Buongiorno Autodromo di Pergusa
The exciting new Settimana Motoristica Ennese event welcomes the GT & Sports Car Cup family to Sicily’s Autodromo di Pergusa for the first time on May 17-19. Our first rendez-vous of the aspirational invitation series’ 18th season is a sporting and cultural showpiece celebrating the fabulous Mediterranean island’s rich international motor racing history, dating back 118 years to the inaugural Targa Florio road race of 1906.
We are proud to have been invited to colour this festival - promoted by the nearby hilltop municipality of Enna in association with the region’s Department of Tourism - alongside our friends the Historic Formula Junior Racing Association (FJHRA) and the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association (HGPCA) on a programme which revisits the 1950s and 1960s, truly a golden era of racing.
Originally a flat-out lap around the Lago di Pergusa, the circuit is like no other, even with chicanes tempering what had become astonishing speeds. The ultimate lap record for the 3.0-mile track was set by F1-bound Brazilian Ricardo Rosset in a Reynard-Cosworth 95D at 121.488mph in winning the 1995 Gran Premio Mediterraneo round of the European F3000 Championship.
Named for the Coppa Citta di Enna sportscar and GT races from 1950-1961, our contest - to be decided on the aggregate result of twin 75-minute races on the Saturday and Sunday - has attracted a splendid entry of 24 teams, well spread throughout six classes.
“I am over the moon that loyal competitors are prepared to travel so far to compete somewhere different,” says Vanessa Marçais, who with husband Flavien founded the GTSCC invitation series in 2007. “To be back on Italian soil for the first time since Monza in 2012 will be very special because of your tremendous support and camaraderie. Our event marks a renaissance of the Pre-1963 Sports Racing divisions, with a remarkable eight teams split equally over the two classes joining the ever-popular GTs.”
Maserati has a superb record in sportscar races at ‘Enna-Pergusa,’ where Franco Bordoni (A6 GCS), Sicily’s most famous racing son Nino Vaccarella (200 SI) and Mennato Boffa (T60 ‘birdcage’) won the Coppa Citta di Enna features in 1954, ’59 and ’61 respectively.
It is delightful, therefore, that Richard Wilson is bringing his ex-Jim Hall/Carroll Shelby 250S - fresh from a resounding Peter Collins Trophy victory at Goodwood’s 81st Members’ Meeting last month - and Canadian Brad Baker has entered his 300 S.
They face the agile rear-engined 2-litre Coventry Climax FPF-engined Cooper Monaco T49 of intrepid father and son Justin and Ben Maeers in the larger-capacity SP2 division, plus John Spiers’ 3.8-litre Lister-Jaguar Costin, which will appreciate being able to stretch its long legs on the super-fast circuit.
SP1 brings together another intriguing multi-marque confrontation embroiling British Cooper, Lola and Lotus chassis. Scot John Clark - winner of our 2008 Monza race in a Jaguar E-Type and three of the four events in 2009, when partnered by Jeremy Welch and subsequently Gregor Fisken - saddles his faithful centre-seat 1500cc Cooper-Climax T39 ‘Bobtail’ this time.
Strong opposition comes from the Lola-Climax Mk1 of Nick Finburgh/Ollie Crosthwaite - a model on which Eric Broadley’s empire was founded - the ex-Cliff Davis Lotus-Bristol X of former Historic F1 racer Max Smith-Hilliard and the Climax-motivated Lotus 11 Le Mans of genial Italian Andrea Stortoni, paired on this occasion by rapid young Anglo-French Oliver Marçais.
Looking at the Gran Turismo set, a David versus Goliath battle is certainly on the cards in GT4 between prolific winners Chris Chiles and Chris Chiles Jr in their mighty 4.7-litre Ford V8-engined AC Cobra 289 and the nimble 1600cc 26R spec Lotus Elans of Robin Ellis/Julian Thomas (in rare Shapecraft coupe battledress) and versatile former UK Historic Formula Junior champion Chris Drake and Danny Baker.
The GT3 set is the largest, at six cars, with four marques gunning for glory. The gruff Austin-Healey 3000s of Dutchmen Christiaen van Lanschot/Karsten Le Blanc (the famous ex-Le Mans DD300) and Swede Nils-Fredrik Nyblaeus/Jeremy Welch can’t match the sheer grunt of the Jaguars of Marc Gordon/Nick Finburgh (E-Type) or Rob Newall/Finburgh/Oliver Marçais (XK120), but will be wieldier through the chicanes.
But it is not all about six-cylinder engines in the class. Rivals know to discount the Morgan Plus 4 SLR of welcome GTSCC returnee Keith Ahlers and his rapid spanner-wielding partner Billy Bellinger at their peril. Designed by Sprinzel Lawrencetune Racing to maximise its four-cylinder Triumph engine’s performance on the straights, the super-slippery aluminium-bodied aerodyne coupe is fast. How much quicker than Allan and Daniel Ross-Jones’ similarly-powered Triumph TR4 through the speed traps will be intriguing to ascertain.
GT2 brings together a quartet of marques, led by the sweet-handling Morgan Plus 4 Super Sports of Simon King and Richard Plant, who finished 1-2 in their Plus 8s at Snetterton last month. Porsche specialists Peter Tognola and Steve Monk saddle their short-wheelbase 911 which will sound delicious in the tussle which also embroils the MG B of Guy Harman/Ollie Crosthwaite and an unusual Triumph Italia 2000.
Designed by Michelotti and built by Vignale in Turin around TR3 A components, around 330 examples of the elegantly-proportioned coupe were made from 1959-’62. With an Italia racing in period at the Autodromo, Jeremy Woods and Alistair Pugh’s steed is guaranteed to be a source of interest for Sicilian petrolhead spectators. Cameraphones aplenty will doubtless be snapping.
Touring Cars complete the entry, with the Austin Mini Cooper S of Dorset Racing’s Ellie Birchenhough/Nick Topliss taking on the pretty ex-works Broadspeed GT derivative of father and daughter Richard and Alice Locke once again. They are joined by the gorgeous Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA of Germany’s Rebeca Rettenmaier.
The 2024 GTSCC programme also embraces two-hour races on Silverstone’s GP circuit on Sunday, June 9, Castle Combe’s expanded Autumn Classic - extended from 90 minutes - on Saturday, September 21 and our traditional finale at Portugal’s sensational Autodromo Internacional Algarve, jewel in its long-established Classic Festival’s crown, on October 25-27.
