Racing season 1999-2000
The return of the National Racer Title
With the reinstatement of the national championship, in 1999 we finally return to talking about circuit racers.
In 1999, in addition to the usual racers, some of which were not recently launched and also adapted in some way to house the mandatory UIM-approved safety capsule, we find for the first time two innovative (at least for Italy) hydroplane boats from the Ron Jones shipyard imported from the USA by the Venetian brothers Stefano and Marco Battaglini. At first glance, if compared to our old concept of racer, these hulls represent something decidedly new. For star-spangled inboard racing, however, these complexes are to be considered already outdated, as the year of construction is more or less around 1984, or 15 years before this Italian debut.
In the 1999-2000 regulation, the use of the Alfa Romeo Twin Spark engine (double ignition) is permitted; it is an engine with 10 / 15 HP more than the GTV recently used. As regards the hulls, a minimum length of 4.80 linear metres is established.
In the past, the minimum weight of a 2000 cc racer could not be less than 350 kg. Now instead "...the minimum weight of the hull-engine complex in running condition must not be less than 390 kg, without water but with the residual fuel at the end of the race. Any ballast must be firmly fixed to the structure of the boat, must be declared in the measurement request and must not exceed 12 kg...." (Art.2-Tutto FIM 2000).
It is evident that almost all the members rely on Alfa Romeo as this engine has always offered better quality in terms of elasticity in the delivery of power, to the advantage of performance. The only one to opt for a different brand of engine is Romanello Balocchi who re-presents, after a series of modifications, his Clerici-BMW four-point hull.
It is an exciting championship in 1999 even if the number of participants is not high (8 pilots). The great performances provided by Stefano Battaglini's Ron Jones hull, to which are added at the beginning of the season, and more precisely upon receiving the new boat, also those of his brother Marco, leave little to say to the competition. The only ones to keep up with the two brothers are Rinaldo Marcandalli who uses a new Lucini hull and Maurizio Anseimi who uses a Clerici modified by the preparer Speroni; the latter is not a very recent vessel, but nevertheless very reliable.
Stefano Battaglini, who like his brother is the son of art, his father Nando having been a pilot of the 900 Kg. class racers in the sixties, still manages to win by a landslide (it is really the case to say so) the National Title, despite not having much experience as a motorboat pilot.
His hydroplane has the characteristic of fully exploiting the speed in turns thanks to the particular design of the asymmetric boots that are both inclined towards the outside, and thanks to the "Skid-Fin", that is to say that large fin positioned firmly behind the left boot. On the other hand, the other traditional three-pointers are forced to "pull off" the gas and slow down considerably, before setting up the turn itself.
The 1999 championship was held over eight races: Barcis, Stagno di Roccabianca, Boretto, Lido delle Nazioni, Mantua, Auronzo, Milano-Idroscalo and Toscolano Maderno.
In 2000, Stefano and Marco Battaglini, while still showing the clear superiority of their boats, were victims of some accidents and some banal mechanical breakdowns.
After the nine scheduled races (Milan-Idroscalo, Barcis, Mantua, Boretto, Cremona, Auronzo, Porto Viro and Toscolano Maderno), Maurizio Anselmi took advantage of the aforementioned misadventures and, remaining more than regular, put, race after race, placing after placing, "hay in the barn" and won the tricolor ahead of Paolo Ferrari (also very good at optimizing points) and Marco Battaglini. With the last championship race held on the lake waters of Garda (Toscolano Maderno), the brief "rekindling" of the Racer 2000 cc class comes to an end.
It seems certain how much the will to travel new paths is lacking; the effort of the Battaglini is not appreciated that much and so, instead of renewing the old Italian racers, updating them to the new concept of American-style hull, it is preferred, finding a thousand questionable reasons, to let the class die and not propose it again for 2001.
The Raid Pavia-Venezia
From the circuit we shift the interest to the in-line races where it is noted that the victory obtained by Dino Zantelli in the 1998 edition of the Raid was not due only to chance. In fact, in 2000 (edition N.60) the strong Colornese driver succeeds again in the enterprise by bringing the same racer back into the race and recording an average of 158.149 Km/h. This performance is better if compared to the previous one he himself established in 1998, but not enough to win the Montelera Cup. Behind the winner are the remarkable performances of the other "racers" such as Pievani, Sarti and Siviero who, in the final ranking, occupy the first four absolute positions, all on Lucini shipyard hulls powered by Alfa Romeo 2000 cc engines.
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Racing season 2001-2004
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