On Saturday, February 6, the Italian Automobile Club, together with the Automobile Club of Verona and the Bardolino Top Foundation, held the first round of the 2021 National Retro Rally Championship — Coppa Giulietta e Romeo.
Out of the 121 crews previously applied for the race, 119 made it to the start and it was the duo representing the Nettuno Bolognia team Alberto and Giuseppe Scapolo in a Fiat 508 C who were meant to set out first and set the season off. And it just so happened that they justified their starting number in full.
Firstly, their crew became the best in their category (Group 2 — for cars produced in 1931-1946), they also, of course, topped the final protocol in the overall standings, improving their last year’s achievement (in 2020 they became the second) and finally managed to get the Nicolis Trophy — a prize awarded to crews for the cleanest passage (212.35 penalty points) and, therefore, the highest number of points scored without taking into account the coefficient of the car. Now the name of Alberto Scapolo as a driver will be put onto the trophy, which is kept in the museum of the same name «Nicolis» in the town of Villafranca, near Verona. Of course, as the winners of the first race of the season, Alberto and Giuseppe Scapolo took the lead in the Italian Regularity Rally Championship with 40 points.
Second, 41.10 points behind the winners, was the 2020 Stella Alpina Storica winner Roberto Cruniola, along with Marco Vida, who also chose a Fiat 508C to compete in the Coppa Giulietta e Romeo. The silver medal of the rally in Verona earned them 35 points in the Championship standings. The third place both on the podium at the end of the competition and in the intermediate standings of the season went to a well-known duo in Italy made up of Guido Barcella and Ombretta Ghidotti, who also improved their position compared to last year, when they stopped one step away from the podium. Now the winners of the 2019 Wintermarathon have 32 points on their account.
«We had great satisfaction», commented Adriano Baso, President of the Verona Automobile Club, «first of all for the numbers we have recorded and not least for the success achieved at the end of the race. Everything turned perfectly, we went through enchanting scenarios, the sporting challenge did us honor and we received enthusiastic comments. Sincere thanks to our partners, to the municipal administrations, primarily that of Bardolino, to the staff of the A.C.Verona Historic and ACI Verona Sport and obviously to the competitors who wanted to be there».
As a reminder, the second stage of the Italian Regularity Rally Championship, Coppa Citta della Pace, will take place at the end of February, follow the 2021 season with the calendar of events on our website. Below you will find the overall ranking of the equipages at the all-Apennine Peninsula competition.
