Since 2001, "our" inboard racing has only included nostalgic pilots who, having traditional racers without safety capsules, take part only in in-line races such as, for example, the classic Raid Pavia-Venezia.

In 2002 the Racing Boat Cup was established, a series of in-line and long-circuit races valid for the Lombard inter-regional title. These trials are open to various outboard and inboard classes, some of which have now been "abandoned" by the national circuit (S850, TV 1, TV2, Raccr, T3000, O3000).
The trophy provides for a single overall winner among the various classes by calculating a performance index; this regulation was adopted until 2004. In the first edition the winner was Romanello Balocchi from Parma driving an Entrobordo Corsa. He was also the only competitor to compete in the Racer class with his four-point Clerici-BMW 2000 cc equipped with a safety capsule.


Fabio Buzzi's first victory at the Raid Pavia-Venezia
The event that most jumps to the honors of the motorboat chronicles in 2002 is the important first victory of Fabio Buzzi at the Raid Pavia-Venezia.
In his long and amazing career, the engineer from Lecco, in addition to being a designer and builder always at the forefront, has also been one of the most successful pilots of all time. His very rich list of achievements speaks for itself: he has obtained important international titles in Off-Shore and numerous world speed records in In-Shore, but never before had he won the most beautiful and prestigious in-line race.
On the eve of the 62nd edition of the Raid, Buzzi prefers not to commit himself regarding a possible victory. There have been too many disappointments in the past and, in particular, that of 1990 when, having finished the race with an average of 195 km/h and more than ever sure of having made it, he found himself second behind Petrobelli who on that occasion not only won, but also set a new average absolute record with 198.968 km/h. In 2002 the Pavia-Venezia route winds from Ponte della Becca to Lido di Malamocco for a total of 413 km. Unfortunately, some storms that occurred in the days preceding the Raid dirty the waters of the tributaries that discharge a considerable quantity of debris into the Po. This creates a situation that is not optimal for the fast racing boats and especially for those, like Buzzi, who aim for first place overall.
The driver, however, in this circumstance seems more prepared than ever and, when he shows up at the start with his latest creation, many think that perhaps this will probably be the right time for him. Buzzi takes to the water with a three-pointer that is not exactly new. It is in fact the same hull with which in 1992 he achieved the world speed record for Diesels (252.27 km/h).
At the time, in that enterprise, the vessel was powered by a Seatek engine. Today, however, Buzzi uses a small Pratt & Whitney 750 Hp gas turbine used on helicopters and the hull also has some modifications to the boots and in the stern part where it mounts an enormous wing inspired by those of the American Unlimited. This nine-meter long racing car reaches a speed of 250 km/h and can turn fairly well both to the right and to the left thanks to a system of mobile fins on the boots. Furthermore, the hull is equipped with a satellite route detection system (Navionics) that helps the pilot to identify the many dangers of the river.
Buzzi, who is very humble when he talks about himself as a pilot, finally manages to win the Raid after thirty-eight attempts. Thanks to a very important performance, he recorded a time of 1 hour 56' and 38" and an average of 182.623 km/h which, with better river conditions, would have certainly been higher. To a question from an authoritative journalist about the promise made, to "hang up the helmet" after this long-awaited affirmation, the engineer declared that a real victory at the Raid, to satisfy him, would have to be accompanied by an average speed higher than 200 km/h and since this was not achieved, he sees no reason not to try again.
In the final ranking of the 2002 Raid it is also obligatory to underline the excellent performances provided by two "real racers" such as Paolo Ferrari and Giuseppe Pievani, both driving Lucini-Alfa Romeo 2000 cc boats and arriving respectively in second and third place overall.

In 2003, the severe drought of the Ticino and Po rivers caused by a long summer season of "tropical" heat forced the organizers to abandon the 63rd edition of the Raid.

In 2004, fortunately, the ancient and fascinating race returns, recording another great overall success for Fabio Buzzi aboard the same boat used in 2002, at an extraordinary average speed of 197.61 km/h with a time of 1h 47' 47". In some sections he even surpasses the 210 km/h barrier. The only regret for the driver from Lecco is the failure to improve on the absolute record of the race held by Petrobelli.
Buzzi, registered with his boat in the prototype category, consoles himself with the Coppo d'Oro Theo Rossi di Montelera having recorded the fantastic speed of 212.75 km/h on the Cremona-Boretto section.