Alfa Crew Ahead after Opening Leg of Coppa delle Alpi
An all Sicilian challenge for the final victory is taking shape through the Alps. Giovanni Moceri from Palermo, winner of the 1000 Miglia 2019, assisted by Daniele Bonetti from Brescia in a 1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia GT, is leading the general ranking in the first leg of the Coppa delle Alpi, the first winter regularity race for vintage cars organised by 1000 Miglia Srl, the company that has been running the Red Arrow race since 2013. The Brixen trophy went to the pairing of of Massimo Zanasi and Barbara Bertini from Bologna in a 1958 Volvo Amazon P20, who are also in second place in the general ranking.
The Coppa delle Alpi 2019, officially included in the Italian Great Events Championship,had 45 cars at the starting line from Brescia, built before 1976, which will compete in four legs through the Alps of Italy, Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Among the snowy Alps, Italy is ‘united’ by the all-Sicilian challenge for the victory of the Coppa delle Alpi and the Italian Great Events Championship for vintage cars with three crews: Moceri and Bonetti but also the the pair from Campobello di Mazara, Mario Passanante, Italian champion of the Italian Regularity Vintage Car Championship, with Anna Maria Pisciotta driving a 1955 FIAT 1100/103 saloon, and the s crew from Campobello with Antonino Margiotta driving a 1947 Volvo PV 444.
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At the moment Passanante and Margiotta are respectively fourth and fifth in the ranking. Yesterday (Wednesday, December 4th) after leaving Brescia, the crews travelled along the panoramic stretch of the Gardesana and reached the Val d'Adige. After carrying out the special trials, the crews ended the first leg in the late afternoon in Brixen with the awarding of the city trophy. For each leg there will be a trophy dedicated to the city of arrival. Today the cars will head to Cortina d'Ampezzo where they will parade before driving to the Three Peaks of Lavaredo, after which they will travel towards the Austrian border and arrive in Seefeld in the afternoon. Here, the cars will be presented to the public while parading in the very central Dorfplatz.
During the leg, the competing cars will be challenged to overcome three Alpine passes (Sella, Pordoi and Falzarego), a hard test for the endurance of the crews and the vehicles. The most impressive passages of the third leg (Friday, December 6th) from Seefeld to St. Moritz will be the initial stretches towards Germany, the Schwangau lake area and the Neuschwanstein Castle, until reaching the characteristic Lake Resia. On the fourth and last day - Saturday, December 7th - the cars will return to Italy passing through the lake of Livigno and the Montebello quarry in Pontresina and end the race in the centre of Ponte di Legno. In the evening, a spectacular climb to over 2,500 metres for the prize-giving ceremony in the unique scenery of the Presena Glacier at Passo del Tonale. The first overall ranking competitors and the winners of the three city leg Trophies, Brixen, Seefeld and St. Moritz, will receive the guarantee of acceptance to the 1000 Miglia 2020.
