Shaping Italy's Journey

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Shaping Italy’s journey

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The dawn of the automobile age coincided with seismic changes in Italy’s development, and for more than a century the car has helped drive economic growth, industrial development, societal change and sporting prowess in the country. And throughout, the Automobile Club d’Italia has been inextricably linked with the process

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AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

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UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

With the exception perhaps of the United States, there are few countries whose course has been so profoundly influenced by the rise of the automobile as Italy. The dawn of the car took place in the immediate aftermath of the country’s unification, and the transformation of what until the second half of the 19th century had been a relatively agrarian and underdeveloped corner of Europe into an industrial powerhouse (specifically in the north of Italy) was in large part inspired by Italian passion for this new form of transport.

From the initial explosion of early independent manufacturers such as Aquila Italiana, Fratelli Ceirano and Diatto, to the formation of future giant Fiat in 1899 and the launch of famous names such as Alfa Romeo (born in the early 1900s as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq) and

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Lancia, the motor industry totally altered the economic landscape of the cities of Milan and Turin. A new engine for the growth of a young nation state was created.

Interwoven with the rise of motorisation and the demand for vehicles, road networks and accessibility was the Italian Automobile Club (Automobile Club d’Italia, ACI). Born out of the founding of the Turin Automobile Club in 1898, national club the

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ACI President Angelo Sticchi Damiani values the club’s rich motoring and motor sport heritage while also looking to the future.

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Unione Automobilistica Italiana (UAI or Italian Motorists Association) followed in February 1904 and finally the organisation known as the Automobile Club d’Italia was established on 23rd January, 1905.

In the 115 years that have followed since, the ACI’s growth and success has resolutely tracked the exponential growth of motorisation in Italy, expanding to meet seismic cultural and societal shifts.

Along the way the ACI has always significantly contributed to developing mobility, increasing road safety, fostering tourism, motoring sport and all those services needed by people who travel for work, leisure or holiday.

“Today, with almost one million members, the ACI is the largest association in Italy and continues to play an active role in the history and future of motor sport and mobility, thanks to its culture,

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In September, the ACI marked the 90th edition of the Italian GP with a gathering of drivers and Ferrari race cars in Milan.

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experience, professionalism and technology,” says ACI President Angelo Sticchi Damiani.

Aware of the importance of the past and of one of the richest motoring heritages, President Sticchi Damiani is particularly proud to have created ACI Storico, ‘a club within the club’ to conserve the cultural and historical value of cars.

“The culture and history of the car is part of our DNA, and ACI Storico was founded to guarantee to all enthusiasts a partner with no economic interest and one that is able to enhance and protect the passion for real vintage cars,” he explains.

“We want to prevent the great number of old, unsafe and highly polluting cars from travelling every day and try to get owners to obtain a classic car certification to pay less taxes and benefit from reduced insurance costs.”

to be achieved by means of incentives to purchase new cars and scrapping the less safe, more polluting older ones.”

But renewing the car fleet is just one factor in achieving safe, environmentally-friendly and affordable mobility – of this the President is certain.

If the definition of sustainability needs to include safety, an action plan on this aspect must go hand in hand with a focus on vehicle safety (particularly given the adoption of new technologies), driver behaviour and mobility planning.

GUIDING LIGHT With regards to mobility planning, for example, the ACI President is in no doubt that a more efficient reorganisation of the roads would improve safety and living conditions in cities.

“In order to guarantee good life conditions in urban areas, we believe it is essential to reorganise urban roads in two levels: a road network for motor vehicles and a separate network for vulnerable users, allowing at the same time appropriate and protected spaces for such new transport tools as scooters and e-bikes.”

In a bid to create sustainable mobility opportunities for all – and within the context of the current transport debate – automobile clubs like the ACI have been playing an increasingly key role in influencing national policy and decision-making.

For more than 50 years, the ACI, together with ISTAT (Italian Institute of Statistics), has published an annual report on road crash statistics, which represents a primary source of information for all national and local research.

“Road authorities and managers

‘The culture and history of the car is part of our DNA’

Advancing sustainable mobility is a main focus of the Club’s agenda, demonstrated by its support of the FIA Smart Cities initiative on two separate occasions in recent years.

The initiative, which has at its heart the promotion of safe, sustainable and accessible mobility for all road users, was most recently held in Rome in early 2019, prior to the Formula E race taking place same weekend. In a country with the oldest car fleet operating in Europe – of the 51.6 million vehicles circulating the countries roads, 39 million exceed the average age of 11 years - supporting such initiatives gives the club an important platform to promote safer, cleaner and greener mobility.

“Four cars out of 10 travelling on our roads are pre-Euro4 vehicles and that has a significant impact on road safety and the environment,” says Sticchi Damiani. “A single Euro1 motor vehicle pollutes as much as 28 Euro6 cars and in case of an accident the risk of death is four times higher. The ACI strongly advocates for vehicle fleet renewal,

The ACI has strived to improve road safety, with school children involved in a campaign to respect road users.

Formed in 1905, the ACI’s growth has tracked Italy’s industrial expansion due to the rise of motorisation.

can look at the data to examine safety standards of the road infrastructure and find out more effectively critical spots that need intervention,” says Sticchi Damiani.

“Local authorities can also use the report to better define their policies on the relevant road network, while research institutes and universities can use the report for their research activities and often turn to us to get more in-depth data.”

In a country such as Italy where driver distraction causes 80 per cent of all road accidents, road safety advocacy is unsurprisingly of paramount importance.

“The main cause of distraction lies in using cell phones to talk or text while driving,” says the club

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

07

UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

President. “According to ACI studies, this is responsible for three in every four accidents. In order to tackle this emergency, in 2016 we launched an awareness campaign, whose hashtags #GuardaLaStrada (look out for the road) and #mollastotelefono (drop your phone) are simple and direct. Its success was enormous, exceeding all expectations, and in just one year we had 17 million contacts and six million viewers.

But more importantly, we promoted a co-ordinated action at national and international level that reached its climax with the FIA #parkyourphone campaign.”

Road safety campaigns are at the heart of the ACI’s work, adds the President.

Since 2017 – and with the support of the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme – the club has been focusing on the message of the FIA’s #3500LIVES global road safety campaign ‘Check your Vision’, to highlight the essential role of vision in road safety, particularly when faced with glare and in poorly-lit conditions.

More recently, at the time of the Italian Grand Prix, the ACI supported the campaign’s new message ‘Watch out for kids’ – promoted by international football star Didier Drogba – and spread the safety message (#lastradaèpertutti ‘roads are for all’) through a number of posters displayed at the Malpensa international airport, in cooperation with the FIA and the automobile clubs of Milan and Varese.

If the club is firmly rooted in the history and development of mobility in Italy, the same can be said of its relationship with its sporting heritage, as the ACI has one of the world’s richest racing traditions.

“We have 10 FIA-homologated circuits, 67 karting circuits including 12 CIK homologated ones, and an average of more than 900 events each year in the national calendar,” says Sticchi Damiani. “Then there are 37,000 licence holders and more than 20,000 drivers, over 900 races per year, 97 circuits, 9,500 officers and volunteers.

“Over the past five years, the number of members has increased by 19 per cent. We were the first to take up the FIA’s challenge of organising a Formula 4 championship, which today represents a global reference point for this market segment. The same

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goes for Formula Regional.”

The Italian passion for motor sport is rooted in the traditional disciplines of circuit racing and rallying, but the ACI President says the club is always seeking to innovate and in recent times has actively pursued the development of low-cost motor sport categories in a bid to counter

culture of education and road safety.

However, costs must be reduced and categories simplified.”

From grassroots events and karting up to the pinnacle of motor sport, Formula One, the ACI’s President sees a clear path for young talented drivers who want to climb the racing ladder. He also views major international events such as the Italian Grand Prix as being essential in giving junior drivers something to aspire to.

“To have in our country the most important motor sport events (F1, rallying and karting etc) is important for us in terms of communication and visibility,” says Sticchi Damiani.

“It allows us to increase the interest of sponsors, the media and companies, creating synergies to grow our motor sport movement.

“In September we announced the renewal of Monza’s contract in Piazza Duomo, in Milan, in front of thousands of people, and it was a great moment for us as a sporting federation. The organisation of a grand prix is a challenge, but I can hardly imagine a future without a Formula One Italian Grand Prix.”

‘I can hardly imagine a future without a Formula One Italian Grand Prix’

ACI President Angelo Sticchi Damiani with Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey (left) and FIA President Jean Todt and Giuseppe Redaelli, President, Autodromo di Monza (right), at the ‘90 Years of Emotion’ event.

the effects of economic downturn and also to legitimise events that would otherwise not fall under the ASN’s aegis.

“Rallying, circuit racing and karting are still the most popular disciplines in Italy, together with historic racing,” he explains. “Along with our dedication to providing value in the Italian championships, for the benefit of our stakeholders, drivers, manufacturers, organisers and spectators, we are also deeply involved in growing low-cost motor sport activities – mostly slalom and off-road events – in order to bring unauthorised events under the ASN umbrella. That activity is performed in close cooperation with the Ministry of Transport, the Italian CONI and local authorities.

FOCUS ON YOUTH “The ACI strongly believes in the importance of education and teaching road and sporting driving to the youngest. We are therefore actively involved in training – both teachers and students – on road

safety in schools.

“This commitment also entails hundreds of safe driving courses held every year all over the country and in the Safe Driving Centres based at the circuits of Vallelunga (Rome) and Lainate (Milan). Support and guidance for young people is one of our major activities because there is no future if we do not invest in young people.“ To encourage and train young talented drivers, the club is focusing

on three projects: Karting in Piazza, for children aged eight to 16, with the kart simulating some situations in ordinary road traffic; Rally Italia Talent, a real talent show where children of all ages register with a daily license, performing selective tests alongside a professional driver; and ACI Team Italia, the flagship programme that brings together the best pilots from all disciplines and accompanies them on a path of growth. All three projects contribute

to promoting motor sport through the media, social media and the general public.

Another key element of the ACI’s dedication to the next generation of racers is the national FIA Formula 4 Championship, launched in 2014.

“Our F4 Championship now has 14 teams and 37 drivers,” says Sticchi Damiani. “It should be remembered that the F4 championships were created to provide a fully-regulated series

The ACI recently helped negotiate an extension to Monza’s contract to host the Italian GP in a country where motor sport is a passion.

at a capped cost, and this is important in attracting young drivers and allowing the ASN to properly set their championships.

“We can continue the growth of F4 by working harder on the synergy with Formula Regional, on sponsorship, new partners, more collaboration with F2 and F1 teams and their academies.”

The F4 championship in Italy is somewhat fortunate in having a rich feed of talent from the country’s

vibrant karting scene. The country has long been a hotbed of karting activity, though Sticchi Damiani feels costs need to be controlled.

“Historically karting is the most important grassroots activity for us.

It allows us to approach young talented drivers all over Italy, and to attract talent from abroad. Our focus is on implementing the promotional activities for the development of karting as a sport, but also as a means of spreading the

GLOBAL PLAYER Looking to the future, Sticchi Damiani says the club will continue to maximise efforts to consolidate its international leadership position.

“The ACI has always played a central role in the development of mobility and motor sport,” he says. ”And within motor sport, we will work to have increasingly competitive and high-quality championships in all categories.”

For Sticchi Damiani, international events such as the new FIA Motorsport Games, held in Vallelunga in November, are also essential in reinforcing the club’s position as a global point of reference within the FIA family.

“For the ACI, it was an honour to host the first edition of the FIA Motorsport Games. It was another important event for Italy and Rome, especiallty with opening ceremony being held near the Colosseum following a parade in the centre of Rome.

“To be an important ASN for the FIA is a great responsibility but also a great honour for us. It pushes our organisation to work hard, to organise events and cooperate with the FIA at an international level.”