Racing season 1966
The KD 900 kg World Championship
In 1966, FIM President Mario Agusta established close relations with the American Federation, with the aim of bringing to Italy one of the most important pilots in the international inboard scene, in particular, Michael Thomas. This champion, originally from New Jersey, came to our country with the desire to participate in a series of races, in the KD 900 kg class, to try to assert himself on the now consolidated leadership that, in the racing field, our pilots have clearly boasted for years. Michael Thomas took to the race his beautiful blue and white racer, christened Miss Washington , built by the very famous Lautebach shipyard and powered by a Chevrolet V8 marinized with injection, with a displacement of 5300 cc for an estimated power of around 400 HP. This General Motors engine was used, in the automotive field, on the car of the Italian company Iso-Rivolta "Grifo" Sting Ray. The hull, despite having a three-point bottom, is still different from our normal racers: among the peculiarities it has the engine and the cockpit placed backwards, with the cockpit completely uncovered behind the driver and the buoyancy boots tapered towards the stern. Also original is the length of the exhaust pipes that end at the height of the steering wheel.
At the start of the KD world championship in Campione d'Italia, in addition to the American Thomas, we find two red-cross drivers: the Italian-Swiss Faroppa on a ballasted 2500 cc S.Marco-Alfa Romeo hull, to be able to access the 900 kg, and Joseph Ulrich with a Timossi-BPM. The Italians line up with the reigning champion Marchisio and with Flavio and Liborio Guidotti, all on 6400 cc Timossi-Maseratis; then we find Nando Dell'Orto who has, on his Timossi, a less powerful 5600 cc Maserati. At the last moment, the Venetians Giorgetti and Battaglini are missing from the competition: the first would have used a BPM on his hull while the second would have dusted off the old but perhaps still competitive Ferrari 12 cylinders. This engine had been used successfully years before by Castoldi, later sold to Dell'Orto and then purchased by Battaglini who installed it on a Celli hull of the pilot Ligabue.
Unfortunately, irreparable mechanical failures during the set-up tests forced Giorgetti and Battaglini to follow the race as spectators. Among the novelties of this world championship, there is also the modification made to the circuit: in fact, to try to bring it closer to the US tracks, it is moved from the usual 2000 m to 2500 m. All this does not create problems for our pilots and Flavio Guidotti clearly wins the first two heats, managing to add an advantage over his rival in the standings Marchisio of a good 14 seconds. In the third and decisive heat, Flavio Guidotti immediately takes the lead, keeping Marchisio behind him: when it seems that he is definitely on his way to victory, here comes the incredible twist: Guidotti's Timossi-Maserati begins to lose grip on the straight and after some spectacular veering , our driver manages, with great skill and expertise, to rearrange the ungovernable hull and return to the launching areas. It is only later that we see what really happened when, once the boat is launched, we notice how the propeller shaft suddenly gave way, shearing itself off the exit of the holding arm, probably because it has hit some semi-submerged debris. Guidotti's forced abandonment allows Marchisio to win the third heat and to confirm himself as world champion of the KD 900 kg for the fifth consecutive year. In second place, as in 1964 and 1965, we find Dell'Orto, then the unfortunate Flavio Guidotti who precedes his father Liborio. The American Thomas, only places fifth and to close, in sixth position we find Faroppa and in seventh Ulrich.
Michael Thomas's performance was quite disappointing: he placed fourth at the end of the first heat, retired at the first lap due to a broken propeller in the second race and was absent in the last one. The American driver's 5300 cc Chevrolet engine proved to be far inferior to the Maserati 6400 and 5600 cc, which were designed exclusively for motorboat racing: the same could be said of the boat, too light with its 670 kg, compared to our 900 kg. The impression we had was that, on the wavy motion of Lake Campione, Thomas had quite a few difficulties in controlling his vehicle: in fact, several times, on the long straights he often decelerated to avoid serious risks. Unlike in the USA, on our lakes, normal navigation of tourist boats and any other vessel is never prohibited during a motorboat race: this situation does not please the American driver.
After the world championship, Michael Thomas, is seen again in the international events of Lio Grando, accompanied by his team of eight hard-working people, including the legitimate owner of the Miss Washington , Mr. Alen Gene Henderson. On this one occasion, thanks to a bit of luck, he manages to win the race.
He then took part in the Coppa dell'Oltranza in Gardone, where he won an honorable second place in the Coppa del Vittoriale, won by Flavio Guidotti. Finally, at the Trofeo Campari at the Idroscalo in Milan, he was forced to desert the competition due to a mechanical failure that arose during the tests the day before.
The European KD 900 kg Championship
In Lecco we witness performances of different calibre, during the European championship of the 900 kg. At the starting line we have our Falvio and Giorgio Guidotti, Ermanno Marchisio and Nando Dell'Orto, all on Timossi boats powered by Maseratis of more or less the same power.
As for foreign participation, we find the usual Swiss Joseph Ulrich with his multi-coloured racer equipped with a recently designed BPM GV engine, but with less horsepower than his opponents. A strong cross wind creates, for a good part of the event, no small difficulties for the competitors and the choppy waters of the lake put the trim of the boats to the test, not allowing the achievement of high speeds. Therefore the first of the four scheduled heats is delayed waiting for better water conditions.
All five participants start, with Marchisio and Giorgio Guidotti who are caught in the photo finish for an early start, but who, undaunted, continue until the end of the twelve laps, without ever noticing the signals that are shown to them from the jury's stage.
Solitary success for Flavio Guidotti: unlucky Nando Dell'Orto and the Swiss Ulrich are forced to retire due to various mechanical problems. The story of the second heat is incredible, with Marchisio and both Guidottis disqualified for an early start, while Nando Dell'Orto remains in the lead for only three laps and is then forced to abandon again. As a result, this heat does not see any classified competitor. In the third heat Ulrich is seen again, but not Dell'Orto who complains of an evident crack on the head of his Maserati near a stud. With a regular start this time, Marchisio takes the lead, but on the fifth lap bad luck is lurking for him too: slowly, in fact, he returns to the slipways with the magnet almost detached from the support. The race sees only Flavio Guidotti in contention, who obtains the victory. In second place is his brother Giorgio, in evident difficulty, to the point of finishing the heat outside the maximum time, as, moreover, does the Swiss Ulrich. In the last fraction, only the two Guidottis are in the race and the victory is recorded for Giorgio, a gift from his brother Flavio who only needs a second place to mathematically win the continental title.
Leopoldo Casanova's victories and records
For the first time in 1966, international championships for 350 kg racers were also established. The first world title of this new class, desired by our circuit commission, was disputed in the context of the Gardone Riviera event which, as always, featured the glorious Coppa dell'Oltranza. The same boats as the LV 1300 cc were used for this category; some pilots replaced the engine using Alfa Romeo Giulias developed by Raineri with 1600 cc. Others even used only Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce with 1300 cc. Furthermore, the absurdity lies in the fact that the pilots, as always almost all Italian, could participate with the 350 kg in a world and European championship, but not in an Italian one. Unfortunately, however, the fate of inboard weight races such as the 350 kg and the 500 which was born in 1967, and that of the current and consolidated 900 kg, will not have a long life.
In the 350 kg world championship in Gardone Riviera, Leopoldo Casanova achieved a resounding success, winning all three heats by a clear margin. The list of participants, as already mentioned, includes the same names as in the LV 1300 cc class: Casanova, De Angelis, Guido Caimi, De Crescenzo, Perziano, Aliani, Maltinti and the Swiss Wyss, all on Molinari-Alfa Romeo boats and the Italian Giorgetti on Celli-Alfa Romeo.
At the start of the first heat, De Angelis took the lead, but after just one lap, Casanova managed to overtake him and win, with Guido Caimi, Perziano and De Crescenzo in his wake. De Angelis, Wyss, Giorgetti, Aliani and Maltinti were further behind, but they did not leave any mark on this championship, given the inferiority of their boats. Same order of arrival for the first two classified, Casanova and Caimi, also in the second heat where, among other things, we witness the good performance of the Swiss Wyss, third classified who precedes our Maltinti. In this fraction we see the definitive abandonment, already during the first lap, of De Angelis.
In the third heat Casanova dominates with his Molinari-Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 cc hull and completes the race with a solitary arrival. In reality Caimi hoped to be able to win this heat, which would have allowed him to obtain the world title thanks to the total sum of the times. But, unfortunately, Caimi cannot do anything against the great preparation of the Casanova racer and he also retires after the fifth lap.
Some moments of the 350 kg world championship and the images of all the other races scheduled in the Gardone event with the Coppa dell'Oltranza of 1966 as the prize, are broadcast live by RAI. For the time, this was an almost exclusive event that brought a significant leap in quality in the consideration of motorboating. Also not to be forgotten were the interviews that were made to the president of the FIM Mario Agusta, to the president of the Motonautico Club "Gabriele D'Annunzio" Gianni Zucchi, as well as to some pilots including Flavio and Liborio Guidotti, Marchisio, Petrobelli and Casanova.
In 1966, the European championship of the 350 kg class also took place in Sabaudia, on Lake Di Paola. No foreign pilots took part, so we saw the presence of only five Italian pilots: Casanova, De Angelis, De Crescenzo, Aliani and Perziano. Casanova
, De Angelis and Aliani brought 1600 cc Alfa Romeo engines to the race on their Livio Molinari boats; De Crescenzo, on the other hand, used the less competitive LV 1300 cc racer. Finally, Perziano mounted a 2000 cc Ferrari engine on his Molinari. It was immediately clear that the fight for the final victory was between the new world champion Casanova and De Crescenzo. Casanova did not disappoint and won the first of the four scheduled heats. In second place we found the very talented De Crescenzo who, competing at home, like De Angelis, offered his fans a great performance. Third place was won by Aliani. Unfortunately both De Angelis and Perziano had to retire due to a simple broken battery wire. Once the problem was fixed, De Angelis and Perziano returned to the race for the second heat. After a strong start by De Angelis ahead of Casanova, on the eighth of the ten scheduled laps the Roman driver had to give up his race due to an irreparable mechanical failure (engine meltdown). The same fate also befell Perziano: Casanova, therefore, confirmed himself as the winner over De Crescenzo and Aliani. An absolutely incredible episode occurred during the third race which again saw Casanova win, despite the driver from Parma being more busy chasing away a rather lively mouse that had ended up in his hull than worrying about his opponents. This heat also ended with the same order of arrival and for Casanova the joy of also graduating as European champion of the 350 kg racers was mathematical. In the final part of the race De Crescenzo took the victory ahead of Casanova and the other Parma rider Aliani, managing to secure second place in the final classification.
In December, in Sarnico, on the waters of Lake Iseo, Casanova attacks the world speed record of the KB 350 kg inboard racing class. This record was previously held by Liborio Guidotti who had established it with a Timossi-Maserati hull in 1955 with an average of 172.710 km/h. The less than optimal weather conditions (fog and long waves) and a simple mechanical problem, do not allow the driver from Parma, on December 7, to establish the new record. Things will go much better the following day, but only in the late afternoon, despite the persistence of a bit of fog: once the waters have calmed down, in fact, the Colornese ace launches into the attempt. With an ascending passage at an average of km/h 183.673, and a descending passage at km/h 188.077, Casanova achieves, thanks to the average of the averages, the new limit of the KB with km/h 186.077, erasing the old record of Guidotti. For this feat Casanova uses a three-pointer from the Livio Molinari shipyard powered by an Alfa Romeo "Giulia" type GTA 4 cylinders of 1567.28 cc, an engine credited with a power of 160 HP.
The LV 1300 cc championships
Since 1966 the UIM has also established the LV 1300 cc racing inboard championship. The stage for this first edition is not Italy, as almost always happens in the inboard classes, but France. The competition takes place on the enchanting transalpine lake of Bourget, in the town of Aix Les Bains, a charming spa town surrounded by greenery and, as far as performance is concerned, the show that these racers offer is of a good level.
Among the Italian pilots, the absence of Giulio De Angelis is notable, busy on the same day in Germany, in Hannover, in the world championship of the 500cc outboard motor, a class in which the Roman champion holds the title. Casanova, Guido and Franco Caimi, Riola, Cappelletti, Caramelli, Capucchio, Bernocchi, Giuseppe Perziano and De Crescenzo are the Italians present who will have to deal with the French Salmona, Cambrillant and Laurent, and with the Swiss Wyss, Iten and Steiger. After a start defined as rocket , in the first heat the champion Casanova takes the lead of the group but, after having faced the first tack, the Alfa Romeo engine of his Molinari hull drops in revs due to the breakage of a joint on the drive shaft with the consequent opening of a hole in the boat; despite this handicap, the pilot finishes the heat in seventh position. The success in this race goes to F. Caimi, just two seconds ahead of Capucchio, third Riola, fourth Cappelletti, then the Frenchman Laurent, G. Caimi late and, finally, Wyss, Casanova, Cambrillant and Salmona. Due to a downgrading, the 1965 Italian champion, Capucchio from Turin, receives a six-minute penalty for having made a passage inside the checkered buoy; this compromises his results for this world championship. In addition to Capucchio, three other Italians are also forced to retire early: Caramelli and Perziano, victims of the failure of their engines, while Bernocchi, due to a failure during the free practice of the pre-race. In the second heat, Riola from Genoa prevails over Franco Caimi, partially reducing his disadvantage; followed in order by Cappelletti, Laurent, Casanova, Wyss, Cambrillant, Salmona and Steiger.
The final heat is played on the Riola-Franco Caimi duel, but it is the surprising Cappelletti, who started very fast in the lead, who wins the race ahead of Franco Caimi. Thanks to the third place of Guido Caimi who precedes Riola, Cappelletti obtains, in the final ranking, the second place. Riola is ranked third, fourth the red-cross Wyss who is first among the foreigners present. Franco Caimi is the first world champion in the history of this exciting LV 1300 cc class; after several years of racing with racer hulls, this serious and tenacious pilot finds a rightful place in the elite of the great names of international inboard-boating.
Yet another glory also for the Italian shipbuilding industry which, since always, has practically had a monopoly in almost all the categories of European inboard-boating.
Since this is a championship run in foreign waters, it is important to point out that the first five classified use three-point hulls from the Angelo Molinari shipyard. The other participants also use our hulls: for example, the French Cambrillant and Salmona have San Marco, while our Perziano remains faithful to his Celli. The same goes for the engines, all Alfa Romeo brand. Some of them, moreover, are skillfully prepared by Raineri, the true magician of engines, in the motorboat field, coming from the Arese car manufacturer.
The European championship of the LV 1300 cc class is held in Omegna, on the waters of Lake Orta. Only seven competitors are present in the race, five Italians and two Swiss. Italy lines up, in addition to the new world champion Franco Caimi and his son Guido, Casanova, Perziano and De Angelis who has held the continental crown for this class for three editions. The ranks are completed by the Swiss Wyss and Faroppa. At the start of the first heat, Casanova, Guido Caimi and De Angelis get into an early start and are consequently removed from the finishing order. Unexpectedly, the talented Italian-Swiss Faroppa triumphs over Franco Caimi, Wyss and Perziano. Regardless of the downgrading of our three drivers (the heat was dominated by Casanova), Faroppa from Chiasso has shown that he can lead his three-point Molinari-Alfa Romeo, holding his own against both De Angelis and Caimi. From the second heat onwards, however, there is no more history: we witness, in fact, the unchallenged monologue of Leopoldo Casanova who, winning all three remaining heats, defeats the competition confirming his great moment.
Casanova, the champion that he is, surpasses De Angelis and Faroppa in the second heat, Franco and Guido Caimi in the third and Guido Caimi and Franco in the last: the international titles won by Casanova in 1966 therefore rise to three. In this sporting year Casanova also establishes the world speed record for 350 kg racers: on the measured base of Sarnico he conquers this record with an average of 186.08 km/h, using a Livio Molinari shipyard chassis powered by an Alfa Romeo 1600 cc GTA.
Among the many curiosities we see the introduction, by Leopoldo Casanova, of a particular well located in the bottom of his hull in correspondence with the engine oil pan: this allows the engine itself to be positioned a few centimeters lower with the advantage of having a lower inclination of the propeller shaft and a greater rectilinear thrust to the boat. This innovation is, subsequently, supported by the experts and soon all the pilots of the LV 1300 cc class will adopt it.
The third LZ 2500 cc world championship
The LZ 2500 cc world championship takes place on Lake Bracciano and features the following drivers: the reigning champion Giulio De Angelis, intent on repeating his success in front of his home crowd, Antonio Petrobelli, Fortunato Libanori, Antonio Dosi, Giancarlo and Gianfranco Castiglioni and the Italian-Swiss Renzo Faroppa, the only "foreign" driver, so to speak. All the competitors use boats from the Dino Celli shipyard with Alfa Romeo Raineri engines, with the exception of De Angelis who uses his winning A.Molinari-Alfa Romeo Raineri, while Faroppa uses a six-cylinder Lancia engine on his A. Molinari.
Libanori starts this championship off to a great start, winning the first heat and beating Petrobelli from Padua by 24 seconds. Gianfranco Castiglioni, Dosi and the other Castiglioni follow in third place; Faroppa and De Angelis retire. Unfortunately, De Angelis had an early exit from this championship due to an irreparable mechanical problem that occurred to his powerful Alfa Romeo already in the first lap. The second heat proved to be exciting with Petrobelli taking first place over Libanori and Gianfranco Castiglioni. In the decisive third heat, Gianfranco Castiglioni's success complicated Petrobelli's plan to recover the time acquired by Libanori. The latter, in fact, with a careful race, limited himself to staying in the wake of the first two, totaling a lower time in the three heats, which earned him the conquest of his first world title of the LZ 2500 cc.
In the final classification Libanori preceded Petrobelli, Gianfranco Castiglioni; significantly detached, then, were Dosi, Giancarlo Castiglioni, Faroppa and De Angelis.
Lio Grando's events
On the Venetian circuit of Lio Grando, during the eighteenth international motorboat competition of Venice, the European championship of the LZ 2500 cc is awarded. The clear favourites are Libanori (fresh from the world championship) and Gianfranco Castiglioni; since this title has been awarded, these two champions have won the continental crown twice each. The line-up is completed by Petrobelli, Dosi, De Angelis and the Swiss debutant Friedrerich Wyss, competing with a three-point A.Molinari.
Evidently for De Angelis it is not one of the most favourable years: already in the second lap of the opening heat, he burns out his Alfa-Romeo and following the other Italian Dosi (broken connecting rod) he is forced to retire from the competition. Libanori manages to win this first heat also achieving the fastest lap at a high average of 143.250 km/h. It is worth noting that the Venetian circuit does not measure the usual 2000 meters, but 2682 and the laps to be covered for each heat are not ten, but eight.
Behind the winner Libanori, we find Petrobelli, Castiglioni and the surprising Wyss. In the second heat Libanori suffers a drop in performance from his Alfa Romeo Raineri; he probably pushed it too much in the previous heat. Taking advantage of this, Petrobelli launches a decisive attack on the champion from Varese and goes on to win the race. In the third and fourth heats it is still Petrobelli who triumphs, with Libanori always second. It must be said that the latter finds himself in serious difficulty due to a problem with the hull, following the impact with a wreck during the third heat; despite the makeshift repair, this inconvenience compromises his progress in the race. Petrobelli then had the great joy of winning his first international title in his career, writing his name in the roll of honor of the LZ 2500 cc class.
The final ranking of the continental championship saw Petrobelli in first place, Libanori in second, Wyss in third, and, finally, Castiglioni in fourth place.
Changing category, let's deal with the LX 1000 cc racing inboard class that is competing in the second edition of the European championship. This title is won by the German Gerhard Weise, over his compatriot Gerhard Ellinger; both use Wartburg hulls with Dan engine for the winner while the second place uses a Födish engine. This championship, held in German waters, for now continues to interest only local pilots and some sporadic Czechoslovakians. In Italy, however, something seems to be moving and it cannot be ruled out that our pilots will also try their hand, sooner or later, at this small inboard engine capacity.
Let's now turn to the Italian victories in the various inboard classes. For the LV 1300 cc we witness the success of De Angelis over Casanova and Guido Caimi; for the LZ 2500 cc Petrobelli prevails over Gianfranco Castiglioni and Libanori; finally, Flavio Guidotti wins first place in the KD 900 kg class, ahead of Nando Dell'Orto and his brother Giorgio Guidotti.
Worthy of mention is the victory in the twenty-sixth Raid Pavia-Venezia by Ermanno Marchisio, registered with a racer from the Dino Celli shipyard and powered by a BPM 7000 cc. This is another prestigious achievement in the already rich palmares of this pilot, standard-bearer of the Motonautica Ezio Selva association.
Marchisio's first place overall, however, was not a resounding one : in fact, he recorded a not very exciting average of just 106.541 km/h in a time of 3h39'33". The weather conditions, characterised by strong gusts of wind on the route and even more so in the final lagoon section, induced the president of the jury to replace the General Commissioner (who was at another point on the route) to stop the race before all the competitors arrived. Some time later, precisely in the meeting of 26 November 1966, therefore at the end of the season, the FIM Sports Commission decided to consider the competition finished at the moment of the stoppage of the race due to force majeure (art. 216 UIM regulation). Among the illustrious names stopped in Chioggia after the closure of the control, we find Liborio Guidotti and Franco Caimi. The latter was awarded the Coppa Theo Rossi di Montelera for the best speed recorded on the stretch timed Isola Serafini-Voltagrimana, with km/h 123.321.
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Racing season 1967
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