Ferrari engines and we don’t have to be surprised about Mr Ferrari decision, since he deeply admired Minardi.

In 1994 Minardi reached an agreement with the “Scuderia Italia”, in order to ensure the survival of his team. Two years later the team’s majority stake was bought by Gabriele Rumi and Flavio Briatore . Gian Carlo Minardi worked closely to Gabriele Rumi as the Team Managing Director until the end of the 2000 racing season.

In January 2001, the Minardi Team’s majority stake was bought by Paul Stoddart.

In 2005, after running 340 GP and being a F.1 Team for 21 years, the Team itself was assigned to the Red Bull. This is the year that marks the end of Gian Carlo Minardi’s adventure in the world of Formula 1.

He is currently an ACI-CSAI (Italian motorsport commission) advisor and a sport analyst for several newspapers and TV programs.

AYRTON DAY –The Imola circuit celebrates the brazilian champion

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On Wednesday May 1st the Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit will be the stage for the Ayrton Day in memory of Senna, twenty five years after the demise of the Brazilian champion.

The day will give fans the chance to experience the commemoration in various ways thanks to an intense programme that will start at 8.00am and finish at 6.00pm with displays on the track by F1 racing cars and historic cars (starting at 11.30am), exhibitions, cars made from LEGO blocks (McLaren MP4) and guided tours of the Circuit’s facilities, as well as experiencing the thrill of virtual speed with the simulators.

Seven Formula 1 cars with which Ayrton Senna built his career will be present. We start with the 1983 Williams FW09, the racing car in which the Brazilian carried out his first F1 test up to the 1994 Williams FW16, passing through the LOTUS 97T/4 JPS and Lotus 99T/6 Camel, the McLaren MP4/5B and McLaren MP/7 and the Williams FW14 to which we also add the Honda NSX road car. In the pits there will be the Minardi M192, M194 and PS01, the Ferrari F93A, the Toro Rosso STR 03 and the Van Diemen RF83, the chassis of Roland Ratzenberger who will also be remembered on the occasion.

The Santerno Circuit will also host a photographic exhibition “Simply the best” by Angelo Orsi and Mirco Lazzari, the “Senna” portraits exhibition, the “L’uomo, il pilota, il mito” (The man, the driver, the myth) conference (10am in the Conference Room) with the members of the F1 GRAN PRIX DRIVERS CLUB (Emanuele Pirro, Howden Ganley, Patrick Tambay, Hans Herrmann, Derek Daly, David Piper, Teddy Pilette, Jo Vonlanthen, Mike Wilds, Jo Ramirez and Mario Theissen) with the relative autograph session and the presentation of the book “Senna Inedito” (The Unpublished Senna, 4.00pm in the Conference Room) by Pino Allievi, Roberto Boccafogli, Carlo Cavicchi, Giorgio Piola and Carlo Sanchez.

Open letter from Gian Carlo Minardi "Imola is synonymous with the Romagna around the world"

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As a man of sport I would have preferred not entering in person into the question tied to the Imola circuit but in recent weeks I received many requests for information from passionate enthusiasts worried about the future of the Historic Minardi Day. For this reason I want to calm all the fans by confirming that on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 April the Enzo and Dino Ferrari International Circuit will host the fourth edition and to state my thoughts on what is happening.

Around the world Imola is synonymous with the Romagna region and speaking in a sporting way I consider it my second home as it was the stage of 21 Grands Prix for the Minardi Team.

The Enzo and Dino Ferrari Circuit is an international heritage.

The core lies in defining once and for all the meaning of the Circuit for the city of Imola. A Circuit is obviously a place where auto and motorbike races are held, both at national and international, and in the specific case of Imola we are talking of a facility with a historic image that is exceptional in the world, a point of reference for all of Motorsport, beginning with the Italian Federation.

All the circuits have high management costs, tied above all the renovation work for its safety. In order to protect the budgets, it is necessary that the facility functions for the greater part of the year, also through days of open testing that are open to all the fans. This would be easily to facilitate in the Imola Circuit because its image would attract this very type of clientele. Without forgetting that hosting national and international events brings income above all to the cause but also to the benefit of the Imola Local Council’s overall economic performance and also to the neighbouring Local Councils.

The circuit is certainly also a source of discomfort because of the sound for those who live nearby but goodwill is needed to overcome these problems. Today there are technologies and interventions that can alleviate a good part of the problem.

Despite Formula Imola having managed to relaunch activity strongly in recent years, if we do not decide to follow the road to saving the Circuit we seriously risk losing the Enzo and Dino Ferrari.

I look forward to seeing many of you in Imola to spend a weekend together under the banner of Motorsport with the fourth edition of the Historic Minardi Day.

Gian Carlo Minardi

The Bandini Trophy and the Minardi Day together on the weekend of May 5th and 6th.

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The Bandini Trophy and the Minardi Day come together for a weekend of international Motorsport which will see the two prestigious events on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th May unite in a spectacular fashion, thanks to the collaboration of the heads of the two organizations: Francesco Asirelli – President of the Bandini Committee, now in the 25th edition of the annual awards in memory of the famous and much missed Ferrari driver who tragically lost his life in 1967 and Giancarlo Minardi who, together with Formula Imola, is preparing the 3rd year of Minardi Day.

The winner of the 2018 Bandini Trophy is the Finnish driver, Valtteri Bottas of the World Champion F1 Team “Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport who will collect his award on Saturday 5th May in Brisighella. Alongside Valtteri Bottas the Committee, which is made up of some of the most illustrious figures of the world of Motor Sport and Journalism, has assigned a special exclusive award to the President of ACI and Vice-President of the FIA, Angelo Sticchi Damiani, whose prestigious presence perfectly combines Italian Motor Sport with the International image of the weekend’s events with great emphasis on Motor Valley.

As well as the winners Aldo Costa – F1 World Champion designer and Riccardo Mosconi – Lewis Hamilton’s race engineer, will complete the formidable presence of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, which, for the delight of fans. will bring two F1 cars; the 2013 W04 and the 2016 W07.

On Saturday afternoon the W07, the world champion car of 2016, will be driven by Valtteri Bottas from the main square in Faenza to Brisighella, where he will receive the prestigious Award, one of the most coveted on the circuit.
Mercedes, the protagonist of the 2015 edition, with Team Principal Toto Wolff , the much celebrated and honoured winner in 2015, will be in the spotlight for the entire weekend first in the charming Medieval Romagnolo village of Brisighella and then at the Minardi Day at Imola with the 2013 W04 that will be driven by its designer Aldo Costa (formerly of the Mindardi Team). Valtteri Bottas will also stop at the pits to sign autorgraphs prior to going to Faenza.

It promises to be a breathtaking and intense weekend which will bring together the distinguished 25th edition of the Bandini Awards, and the 3rd annual Minardi Day – major events for true Motorsport fans.

The Bandini Trophy awards ceremony will come alive at 3,00pm on Saturday 5th May with an impressive parade of cars and breathtaking exhibits before the arrival of the F1 W07 car in Brisighella and will conclude at 6.00pm with the Closing Ceremony in the spectacular Amphitheatre of the spectacular medieval hamlet.

Paolo Stanzani and Mario Poltronieri have passed away. Minardi "I lost two friends"

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It is a sad day. I do not know what to say. In a single day I lose two great friends, Paul Scanzani and Mario Poltronieri. Stanzani was one of my partners in F1 when the Scuderia Italia joined the Minardi team. Together, we shared many decisions. We met again in Imola during the Historic Minardi Day and exchanged greetings at Christmas. I especially embrace his daughter Chiara.

I am forced to also greet Mario Poltronieri, a RAI historical journalist and a great driver in the 60s and 70s with Abarth. We shared living rooms as pundits to remember our past, telling the present.

It is a sad day for our country that loses two historical characters related to the world of Motorsport.

 

Gian Carlo Minardi receives the prize "Una vita per lo sport"

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In the set of Piazza del Popolo in Faenza,  Saturday 10th September, Gian Carlo Minardi received the Panathlon Club Faenza prize entitled “Una vita per lo sport”, a  prize created in 1990 dedicated to those citizens from Faenza who have distinguished themselves in sport.

“It is the second prize that I receive from the city of Faenza. I received the first one, “Faentino sotto la torre”, in 1987, after my entrance into Formula 1 World Championship with the Minardi team. These are the most important prizes that the municipal administration of Faenza gives to its citizens, and I am proud of both of them”, Gian Carlo Minardi says.

A recognition that does not come just for the results achieved in 21 F1 seasons. “I was chairman of the greco-Roman wrestling club and currently I am still  chairman of the Faenza Calcio”, the manager from Faenza continues.

“It was a great pleasure to receive the prize from Mauro Benericetti, chairman of the Panathlon Club Faenza and from Lieutenant Colonel Giuseppe Minissale, chairman of the agonistic department of the Army Sports Centre. It happened in the presence of its Olympic athletes:  Odette Giuffrida (silver medal in judo, in recent  Brazilian Olympic Games) Brazil Fabio Parisi (greco-Roman wrestling), John Sarchioto (boxing), Raffaele Di Serio (boxing), Licia Martignani (Taekwondo), Lara Mori and Erika Fasana (artistic gymnastics). As President of the Commission speed ACI Sport, I am working together with Lieutenant Colonel Minissale to activate a collaboration with the center“.

During the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Lieutenant Colonel Giuseppe Minissale, along with the medalists Basile and Chamizo, guided by Gian carlo Minardi, have touched the environment of Formula 1.

Bandini Trophy. Minardi "Verstappen is mature and enjoyable"

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Max Verstappen received the Bandini Trophy in Brisighella. The prize, dedicated to the Ferrari driver from Romagna passed away for a car accident in 1967, since 1992 has rewarded emerging drivers. This year, the promoters wanted to award the talent of the very young Red Bull driver, winner in the Spanish GP. Thanks to that seal, with his debut at the wheel of the Red Bull Racing after a promotion from Toro Rosso, Max became the youngest driver to win a F1 GP at the age of 18 years, 7 months and 15 days.

“Max Verstappen is very pleasant and mature in his answers. We must applaud the committee that once again identified and rewarded a driver with a major F1 career in front of him. It was a wonderful evening with a great feedback from the public. A prize that has been growing for 20 years, attracting a lot of authorities and important people in the small municipality of Brisighella. There was a beautiful exhibition with ten Toro Rosso, the Porsche that won at Le Mans and two Lamborghini to remember the centenary of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s birth”, Gian Carlo Minardi says.

The Bandini Trophy to Max Verstappen

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It is Max Verstappen the winner of the 23th edition of the Bandini Trophy. The award ceremony, that takes places as usual in Brisighella on Sunday June 17, will crown the young Red Bull driver, the youngest driver to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix in his eighteens in Barcelona. After last season focused on the win of Mercedes as Constructors’ World champion, the event focuses again on the drivers who have been in a great shape. Verstappen inherits a prize that in the last years went to drivers like Schumacher, Raikkonen, Alonso, Vettel, and Hamilton, great champions who with their brilliant career then have testified the foresight of the prize organizers capable of discovering and giving value to talents as nobody else in this field. “After last season with witch we celebrated the win accomplished by Mercedes 50 years later its last victory, this year we are back to our origins, rewarding an emerging driver that in a few time has gained notoriety. Last year, at seventeen years, he debuted in a F1 world championship. This year he was confirmed with flying colors trough a flash promotion into Red Bull, a promotion that he repaid with his win in Spain and two second places”, says Gian Carlo Minardi, who has been part of the Honor Committee for 23 years.“His win in Spain proves that the choice was right also because his promotion into Red Bull Racing came before his win. Verstappen has shown a certain improvement and maturation after each appointment”.

Verstappen is a model to follow for the drivers and for the stables

“It is a good signal for all the young, but also for the stables” the manager from Faenza continues and stresses the importance of giving an opportunity to young drivers. “Max was good at exploiting all the opportunities, from his debut into Toro Rosso up to his passage into Red Bull baptized with a win. There are other drivers that would deserve an opportunity, and it would be an incentive both for the teams and official drivers”. The arrival of the Dutch driver put some pressure on Ricciardo, creating a healthy and productive competition within the team, a competition that urges them to do always their best. “The project for the youth of Red Bull offered us a lot of satisfactions, but burned some drivers. They have an important economic power that allows them to have a turnover, moreover they can count on a Junior-Team”.

 Fuoco, Ghiotto, Marciello, and Giovinazzi

 Our mind flies fast to our standard-bearers Antonio Fuoco, Luca Ghiotto, Raffaele Marciello and Anthonio Giovinazzi, who are doing well in their respective GP3 and GP2 Series championships. At Silverstone, it was the turn of Antonio Fuoco for sounding the notes of the hymn of Mameli while in Baku Giovinazzi brought the tricolor onto the summit winning twice. “As a Federation, we are very pleased with the results, because these guys were selectioned and followed through internships. At Silverstone Fuoco he won his first GP3 race, while Giovinazzi and Ghiotto have occupied important positions in Gp2. Now, the resources of ACI Team Italia are limited and we cannot afford any mistakes. However, having the support of our Federation may open to new opportunities. At the moment, we lack a reference team with which boys can do their debut, making the most of our work”.

Ferrari Driver Academy

During the collective tests at Silverstone, Charles Leclerc, GP3 leader and FDA driver debuted with Ferrari SF-H16. “Massimo Rivola is doing a great job as a coordinator and Sporting Director of this reality dedicated to the youth that wants to re-launch itself after missed results. Unfortunately, Jules Bianchi, FDA reference driver, passed away. Despite his young age, the Monegasque is fighting for the GP3 title along with Fuoco, and during testing on the English track he alternated himself with Kimi Raikkonen at the wheel, after impressing the Haas team in free practice”. 

100 years of "Targa Florio"

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The 100th edition of the Targa Florio was displayed Thuesday April 19, 2016 in Rome at the Automobile Club Italia. Aci President Angelo Sticchi Damiani, Gian Carlo Minardi (who is actively engaged in its organization), mayor of Palermo Leoluca Orlando, mayor of Cefalù Rosario La Punzina, president of the Autoclub of Palermo, Angelo Pizzuto, and the CEO of ACI Sport Marco Rogano attended the event.

From 5 to 8 May 2016, Targa Florio Rally, Targa Florio Historic Rally, Targa Florio Classic and Historic Speed, in the prestigious setting of the Ferrari Tribute, will attract the attention of thousands of Sicilian fans along the streets that saw the greatest masters of the wheel compete in the historic speed race.

“We can’t talk about the Targa without thinking to the land where it takes place and to the culture of an island that gave so much to Italy and to the World. The success of an event that has been able to continue and reach 100 editions is in this symbiosis, between the sport event and the culture of the land where it was born“, Aci president, Angelo Sticchi Damiani, done the honors. “The Automobile Club Italia has always supported this event, following it along its growth, and carrying on a well-structured work that in the last years was also developed through a close cooperation with the Automobile Club of Palermo.

A great race that has in it four exclusive events , the International Targa Florio rally of Sicily, Targa Florio Historic rally, Targa Florio Classic, and Targa Florio historic speed. From 5 to 8 May, we will all be able to become protagonists of a unique event that will retrace all the splendid steps of the race born in 1906.

“A huge task that sees the Automobile Club d’Italia, its women and its men, engaged at their best to make everything work in the best way, paying tribute to that crazy idea, to that forward-looking, but extremely modern and revolutionary project of Vincenzo Florio “, president Sticchi Damiani concluded.

“The 100th anniversary of Targa Florio is a worldwide event. It isn’t just the oldest race of the world, it marks the evolution of a century of motoring and  celebrates the “Targa Florio” phenomenon that beyond sport has characterized an era from a cultural, historic, and social point of view”, president of the Automobile Club of Palermo, Angelo Pizzuto, said. “From a brainwave of Vincenzo Florio, the tycoon who in 1906 decided to follow his passion with the organization of the first edition. A cultural movement was born which attracted kings and nobility from all the Europe to the finish line of the Targa Florio, mixing the competitive side of a hard and difficult race with socialite life that used to promote exhibitions and great dancing parties. An unmistakable style that has influenced the ‘work of architects and artists around the world “,Pizzuto concluded.

Present at the press conference, mayor of Palermo Leoluca Orlando and mayor of Cefalu Rosario La Punzina brought the greetings from two places that have always represented the Targa Florio and Sicily in the world. The both of the two places are UNESCO sites. Palermo and its history, Cefalù and its wonderful views, are ready to welcome and properly celebrate the 100th edition of the Targa Florio.

Targa Florio Rally, the 100th edition of theTarga Florio, is the third event of the Italian Rally Championship, valid for the Regional Championship. It also is the third seasonal round of the Italian Car Rally Autostoriche Championship, which will bring on the Sicilian roads those cars that have made the Targa Florio great in the 70’s and 80’s, the years of epic rally.

Targa Florio Historic Rally, the special stage “100 Targa” to both Rallies, from Florianopolis to Cerda, will bring the racing cars in front of the automobile temple, the Floriopoli Tribune, the hub of the four events of the 100th Targa Florio. Palermo, Campofelice di Roccella, Cefalu, Cerda Collesano, Gratteri, are centers where the Targa was born and raised, and where it continues looking to the future.

Targa Florio Classic, the unique competition reserved to cars of particular historical and sporting prestige, is the reference event for lovers of vintage cars. The “Classic” will be an opportunity to admire the most beautiful ones among the most prestigious brands of Vintage Cars, built from 1906 to 1970, which will perform on the streets of Madonie and Sicily.

Historic speed is an event wisely directed by Giancarlo Minardi. It will give the opportunity to admire the champions who shaped the history of the race on the historic route from Floriopoli to Cerda: from Jacky Ickx to Nino Vaccarella, from Arturio Merzario to Gijs Van Lennep, to Sandro Munari, Carlo Facetti, Nanni Galli, the Austrian driver Helmut Marko, and many other top names. The cars will be at the same level. From the Alfa Romeo T33 to the Porsche Carrera SLR cars of the Historical Museum to the Ferrari ones”. To enrich the ranks of distinguished guests, also Jean Todt, FIA president, and Muthar Kent, Coca Cola CEO, will be present.

To celebrate the 100 editions of the Targa Florio, an extraordinary meeting in Palermo will take place with drivers and characters who wrote indelible pages in the history of the oldest race in the world.

From 16:00 of Saturday May 7 2016, at the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, it will take place the Passion Day with the audience of enthusiasts.

Mauro Coppini, director of FormulaPassion.it along with Ezio Zermiani will interview great motoring names who have participated over the years in the Targa Florio editions.

Ninni Vaccarella, the legendary “flying dean” linked to the race in the Madonie, Mauro Forghieri, Jacky Ickx, Helmut Marko, Hans Hermann, Vic Elford, Andrea de Adamich, Arturo Merzario, Sandro Munari, Nanni Galli, and Carlo Facetti  are just a few of the  guests that will intervene in Palermo. This event is part of the official program for the celebrations of the 100 editions of the Targa Florio organized by ACI Sport. The admission is free.

Prestigious brands will enhance the 100th edition of the Targa Florio, associating their name to “a cursa”. Alfa Romeo and Abarth, linked with this race due to some important sporting victories, will be the Main Sponsors of the event. Eberhard & Co. will sponsor it for the first time as Official Time Keeper and will present a special model dedicated to the 100th Targa Florio and to the competitors who will have the opportunity to live this extraordinary experience.

Another Official Sponsor of the Targa Florio will be MA.FRA, a leader in the cosmetics industry for cars that in the frame of the Sicilian streets of the Madonie, between one stage and the next, will offer some special treatments to the precious bodywork and delicate interiors of the historic cars.

Poste Italiane will also be an Official Sponsor of the event, enriching the presence of prestigious brands alongside the Targa Florio. On this occasion, Targa Florio will offer its support to ANT that has offered home care for tumor ill since many years.

For any information about the race consult www.targa-florio.it site.

 

Gian Carlo Minardi remembers the unforgettable Michele

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“With Michele, there has always been a beautiful relationship of mutual respect. I am glad he started and finished his carrer as a professional in a single-seater with the Minardi Team. Once he retired, we programmed to cooperate to help the development of Italian motor sport” Gian Carlo Minardi remembers.

In 1981, Minardi recruites two drivers for the second season of the Minardi Team in F2: Johnny Cecotto and a still little known young by the name of Michele Alboreto, providing them with the Minardi-Fly M281 designed by Caliri and Marmioli and equipped with the well-tested BMW engine prepared by Heini Mader. The new endeavour of the stable from Faenza starts brilliantly, also thanks to the talent of Michele who immediately put his more experienced team-mate in trouble: 3°place at Thruxton and Pergusa, pole position at Paul and victory at Misano in the midst of the scorching Riviera’s August. “It was a growing season that, thanks to Michele’s skill, gave us the first and unique Minardi Team victory. To us it was the second season as constructors”.

The streets of Minardi and Alboreto cross again in 1994, last season in Formula 1 of the driver from Milan, before moving to GT racings and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.“Unfortunately the results he achieved don’t match up the true value of a driver like Michele. He collected less than he deserved. He arrived at Ferrari in a difficult time. Already in 1981, I tried to persuade engineer Enzo Ferrari to bet on Michele. Unfortunately he didn’t pay attention to me, but in 1994 I had my “payback”: Alboreto became a Ferrari driver” the Manager from Faenza continues, and he also tells us an anecdote: “Michele was the subject of the my unique disagreement with the great Enzo Ferrari when in 1983 I told Autosprint that I had pointed out Michele’s talent to Ferrari. At that statement, the Drake responded with a letter that I still conserve”.

“Ended the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2001, we would had to start our project to make Italian motoring grow. I have been able to start this project in part with the first ACI CSAI Formula borned in memory of Michele Alboreto and with the Federal School which is named after him” Minardi concludes his memory.

Golden Helmet to Gian Carlo Minardi

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“I am truly honoured to receive this prestigious reward. One for all, I want to thank Autosprint editorAlberto Sabatini”. It is the first comment of Gian Carlo Minardi after being awarded with Autosprint Golden Helmet for his career and his engagement in Motorsport with Minardi F1 Team.

“After accompanying on stage a lot of young drivers who have drived with me, I am glad I received this prize in a so important occasion like the fiftieth year and among many illustrious names who wrote the history of autosport like President Luca Cordero di Montezzemolo, Mario Andretti and Marco Tronchetti Provera, along with new protagonists like Luca Ghiotto, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Riccardo Agostini”.

We are also glad to announce the prize received by Alessandro Nannini that we have met some days ago for a plesant chat.

Gian Carlo Minardi professor for a day at DZ

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Thanks to the project “The history of Ferrari, an Italian excellence”, The Dino Zoli Foundation has become a classroom for the pupils of the middle school Fiorini in Villanova.

Setting aside his role as a team principal and a talent scout, Gian Carlo Minardi has filled the shoes of a teacher, along with the hosts Dino and Monica Zoli, to recount the history of Ferrari, World Champion with Michael Schumacher.

This event is going to be the first of a series of activities involving a lot of school disciplines with an educational trip in Maranello and a final event, a Ferrari meeting, in the school garden.The aim of the project is to teach in depth the history of the ‘900 and the companies from Romagna that have tied indissolubly their entrepreneurial work out of no were to the most famous company in the world.

Another important purpose is to make it clear to future generations that it is just passion that makes people able to achieve goals that are unbelievable at the beginning of their career.