Racing season 1967


If 1966 was the year of great international successes for Leopoldo Casanova, 1967 was certainly the golden year for Guido Caimi. In fact, he won both the world and European titles for 350 kg racers, as well as the world title in the LV 1300 cc class.

The world and European title of the 350 kg
Guido Caimi, in Sacca di Colorno on the waters of the Po river, imposes the law of the strongest by winning the world title of the 350 kg class on a rather long circuit of 2500 m. At the start of the competition we have, in addition to the Italians Caimi G., Casanova, Aliani, Perziano, De Crescenzo, Lupi G., Bernocchi, De Angelis and Ajelli, also the Swiss Faroppa and Wyss.
Guido Caimi wins the two initial heats preceding, in the first, De Angelis and De Crescenzo while, in the second, he obtains the success in front of the very good Perziano and Aliani. In the last and decisive third fraction we have the good performance of Aliani, first at the finish line, but with Caimi in second position. With this placing Caimi obtains, in the general sum of the times achieved, a 39'29"6 against the 39'57"5 of Aliani. This result brings the Milanese driver and his L.Molinari-Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 cc hull developed by Raineri, to boast his first world title in his career. In third place we find the Roman De Crescenzo, in fourth the Cremonese Gino Lupi, in fifth De Angelis and in sixth place, Faroppa, first of the foreigners.
A black day for the local champion Casanova, who started very fast in the lead with his brand new three-point L.Molinari-Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA 1600 cc. During the first heat, in fact, he was forced to retire on the fourth lap due to irreparable damage to the engine. For Casanova, there remains the satisfaction of having managed to complete the fastest lap in the few laps completed, at a remarkable average of 130.432 km/h.

About two months later, in Boretto, it is the turn of the European 350 kg racers championship. In this championship that is a carbon copy of the Colornese world championship, Guido Caimi reaffirms his clear superiority by winning the first three of the four scheduled heats. In the first he reaches the finish line preceding the Swiss Faroppa and Perziano, in the second behind him we find Aliani and Perziano, and finally in the third he wins over Casanova and Aliani. Caimi's most fearsome opponent is the title holder of this championship, Casanova who, however, for the second time this season, suffers the whims of his Alfa Romeo GTA Giulia 1600 cc engine. The driver, after starting in the lead in the first heat, is forced to retire due to a problem with the injection pump. For Casanova, this championship also begins under the worst auspices: in the second heat, he also matures a significant delay compared to Caimi. We have to wait for the third heat when, once the problems that plague the powerful and perhaps too exasperated GTA were solved, Casanova managed to finish in second place just one tenth of a second behind Caimi, and then win the fourth heat by overtaking Caimi himself. Once again Casanova had the meager consolation of obtaining the fastest lap of the championship.
Guido Caimi is now considered to be at the top of international H2B racing, but, despite his undisputed success and that of his very fast and reliable L.Molinari-Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA 1600 cc complex, one wonders what an exciting challenge he and Casanova would have offered if the latter had not had the mechanical problems that penalised him.
Once again we have a good performance by Ercole Aliani (Popoli-Alfa Romeo) who, in the final classification, occupies third place overall, ahead of Giuseppe Perziano (Celli-Alfa Romeo) and the unfortunate Italian-Swiss Renzo Faroppa. As for the other participants, we find the Swiss Iten, Wyss and Müller in the race; however, there is little to say about them considering the considerable gap accumulated by our pilots.


The LV 1300 cc class world championship
The third international title won by Guido Caimi is the LV 1300 cc class inboard racing world championship held in Peschiera del Garda (VR). We have 16 racers registered to participate in this competition, respectively piloted by 11 Italians, four Swiss and one American. For Italy we have: Franco and Guido Caimi, Casanova, De Angelis, Cantù, Maltinti, Torchio, De Crescenzo, Facchini and Perziano, on hulls from the various Angelo or Livio Molinari shipyards, while Ajelli uses a Popoli (ex Casanova). Switzerland lines up compatriot Renzo Faroppa, Kurt Iten, Friederich Wyss and Willy Müller, the latter with a Carawelle hull. Finally, for the USA, with an APBA license, we find the Italian-American with Swiss residence Philip Rolla on a forward-drive hull built by the Angelo Molinari shipyard.
Also in this championship all the participants use Alfa Romeo engines on their racers; therefore, the "single-brand" role of our car manufacturer for the medium and small displacement classes (from 1300 cc to 2500 cc) of racing inboards continues, unchallenged. The chronicle of the first heat is electrifying: the lead of the race alternates, in the first lap, with Maltinti and for the other eight laps with De Angelis. The latter, unfortunately, is forced to abandon the race and the world championship due to a melted engine. The heat victory is thus awarded to Guido Caimi.
In addition to this episode, the race experiences other twists: Casanova, while in second position and attacking De Angelis, skips a buoy, takes it back and from that same position he throws himself into an exciting comeback, bringing himself close to Franco Caimi, who is also late due to a difficult start. Franco Caimi, a little later, is the author of a collision with Maltinti and causes an evident gash to the right boot of his racer, still managing to finish the heat. In the meantime, taking advantage of De Angelis' withdrawal, Guido Caimi jumps to the lead of the competition and goes on to win with a time of 15'12"7, ahead of Maltinti (15'23"5), Casanova, Franco Caimi, Facchini, Ajelli, Wyss (first of the foreigners), Iten and Faroppa. It is worth noting the withdrawal of the American Rolla: the driver was not in the best conditions with his rear-engine racer. Also Perziano, Cantù, De Crescenzo and as we have already seen, De Angelis have withdrawn.
With the victory obtained, Caimi can rightfully aspire to this title: in fact, in the second heat, our champion, with a careful race, put himself in the wake of Perziano and Casanova, conquering a third place that allows him to increase his advantage over his opponents in terms of seconds. Worthy of note is the fourth place of the Swiss Wyss who precedes Franco Caimi, Facchini, Ajelli, Torchio, De Crescenzo and Maltinti,
In the final and decisive part of the race we witness the confrontation between Guido Caimi and Casanova: in fact only these two contenders can aspire to the final success. Caimi, who had a 13"5 lead over his rival, with a perfect start, moved into first position with Casanova in his slipstream who pressed him until he overtook him in a turn, around the fourth lap. Casanova managed to maintain the lead of the race but, after two laps, due to a very trivial and almost invisible crack in a pipe of the cooling circuit which caused damage to the distributor, he was forced to leave the scene offering Guido Caimi,  on a silver platter , the heat victory and the world title. In second place, in this third heat, we find Perziano, third Maltinti who gave proof of his excellent level of preparation; followed by Facchini, Franco Caimi, Ajelli and Wyss. This world title of the LV 1300 cc, for the second consecutive year, remains in the Caimi family after the father, Franco, had won the previous year in Aix Les Bains. The final classification sees Guido Caimi first, Erino Facchini second, Franco Caimi third (who, in the in this case, he never gave the real impression of wanting to reconfirm his title), fourth Aldo Ajelli (who, after having stood out in the outboard classes, also made an excellent impression with the racers), fifth the first of the foreigners, Friederich Wyss, sixth Giuseppe Perziano and, only in seventh position, Leopoldo Casanova. It is necessary to make some considerations on the endurance of the Alfa Romeo 1300 cc engines: for the increasingly exasperated search for a few more horsepower, unfortunately they pay a price in terms of reliability. Guido Caimi, in reality, does not race with a brand new engine and his performance is certainly due to the wise ability to manage the race, thanks to his excellent and increasingly consolidated skills as a driver of the racer classes. With the dispute of the LV 1300 cc world championship in Peschiera, the technical commission decides to homologate a new engine in the international field, always Alfa Romeo, which, thanks to the 20/25 HP increase compared to the "Giulietta Sprint Veloce", is more powerful. The previous engine had been in use since the category was established in 1959 and with the novelty of the double ignition.


The European Championship of Lecco and the successes of Casanova and De Angelis
The Lecco championship sees the use of the new, more powerful Alfa Romeo engine, although not all the competitors present are using it; only Guido Caimi, Casanova and Maltinti have it. In this competition, Casanova is the one who prevails, preventing Guido Caimi from achieving the "poker" of victories for the 1967 season.
The following Italian drivers enter this race: Casanova, Guido Caimi, Maltinti, Riola and Torchio. Then we have the usual Swiss drivers: Faroppa, Wyss and Iten. At the start of the first of the four scheduled heats, Guido Caimi breaks down due to the breakage of the bracket that supports the carburetors. He still obtains a second place in the second heat, but is forced to withdraw from the following ones due to physical problems caused by the considerable wave motion. Furthermore, Riola's definitive retirement was witnessed already in the first heat, due to the breaking of the rudder blade. It was also an unlucky day for the Swiss Faroppa who, after a retirement in the eleventh lap of the first fraction of the race and a fourth place in the second, left the scene in the third heat due to the fire that occurred on his hull. The pilot saved himself by jumping into the water and witnessed the destruction of his boat: the rescue team, in fact, arrived late, surely due to the absurd lack of fire extinguishers on the lifeboats.
None of this affected Casanova who, with three victories in the first three heats, mathematically took the continental title, leaving Maltinti to win the last race. The final classification saw the placement, behind Casanova, of Maltinti, Torchio, Guido Caimi, Wyss, Faroppa and Iten. A good test for the new Alfa Romeo double ignition engine which immediately proved to be a winner, with the achievement of a first and a second place. The adverse conditions of the race course, however, do not allow the achievement of noteworthy speeds. Suffice it to say that Casanova reaches an average of 91.486 km/h in the third race, while Maltinti reaches 92.022 km/h in the fourth.
In addition to the continental laurel LV 1300 cc, Casanova also wins the Italian championship of the same class, a title expected over the distance of four races (Bracciano, Cremona, Pusiano and Omega).

Based on the remarkable results achieved over the past four years, Chevron awards the Colornese champion the special " Sportsman of the Year" award for 1967.

At the end of the racing season, the Roman driver Giulio De Angelis sets a new world speed record, on the Sabaudia timed base for the LV 1300 cc class racers. With his three-point A.Molinari-Alfa Romeo, De Angelis attacks the previous limit of km/h 166.70 obtained two years earlier by Casanova, improving it with km/h 187.99. This performance of great importance, in part, mitigates the bitterness due to a season stingy with successes.


The KC 500 kg class championships
In Luino, for the first time in the 60s, the world title of the KC 500 kg class is awarded. All this does nothing but add even more confusion to the panorama of the inboard racing classes: in fact, the boats used to compete are none other than the LZ 2500 cc with restriction on which it is also possible to install engines with a larger displacement. In fact, a couple of seasons ago, there was an attempt to launch a formula of racers that had series engines instead of stock engines, with a mandatory price and subject to elaborations. Our FIM, however, never took this proposal into serious consideration and, therefore, nothing came of it.
The KC 500 kg world championship that takes place on the waters of the upper Verbano, in the town of Luino, sees a list of first-rate starters: Antonio and Carlo Petrobelli, Enzo Neri, Gianpiero Maggi on Celli boats; Giulio De Angelis, Franco Lupi and Gastone Dorigo on A. Molinari complexes; Giuseppe Colombo with a new three-point E. Molinari; finally Antonio Dosi and Giuseppe Colnaghi both with two new Popoli, for the first time with forward guidance. Colnaghi, recently a motorboat racer, had begun to approach motor sports with Karts, where in 1963 he won the Italian title.
The Italians, present in a massive way, are opposed by the usual Swiss: Friederich Wyss, with an A.Molinari hull, and our Renzo Faroppa, with an L.Molinari complex. It is important to underline that, in this circumstance, the engines of all the competitors are Alfa Romeos, some with a displacement of 2500, others 3000 cc.
Through a series of twists and turns, the first of the three heats of this high-sounding world championship is disputed. Among the favorites is, without a doubt, Antonio Petrobelli who remains in command of the first heat for ten of the twelve scheduled laps, managing to accumulate a good advantage over his opponents. Petrobelli, however, has to return to the launching areas due to a broken boot on his Celli: the fault is probably due to the difficult conditions of the lake waters which are quite choppy (on Verbano, as on most lakes, it is very rare to find flat water). Taking advantage of the situation, the pursuers Colnaghi and Dosi take command of the race and, in this order, finish the first fraction of the race. At the end of the race, however, here comes the joke: the jury disqualifies Colnaghi for having cut the pre-marker during the five minutes preceding the start of the race. Surprisingly, therefore, the victory was awarded to Dosi from Vigevano, who completed the twelve laps of the 2000-meter circuit with a time of 16'36"1. None of the other competitors managed to finish this heat. In fact, all were forced to retire: some due to damage to the hulls, some due to serious mechanical problems with the engines. Among the illustrious victims, in addition to Antonio Petrobelli, we find Maggi, De Angelis, Carlo Petrobelli, Neri and Faroppa. Despite the downgrading, Colnaghi maintained his time of 16'20". In the second heat, after a very fast start by De Angelis, forced to retire on the second lap together with Wyss, Antonio Petrobelli takes first place and wins the stage ahead of Colnaghi, only 28"7 behind, the surprising Maggi and Neri. Among the retirees, in addition to De Angelis and Wyss, there are also Dosi, immediately in the first lap, then Faroppa, Dorigo and Lupi; however, Carlo Petrobelli and Colombo do not start. In the last heat, with only seven boats in the water, Colnaghi leads the roaring carousel, followed by Lupi, Maggi, Colombo, Neri, Antonio Petrobelli and Dorigo. From the rear, Neri from Livorno advances decisively and, gaining several positions, gets behind Colnaghi during the sixth lap. Antonio Petrobelli remains out of the race, as he retires during the fifth lap; in the final stages of the heat, Colombo also retires. The stage ends with the victory of Colnaghi over Neri and Maggi, followed by Lupi and Dorigo, further behind. Unfortunately, however, another blow falls on the unfortunate Colnaghi: in fact, he is disqualified again for having incurred the same infringement as in the opening heat of the championship. The victory of the third heat, consequently, becomes the prerogative of Neri. Adding up all the times achieved by each rider during the three heats, surprisingly, the new world champion of the 500 kg racers is Gianpiero Maggi, (in his third race with a racer) who, with his 54'39"2,achieves the best performance of the day ahead of Neri who achieved a time of 55'11"5, Antonio Petrobelli, Dosi and Colnaghi who has to self-criticize for having thrown away a championship that was practically won.


The European and World Championships of the LZ 2500 cc class
On the occasion of the XIX Concorso Motonautico di Venezia, on the beautiful lagoon of Lio Grando in Punta Sabbioni, the European championship racers of the LZ 2500 cc class is held. This continental title is characterized by many points of interest: in particular, Antonio Petrobelli, number one standard-bearer of the Circolo Motonautico Veneziano organizer of the event, must defend the European title he won in 1966. When it came to drawing up the composition of our national team, however, Antonio Petrobelli's position was found to be sub sudice, due to an irregularity found against him during a previous Italian championship race. Consequently, it was decided not to call up Petrobelli, replacing him with Colnaghi. The other Italians selected were: the local pilot Sergio Perziano, Dosi, Gianfranco Castiglioni and the reigning world champion of the class, Libanori. Also on this occasion the only foreigners present were the Swiss Faroppa and Wyss. The first heat took place in less than optimal weather conditions due to the persistence, on the circuit, of a long wave, the legacy of a strong night storm: the success of this first part of the race was achieved by Castiglioni who preceded Dosi, Faroppa and Colnaghi. Also in this heat, there was a spectacular looping by Libanori, which resolved itself without any physical consequences for the pilot, but with considerable damage suffered by the hull which became no longer usable. Castiglioni repeated himself in the second heat where he won by beating Faroppa, who was second, by about half a lap. In the interval preceding the third heat, while other competitions were taking place, a violent storm suddenly hit the circuit: hail and gusts of wind of 80/85 km/h decreed the premature end of the event.
With overturned or half-submerged hulls, lost buoys and so on, the conditions to continue were no longer evident and there was certainly no time to restore everything. Clearly, in terms of the rules, the performance of only two heats is not enough to assign the continental title: therefore the championship is invalidated and recovered elsewhere. Specifically, it will take place in Bolsena, with the presence in the water of Colnaghi, Perziano, the embittered Castiglioni and the Swiss Faroppa and Wyss.
Castiglioni once again wins the first heat, ahead of Perziano and Colnaghi: in the second and third, however, he is forced to retire due to mechanical problems with his Celli-Alfa Romeo, leaving the partial victories to Perziano and Colnaghi. In the last heat, with Castiglioni absent, Perziano gets the better of Colnaghi and wins the European title. In the final classification Colnaghi wins second place, third goes to Castiglioni while Faroppa and Wyss finish without points, having left the scene right from the first heat.
For Sergio Perziano, a notable result which, combined with the surprising victory of the Italian championship where he manages to prevail over champions such as Antonio Petrobelli, Libanori and De Angelis, brings the Venetian driver and his Celli-Alfa Romeo Raineri hull to the honours of the chronicles for the current year.

In Gardone Riviera, on the waters of Lake Garda, in the ambitious program of races surrounding the classic Coppa dell'Oltranza, the world championship is held, again in the LZ 2500 cc class. Of the ten pilots present, the large Italian representation includes Antonio and Carlo Petrobelli, Giancarlo Castiglioni, Colombo, Colnaghi, Brunelli, Franco Lupi, Dorigo and Maggi. The only foreign competitor is the Italian-Swiss Faroppa.
On a very particular circuit, measuring 3000 meters, with three heats to complete, Antonio Petrobelli returns to victory, defeating all the competition. Petrobelli, with his Celli-Alfa Romeo, dominates all three heats, adding, in the final classification, a total time of 36'55"4: thus, he precedes his cousin Carlo who has recently become a new recruit in the LZ class, detaching him by a good 2"17. Third place goes to the pilot Brunelli.
The performance obtained by Antonio Petrobelli is also astonishing for the way in which he manages to bring his racer to success on the waters of Benaco that, even in this edition of the races, are rather moved by a sensitive and insidious long wave. As for the other competitors, it can be said that Colnaghi's performance seemed a bit subdued, ranking only fifth; Maggi, Lupi and Faroppa, on the other hand, keep each other company in last position, recording the same time. It is worth noting that, after the world championship in Luino of the KC 500 Kg, both Maggi and Colnaghi have not provided any more notable performances.


The KD 900 kg competitions
After the great edition of the 1966 KD 900 kg class races, these racing cars return to battle on the usual Campione waterfront in the classic event for the assignment of the world title. Unfortunately, the weather conditions, on this occasion, create a typically autumnal atmosphere, despite the fact that it is only the beginning of September. A round of applause must be given to MILA (Motonautica Italiana Lario) which, despite the inclement weather, manages to organize the competition perfectly. After the five consecutive titles won by Marchisio on this circuit, the question on everyone's mind is whether this long hegemony of the Ezio Selva driver can be interrupted.
Before delving into the chronicle of the trials, it is interesting to take a look at the lineup of forces in the field which, compared to the last world championship, does not see the presence of either the American Thomas or Nando Dell'Orto who, by now, has decided to hang up his helmet.
The Italian team first of all features the title holder Ermanno Marchisio. He uses a hull just purchased from Dell'Orto because, on this boat, the Trident house ( Maserati), had already applied the latest operational changes. These changes, moreover, are also applied to the engines of the Guidotti team. Also competing are Liborio Guidotti (who replaces his son Giorgio, still recovering from a racing accident) and Flavio Guidotti on Timossi-Maserati. For the occasion, Giancarlo Castiglioni also participates with the Celli-Alfa Romeo of the LZ class, whose hull is appropriately ballasted to be able to reach a weight of over 500 kilos, so as to be able to re-enter the KD. These Italians are joined by four Swiss pilots: Joseph Ulrich shows up with a Celli ULRO-BPM hull, while Pierre Ulrich uses a Timossi-BPM. Faroppa relies on the Molivio-BPM Vulcano, fresh from victory in the Raid Pavia-Venezia (whose engine is still technically inferior to the more powerful Maseratis). Finally we find Wyss who, imitating our Castiglioni, enters with his ballasted LZ 2500 cc among the KDs.
At the launches, once again, we see the Venetian pilot Agostino Battaglini with his Celli-Ferrari hull: curiously he is often present at competitions, but almost never takes part.
Flavio Guidotti wins the first heat by a landslide, achieving, in the ten laps of the 2500-meter circuit, a time of 11'23"8 with an excellent average of 131.617 km/h. The pilot therefore gets the better of Marchisio and the very good Faroppa who precedes Liborio Guidotti. Faroppa's third position is very respectable, if we consider that he is racing with a boat repaired on the spot and in extremis:unfortunately, in fact, she had just fallen from the crane due to the breakage of a suspension. Obviously the makeshift repair prevents the driver from returning to the race in the next race, forcing him to retire in the third leg. In the remaining two heats it is Marchisio who, with great temperament, ensures success, preceding, in both heats, Flavio Guidotti and his father Liborio. In the second heat, in fact, Flavio Guidotti impacts violently with the water during the second lap, damaging the engine hood and consequently suffering serious damage to his Maserati due to water infiltration. This inconvenience, while still ensuring him a second place in both the second and third heats, gives him a notable disadvantage in terms of times: this favors Marchisio who guarantees himself the victory of the world title. The total calculation of times for each heat sees a 35'27"2 for Marchisio, slightly lower than the 35'54"8 for Flavio Guidotti. Behind these two big names , there is practically nothing: Liborio Guidotti's time, in fact, is 39'32". Joseph Ulrich and Castiglioni follow in order. From a numerical point of view, Eramanno Marchisio's feat is an exceptional fact: for the sixth consecutive time the pilot is crowned world champion of the KD 900 kg, that is, the maximum expression of international inner-fordism.
If in the roll of honor of the KD world championship Ermanno Marchisio is now the undisputed leader, it is grotesque to note that, in the history of the European championship, this pilot has never climbed onto the highest step of the podium.

In the 1967 edition, continental success smiles on veteran of the inner-fordism Liborio Guidotti. A curious fact is that, since the KD 900 kg was established, this pilot had not yet won an international title, unlike his sons, who won the world championship several times. To talk about the international laurels of Liborio Guidotti, in fact, it is necessary to go back to the glorious two-year period 1958-1959 when he managed to achieve a magnificent continental double in the KD class distinguished by the maximum weight of 800 kg.

In Sabaudia, Liborio Guidotti on his Timossi-Maserati wins the European title after four very hard-fought heats, preceding, in the final standings, Ermanno Marchisio, the always good Faroppa and his son Flavio. In the opening heat of the championship, the two Guidottis take the lead, with Flavio in first position, followed by his father and Marchisio. Shortly after, Liborio overtakes Flavio and wins the race, while Marchisio, who challenges Flavio, does not go beyond third position. Next in line are Faroppa, Ulrichi Joseph and the other Italian Brunelli. The second heat is different: Marchisio dominates, beating Flavio and Liborio Guidotti, Faroppa and Brunelli, while Ulrich retires. The third heat brings Liborio Guidotti back to success, winning by a 1.0 second advantage over Marchisio: Faroppa is third and Ulrich is fourth. Flavio Guidotti is absent in this third heat due to a problem with his Maserati. This forces him to also desert the last part of the race that sees the two contenders, Liborio Guidotti and Marchisio finish the race in serious difficulty, out of time and with the engines now "cooked". The heat becomes the prerogative of Faroppa and his forward-drive hull (Livio Molinari-BPM), ahead of Ulrich also with a hull from the same shipyard, however, falling into the LZ or KC class depending on the case and in this case ballasted for the KD.
As per the rules it is necessary to discard the worst race out of the four disputed: therefore Liborio Guidotti, thanks to two first places and a third, can, rightfully, celebrate the European title succeeding his son Flavio and bringing the victories of this family in the KD 900 kg to four. All this to the detriment of Marchisio who finds himself adding, instead, a first place, a second and a third.

As far as the Italian KD 900 kg championship is concerned, in 1967 it almost becomes ridiculous when, in one of the three scheduled races, only one competitor is lined up, namely Marchisio. Frankly, this shows that, beyond the international championships, where there are few competitors, in the races valid for the tricolor the situation of this much-advertised and historic Formula 1 of weight racers, is definitely getting worse. It is now clear that our racers are aiming for classes that for obvious reasons (restriction engines with decidedly more accessible costs and the possibility of finding spare parts) offer the public technically superior races compared to the competitions of the old KD racers.


The new inboard classes and the classic Raid Pavia-Venezia
Let's also take a quick look at the new inboard racing class LX 1000 cc recently established at international level which sees, for the third consecutive year, a German pilot win the continental title. Our pilots are absent for now. The competition in the race, in the first three editions, is limited to competitors of two nationalities: Germans and Czechoslovakians. It is precisely the Germans who obtain the first successes: in 1964 with Herbert Eichler and in 1965 with Gerhard Weise. In 1967 it is the turn of Gerhard Ellinger who, on a Födisch hull with a Wartburg engine, wins the European LX 1000 cc title on the waters of Kriebstein in what was then West Germany.
In Italy, for some time, there had been the intention to add to the international class of LZ 1000 cc racing inboards another category with an equivalent displacement, but strictly national in nature and with single-brand engines that would compete for a trophy put up for grabs by the same engine manufacturer, with the aim of encouraging an ever-increasing number of pilots. Thus, in 1967, the new Lancia Flaminia 2500 cc racers class was born, which proved, right from the first outings, to be a more than successful choice. The hulls of the Flaminia class use engines derived from the Lancia saloon car of the same name: these are the 2495 cc V-sixes which, with their 102 HP, were marinised by SIRCA of Milan with the help and experience of the motorboat pilot Cesare Patrini. Nothing significant regarding the hulls used for this category, at least initially. In fact, we find some rather dated racers from the San Marco, Lambro, Abbate and Celli shipyards. With the first edition of the Lancia trophy in 1967, some races were run by implementing the Federal regulations in force for the Italian championship, therefore the final classification was obtained by adding the points won in all the heats. In the four individual races, held in the venues of Luino, Boretto, Omegna and Bolsena, the final success was recorded by Roberto Coppier who used a Lambro hull, and thus entered his name in the roll of honor of this single-brand trophy. Coppier preceded, in the classification and in order, Maurelli and Martinetto (two of the most convinced promoters of this class), Brancolini, Pallavicini and Cerutti. Rather than talking about the trophy, it is worth remembering the great performance, in terms of reliability, of these engines: in cross-country races such as the Raid Pavia-Venezia, in fact, all five drivers of the Lancia class took part and finished the long competition with the category victory of Gianpiero Maurelli who also placed thirteenth overall in the final ranking.

In the classic river-marine marathon, the Raid Pavia-Venezia, in the 1967 edition, we witness the commendable victory of the Italian-Swiss Faroppa aboard an inboard racing hull of the KE 1200 kg class. Faroppa shares the crew with Gianpiero Lucini (future great builder of racing hulls and catamarans of the outboard categories) who is also the preparer of this vessel. The hull brought to success is an innovative three-point touring boat with forward guidance from the Larian shipyard Livio Molinari with a BPM Vulcano 8-cylinder V motor with an estimated power of around 400 HP.
The driver recorded a time of 2h46'23" and an average of 140.639 km/h: clearly a very respectable average, but once again far from that held by Augusto Cometti since 1959 (161.851 km/h). This is certainly a nice revenge if you consider that only the year before the vehicle had not been admitted to the Centomiglia del Lario.
In second place in the overall rankings we find Roberto Brunelli (KC 500 kg class) on a Celli-Alfa Romeo 2600 cc. This driver totaled a time of 2h49'05" very close, therefore, to that of Faroppa so much so as to give the public present in the lagoon a photo-finish arrival. Brunelli also won the Coppa Montelera for having achieved the highest speed in the timed section Isola Serafini-Voltagrimana (average of 140.835 km/h).

After the Raid, Faroppa gets the go-ahead to participate in the Centomiglia del Lario where he wins with an average of 117.104 km/h (the best average since the race began). Unfortunately, this 1967 victory was the last of Faroppa's career, who will pass away due to a sudden and serious illness, shortly before the start of the new motorboat season.


Inboard racing seasons
Racing season 1968