ITALIAN VIBES AT “PISTA & PILOTI”
It’s a grey, rainy and cold November day in Germany. One of many we currently have, I think I’ve not seen any blue sky or the Sun for more than two weeks. But it fits my bored mood, which is controlled by the lack of excitement, adventure and track competition. A nice track day would be something perfect now. A racing event where you have to shout at each other to communicate because of the loud engines coming to life and roaring across the paddock. Where that particular scent of raw petrol - not fully burned in the engines’ cylinders - fills the air. A unique event where the bustle of drivers and mechanics from one to the next car seems like a perfectly rehearsed spectacle.
Pista & Piloti 2021 comes to my mind. This magnificent vintage racing weekend with a large range of Italian sports cars dating back to the 1920s. It fits that description of a perfect track event. And actually it was also a grey, rainy cold day… but in August - yes we get that often during a German summer.
The 2021 event counted 195 pilots, 6 racing classes with three twenty minute races for each class and a total of just over 15,000 km driven distance during that races. The location where the sixth Pista & Piloti event took place was the old airfield of Pferdsfeld, in western Germany, where recently an automotive proving ground was developed. The highlight of the premises was a nice 4.2 km long racetrack, with some challenging chicanes, long straights and even a steep banking curve where the vintage pilots could challenge their vehicles. And it was certainly a challenge considering the rainy, non-Italian but rather English weather they faced. But as true vintage racing ladies and gentlemen, no one cared about the uncomfortable weather.
When we entered the premises we first spotted a very well known silver Giulietta, the SZ “Coda Tronca” from our friends the OKP Racing Club, with Alfa Delta providing the technical support. As one of the event’s sponsors it was nice to see them taking part in the action in the racing class „OKP Gran Premio Alfa Romeo“ together with 35 other cars. It was so nice that we saw this beauty once again in action on a race track, after the Monza outing earlier this year. And they even brought their beautiful verde Alfetta GTV from Milano as company for the Giulietta.
From the OKP pit area we had a good view over the extensive paddock. The former runway was flooded with some pretty special racing legends. Although no spectators where allowed due to the local Covid regulations, the paddock stretched almost to the end of the large runway, that big was the number of the racing-motivated vintage loving people who came as participants. While strolling further through the drizzling fresh rain our eyes and cameras barely knew where to look first. Younger Alfa Romeo 155 in a DTM livery, a beautiful yellow GTV6, many bussines meaning classic Giulias, even an rare Alfa Romeo 2600 SZ and a stunning 1953 Barchetta. Of course the major number of cars belonged to our favorite brand Alfa Romeo, besides them others like some tiny Abarths, some ready to rallye Lancia Delta Integrale, a few Stratos and Maserati you could admire here. Surprisingly we even found a pre-war Austin, a Bentley and adding a bit of local flavour some vintage Porsches and BMWs in the large crowd of vehicles.
While a first race of the “Trofeo Alfasud Revival” was ongoing and the feisty little race cars fought on the wet track, we admired the beautiful Pista & Piloti safety car. A restored Alfa Romeo service Giulia wagon in glowing orange, which mostly followed the bunch of wild race cars during the last lap to check the track and to collect the photographers from their spots. That’s how I also had the pleasure of a short drive in this vintage car. This year’s pace cars on the other hand created some contrasts, some new Giulia GTA and GTAm were chosen to lead every race class to the track for a following flying start in the second lap. Funnily enoug, the sound of the mighty 2.9 liter V6-engine was almost totally covered by the different sounds of 30 to 40 raw racing engines roaring and shouting in the pack behind the new Alfas. And it was an awesome visual imagine every time to see that mean, beautiful bolide coming around the corner followed by the small and furious looking vintage cars, which seemed like an uncontrolled swarm of bees chasing their queen.
Although the weather conditions were challenging for the pilots and also for us photographers, it was just great to watch the racing legends play on the track and and we enjoyed the spectacle. There was no time tracking or trophies which could be won, it was just racing between friends, for the sake of getting the vintage cars back on the track, chat with likeminded petrolheads and having fun together. This mood was all over the track and there was no competitive fight to speack of, but still the drivers pushed their cars and one or the other fullstops break or almost drift in the chicane could be observed. I could very well imagine what an atmosphere it must be, when hundreds if not thousands of vintage loving spectators attending the races, cheering on the pilots and celebrating the versatile mix of vehicles. I’m looking forward to the 7th edition of Pista e Piloti in 2022 in Pferdsfeld - then hopefully with many excited spectators and a more Italian-like weather.
