Racing season 1954
The death of Mario Verga
Motorboating and its champions enjoyed, in the early 50s, an ever-increasing popularity, to the point that Mario Verga and other pilots became direct protagonists of a film set in the world of water racing, entitled "Violenza sul lago" (ed. Zeus) of 1954. A film forgotten in the cinema library for more than 40 years that shows Mario Verga at the wheel of his magnificent Laura I. This exhilarating moment of Italian motorboating suffered, however, a first very painful blow when, in the autumn of 1954, on Lake Iseo in Sarnico, during an attempt at an absolute record, Mario Verga died. It was October 9th.
As stated in the article by Franco Degli Uberti in the magazine "Vela e motore", at the moment the tragedy occurs the only thing that remains is "... the great silence that filled the air after the piercing scream of the two Alfa Romeos fell silent... In that moment Mario Verga rose from the mirror of the Sebino to reach the heroes in the sky, the great pilots Henry Segrave and John Cobb who had sacrificed themselves to achieve maximum speed on the water..."
This tragedy induced Achille Castoldi to give up a similar record attempt that proved excessively dangerous if faced with the means that the Italians had at their disposal.
Records and trophies of the year
Again in 1954, just over a month after the tragic death of Mario Verga, it was the turn of another driver determined to launch himself into the conquest of a new speed record: Liborio Guidotti. On 13 November, on the measured base of Campione d'Italia, Guidotti, using a 3-point Timossi baptized with the name of Maria Luisa IV and powered by a 1500 cc 4-cylinder Maserati type 150s engine, achieved an average of 149.38 km/h, a new world record for 350 kg racers. Coming to circuit races, Ezio Selva boasts, for the first time in four years, the European title of the 2800M class racers, as well as the Italian one, while the young Flavio Guidotti succeeded Cometti in the other Italian title, the one reserved for the 1500 cc class
Among the curiosities, in 1954 there is the participation in the Campari Trophy, raced at the Idroscalo in Milan, of the American Luis Nuta. He arrives in our country with his beautiful and colorful hull of his own construction, called Miami Queen II , a complex of larger dimensions than those of the Italian hulls. This 3-point is equipped with a Chrysler "Fine power" engine of 5400cc 8 cylinders in V, developed by Nuta himself with Hilborn injection system. A peculiarity is also found in the use of a small two-stroke engine for starting: everything happens thanks to a pull command from the dashboard. In the single test of the Campari Trophy that starts the second edition of the prestigious challenge (1954-1956) reserved for racers without limitations, Luis Nuta wins ahead of the French Luis Delacour (Abbate-BPM), Flavio Guidotti (Timossi-Maserati) and Augusto Shapira (Abbate-Ferrari). A success for Nuta facilitated, however, by the absence of the ace Mario Verga and the withdrawal of Ezio Selva even before the start: however, it cannot be said to be undeserved.
The Raid Pavia-Venezia
Excellent test of the brothers Augusto and Camilla Cometti who, with their Abbate hull powered by a 2800 cc 160 HP BPM engine in the 800 kg category, conquer the overall victory in the fourteenth edition of the Raid Pavia-Venezia. A triumph not entirely unexpected and prepared, as Cometti prefers, down to the smallest details. In fact, nothing is left to chance, such as, for example, having completed, a few days before, the entire route of the race. The excellent reliability of the entire complex allows Cometti to establish an average speed of 124.086 km/h with a time of 3h 28' 04". A curious detail is Cometti's arrival in the lagoon in Venice: it occurs about two hours before all the other competitors, surprising, in addition to the large public not yet present, also the experts. Behind the winners another racer of the 800 kg category, driven by Tarcisio Marega and Amelia Marega: yet another example of how motorboat sport also involves women, not at all intimidated by speeding at high speeds with the large-displacement racers. Among the illustrious retirements of the 800 kg, those of the Timossi-Maserati of Liborio Guidotti and son, of the navy pilots Valli and Violante and of Comm. Rivolta, paired with Molli, both on Abbate-BPM boats.
Comm. Rivolta gets the Oscar for bad luck for the accident which occurred to him just one kilometer from the finish line, preventing him from repeating the performance obtained in the previous Raid that he had so hoped for.
Worth noting, despite the withdrawal, is the conquest of the Coppa d'Oro Theo Rossi di Montelera by the crew formed by Vittore Loggioni and Luigi Allione on an Abbate hull and a 12-cylinder 4500 cc Ferrari engine. This team, in the timed section of the Pontelagoscuro-Voltagrimana race, achieved the best performance with 145.454 km/h. Worth noting is the presence on the bow of the boat of the fuel tanks in front of the engine hood, with a futuristic horseshoe shape: in this way the hull took on the appearance of a snowplough rather than a racing racer. With 150 liters of fuel on board, it was necessary to add a co-pilot to better balance the weight of the boat towards the stern. Unfortunately, however, near Chioggia, a violent sea wave sends this powerful racer to the bottom.
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Racing season 1955
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