C.E.R. - Imola
(Imola Classic)

Quiniou, the Italian driver

After a winter interval lasted more than customary, the Classic Endurance Racing returned to the track for the opening event of the tenth season on Imola circuit, using the usual sharing in two groups, the former for P1 and GT1 (CER1) and the latter to P2 and GT2 (CER2). The number of the entry was steady around 40 units, to prove that this type of competitions is able to attract many car collectors.

C.E.R. 1 – Imola

As usual the less young cars have made a good impression in particular for the quality of the cars appeared on the track. It was impossible not to be lingering some minutes on the Ferrari 512S, long-tailed, ex-Filippinetti’s racing team, already exhibited at Retromobile’s of this year and taken to the track by Franco Meiners, among other things, with excellent results, as well on the Alfa Romeo T33/3 of Erik Maris, a real technologic jewel of Arese factory.

On practice Pole was as usual Thuner’s prerogative (1:54:114) who was driving incisively at the wheel of his Lola T70 MkIII, while behind him the Ferrari 512S and the other Lola T70 got a good placing, the latter driven by Mahalud, a Lebanese driver, who, however, was obliged to surrender on race. At the start of the race Thuner sprang up at a rather fast pace which only Meiners and Mahe, occasionally at the wheel of a Richard Mille’s Lola T70, were able to hold out. Behind them Gutzwiller recovered, at the wheel of a Chevron B16 Mazda, that wasn’t particularly bright in practice: after getting rid of the GT cars rapidly, the Swiss driver led a judicious race that let him win the lowest step of podium. Before them, in fact, we saw the surrender of the Ferrari 512S due to trouble to engine, leaving the duo Thuner-Mahe the battle for the win. The French driver managed to threaten the blond rival closely, even if not being able to pass him, in such an exciting challenge so as to let both of them set the quickest lap during the last session. Among GTs the win was gained by Denat, in a Porsche 911; with a good fourth place overall, ahead of Narac, the author of a great recovery in the second part of the race after his mate Lecourte was late in the first laps, and the Orjuela brothers. At the end of the race the three crews were separated by only 4 seconds gap.

C.E.R. Race 1

C.E.R. 2 – Imola

The fastest class on the track has caused much excitement during the two-days of Classic Imola, but obviously could not be compared with CER 1 as for the historic value of the entered cars. Among the drivers a positive note was given by Jurgen Barth, who shared with Faldini the drive of a Porsche 934. As happened in the last two years, among the entry list didn’t fail the Lancia Montecarlo dei Valle, a real technologic jewel of Lancia factory, able to challenge much more powerful Porsches 935 on the racing fields. In practice a Pole has been taken by Lafargue, in the usual Lola T298, which stopped chronometer at 1:50:148 in the first session, before breaking the engine, preceding Guenat with Lola T286 and Knapfield in a March 763. Times set out were not improved in the second session due to a bad weather. At the race start Lafargue tried to hold the first position, but in the heat of not giving ground to more powerful cars, bumped into Guenat’s car causing a damage to the right rear suspension by ending his race on the escape way of Tamburello, while the rival managed to run a couple of laps before being forced to surrender. Knapfield took the lead and imposed a frenetic pace, before Wilkins, Quiniou and Da Rocha. Among GT cars, couple De Siebenthal-Meyers in a Porsche 935 was soon disqualified, whilst Trabel drove the twin car easily, ahead of the Montecarlo dei Valle. Despite an attempt in the latter stages of the race, the two crews ended up in the order. The obligatory pit-stops have mixed up the cards remarkably: Knapfield held the lead but was soon forced to retire due to the failure of the supports of the rear wing, while Quiniou found himself inexplicably first by a remarkable margin over his rivals: a doubt about a reduced pit-stop not checked by technical directors was truly more of a certainty! Wilkins was also forced to retire after a series of going into the pits, but the attention was drawn by the struggle for the second place. Da Rocha was fast but in the last laps showed serious problems of stability which made him to lose 10-second each lap in comparison with a Yves Scemama’s recovery at the wheel of a Sauber C5. Two laps down to the end the Swiss driver got the better of the French-Portuguese driver, gaining the second step of podium. Among GTs a podium was also gained by Ferrer, at the wheel of a Ferrari 512BBLM.

C.E.R. Race 2

Report by Marco Zanello and Stefano Costantino
Photo taken by Giacomo and Marco Zanello.

Gallery

C.E.R. Race 1

C.E.R. Race 2