ICE CAPADES Italy 2021

Many of the articles and comments about 2020 in this issue say the same thing; we can’t believe how the Covid 19 pandemic affected the motorsport year. Is 2021 going to be any better? I don’t really know but last weekend on 23rd and 24th of January 2021, I took the opportunity to get a motorsport fix by heading to the 3rd round of the Italian Ice Racing Championship. Called “The Ice Challenge” it is organized by BMG Motor Events and ACI Sport. Because of the Covid 19 pandemic the series is based on four single races, two in Livigno in the North-East of Italy and two in Pragelato near Turin. Pragelato means “icy meadow” and was named for the harsh climate and the fact that the ground is covered with ice for long periods, which is perfect for an ice racing venue. Usually, the final race of the series would be held in France at Serre Chevalier, which is not that far from Italian border and has a 50-year history of putting on events like the famed Andros Trophy where famous racing names like Yvan Muller and Alain Prost are multiple time Champions.

With studded tires the drivers put on an excellent show sliding through the corners and ice driving techniques. With numerous crews sharing the same car, competing in different rounds, where they start 30 seconds apart. The event comprised of three individual races on each weekend, preceded by some free practice and the timed practice sessions that sets the grid for the first race. Each driver is assigned a score based on their finishing position in the race and at the end of the day the Although it is an Italian National Championship it is very interesting and hard-fought by racers from Switzerland, France and Ireland, with every kind of car, 4WD, 2WD, Kart-cross, Sideby-sides, Legend Cars all have a place to play. This third round of the series was guaranteed a large participation as there was two rounds of the series still to count. Seventy-three drivers showed up, there had never been so many entries before, I guess the lack of motorsport in 2020 had everyone hungry for competition. The perfect track conditions offered a great chance for any driver in the championship hunt to really go for broke and with none of the class titles set in concrete, yet they had it all to shoot for. The competitiveness of the series was shown by the results so far with 9 different winners in the various classes so far.

The series features some really interesting cars, some are rally cars, others are prototypes built purely for ice racing, such as the Opel Astra Andros Snobek or the Giannini Proto 350Gp4 driven by Sergio Durante and the Fiat Punto 4WD driven by Ivan Carmellino. In the fan favorite 4WD class Lukas Bicciato is leading with his iconic Lancia Delta Integrale, followed by the Skoda Fabia R5 driven by Corrado Pinzano. The 2WD class is leaded by Luca Fiorenti and his Renault Clio R2C ahead of Stefano Nadalini’s Opel Corsa. Lukas Bicciato the current leader of the 4WD class said, “I am impressed with this season on ice, never seen with such a high level of drivers and number of participants. Delighted with our results we have obtained so far, I leave this event very excited looking forward to the Pragelato Reverse and the last race of the championship. A big thank you goes out to my father, our team, all the sponsors who support me both on ice and in the hillclimb championship and to all the spectators and fans who always follow us”

Something of a European specialty is the Kart-cross class which is very similar to the Lyfe Motorsports Sierra Car that they class as a Sport UTV. The class is super competitive with a lot of drivers close together, Christian Tiramani (Planet KartCrossK3) is leading, closely followed by Simone Firenze (Semog Bravo) and Raffalele Silvestri (Nico Racing). Tiramani the KartCross Leader had this to say, “This is the first time this type of car has run on snow and ice and the race did not go as we wanted unfortunately, unlike the first two races in Livigno, we had traction problems that we will try to solve before the last championship race. All in all, the championship is going quite well for us and we hope a good performance in the last race will bring home the championship win.” Armando Bracco had taken time away from KartCross and was back for this event, “I came back to racing after one year away from motorsport, unfortunately my own mistakes affected the final result, but my pace was still top five as in the past, that encourages me I hope to do better in the next race!”

Now something the North Americans can understand is the Side-by-Side class where Craig Breen leads followed by Vittorio Gonella. With Breen not showing up for this event and we are not sure if he is coming to the finale, the class championship is up for grabs.

Simone Romagna took his rally Ford Fiesta to the 4WD win on his ice racing debut. Unfortunately he missed the first two events so a championship is not on the cards for him. He is looking to win the finale and be the only two time winner in the class.

Maurizio Rossi leads in the Legend Cars category, followed by Michele Mottura. Rossi was over the moon with his win!, “Leading the brand new Legends class is quite something for me” he said. “I know I had a lot of luck at this event but with the first ever Legends Championship up for grabs at the finale, you can be assured I will be giving it everything!” I am sure our American friends will enjoy the fact that the Legends are being used for other than Oval racing but they do look a little odd sitting so high on studded tires. The competitiveness of Rachele Somaschini, the young female Lombardy rally driver, who is spokesperson for the FFC (Cystic Fibrosis Research Foundation) has been putting on remarkable displays with her stunning looking Citroen C3 R5, arrived sitting 2nd in class position and 5th overall. in this 3rd round. The Pragelato Reverse will be her last ice racing event of the year before returning to her rally schedule which starts on March 12th and continues to the last event in Hungary in October. Check out the article we have run on Rachele later in this issue.

The last round of the series will be on 13/14 February for “Pragelato Reverse” event where racers get a curved ball thrown at them and they will tackle the track, running in the opposite direction. Watch for more coverage from the Ice Challenge in the next issue.

An interesting aspect of the series is night qualifying as can be seen in these photos. In most cases there is a substantial difference in the track surface as the temperature drop as night falls.

An interesting aspect of the series is night qualifying as can be seen in these photos. In most cases there is a substantial difference in the track surface as the temperature drop as night falls.