A return to the past, to the glorious times of countersteering and crossings, on the roads that saw the strongest drivers in world rallying compete in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
The ninth edition of the Attilio Bettega Cup also partially follows the classic rallies routes of the time from Liège-Sofia-Liège to San Martino di Castrozza and Prealpi Venete. Severe routes, which require skill with the steering wheel, sensitivity with the accelerator, dexterity with the radar. Qualities that allowed pilots of the caliber of Munari, Kallstrom, Pinto and Darniche to achieve prestigious successes and champions such as Rohrl and Andruet to demonstrate all their value.
Along the 360 kilometres, designed by the Rally Club 70, between the provinces of Vicenza, Trento and Belluno, the competitors will have to compete with the hairpin bends of the Valenevera test, Passo Brocon, the pitfalls of Arina and Celado, the pitfalls of the “Morello” ( Grigno) and the Brocon Pass.
A menu for connoisseurs, with a fine palate, and never mind if the Bettega Cup is not a rally but a medium regularity race. The difficulties will not be few and for eleven hours they will accompany the crews, testing their driving skills and the robustness of the vehicles, with the snow which will make the Coppa Bettega even more fascinating.
The race is divided into two parts, by a 45-minute reshuffle, with a single stage. The first part will start at 3.00 pm on Saturday 17 February from the historic Pedavena Brewery in Pedavena (BL) and will end in Pieve Tesino after 5 average tests and a refreshment point to give pilots and navigators the opportunity to refresh themselves and recover from the fatigue. Checkered flag in the middle of the night, after as many 5 average tests in Cismon del Grappa.
Two crews at the start of the race for the Scuderia Promotor Classic: with no. 25 the Simani-Ganassini crew on board a Fiat 124 Spider 1.8 and with no. 26 the Orsini-Mazza crew on board an Opel Ascona 1.9.
Photo Credits: Coppa Attilio Bettega website