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The Treasures of the Italian Air Force Museum

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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

For an enthusiast of old aeroplanes, the view from the excellent, and rather well priced, cafe at the Italian Air Force Museum can’t be beat. You can look out over the tranquil waters of Lake Bracciano and wonder what it must have looked like back in the 1920s, when it was buzzing with seaplane activity, as Vigna di Valle was a seaplane base for the Regia Aeronautica.

Or you could look into the museum and admire what I consider to be the crown jewels of the collection, namely the bright red racing seaplanes that once competed for the coveted Schneider Trophy in the 1920s and 30s.

Last week it was the turn of the Lancias of the Lancia Club Italia to steal the limelight, this week it is the turn of the first two of five hangers. Just hang in there with us…

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When in Rome….

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Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

This piece should have had the title “The Anantara Concorso Rome” which we were to cover for VeloceToday on April 25, but following the death of the Pope the event was rightly cancelled out of respect. Still, flights had been booked and accommodations reserved, so we were still going, if feeling a bit sad. Little did we know that we’d have a very pleasant surprise just north of Rome.

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Put on a Happy Face

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When the artwork is more interesting than the chassis number.

By Pete Vack, photos by Jim Sitz and Allen R. Kuhn

VeloceToday originally ran this photo in September 2023, and in an effort to find the chassis number and owner of the 550 Spyder Richie Ginther drove one fine day at Santa Barbara, and perhaps the meaning of the Happy Face on the front, we asked our readers to help.

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Cuba, 1957: When Heroes Raced

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By Pete Vack
Photos by Robert Pauley
From the VeloceToday Archives, October 2017

When, in 1957, Robert Pauley wanted to go to Cuba “…to get a chance to see his heroes”, he may well have added “before it was too late,” for he would bear witness to the end of a very great era of motor racing.

It was not the end, not yet. But the Cuban Grand Prix held at the dawn of 1957, was the beginning of the end of an era. Just ahead would be four significant occurrences: the rear-engine revolution, the end of the Ferrari-Maserati wars, the retirement of Juan Manuel Fangio, and the tragic deaths of a high number of first class drivers born between 1926 and 1932. Not only would we lose the hero drivers, but the classic front engine race car, the constant danger, the sportsmanship, and the romance. We need not apologize for borrowing the dramatic title from Wagner…read on and you’ll realize that this was heavy stuff indeed.

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And How! Observations on Ferrari now in Softcover

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By Staff

The Acclaimed publisher of custom limited edition automotive books Velocity Group is releasing Observations on Ferrari 1946 – 1966 The King’s Eyes in soft cover.

This fantastic fully illustrated history takes the reader from the rubble of post-World War Two Italy to the height of the Mid-Century Era, addressing every F1 race and the newly established World Sportscar Championship as Ferrari defines high performance in these arenas. [Read more…] about And How! Observations on Ferrari now in Softcover

Cars of the Vatican and Crankshaft Magazine

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This 1946 Fiat 1100 Spider by Frua was featured in the very first Crankshaft magazine…a hint of things to come.

Story by Pete Vack
All photos courtesy Crankshaft magazine unless otherwise noted

Richard Lentinello: No introduction needed

Like the editor and most of our readers, at an early age Richard Lentinello was captivated by Road & Track and other car magazines, which fed the passion for cars he still has today. He wrote“…my journey started over 50 years ago as a young teenager reading Car Craft and Super Stock. Then came Autoweek, Road & Track, Thoroughbred and Classic Cars, Automobile Quarterly and Supercar Classics, having spent hours immersed in their pages while sitting in our spacious 20 x 20 backyard in Brooklyn.” (Crankshaft #1)

But unlike his fellow travelers, Lentinello would become the editor-in-chief of nine car magazines, including Hemmings Motor News and Hemmings Classic Car, Special Interest Autos, Hemmings Muscle Machines and Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car.

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Lella Lombardi, the Tigress from Turin

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Italian Lella Lombardi is unique in Formula One history as the first and only woman to score a championship point in the seventy-five years of the modern Formula One championship since 1950. (Rothmans 5000 European Championship, Mallory Park, England, October 13, 1974) Photo by Jeff Allison

Story and photos by Jeff Allison

Maria Grazia “Lella” Lombardi is the only woman to score points in a world championship Formula One race. In the seventy-five years of the modern Formula One championship, only five women have entered a Formula One race and only two have qualified and raced. Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis (1958-1959) was the first, and it would be fifteen years before another woman, Lella Lombardi, would qualify and race in Formula One.

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Imola WEC 6 hours: Hypercars

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Ferrari wins at Imola!

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Hypercar class

The World Endurance Championship, created in 1953 and which has had several names, notably the World Sportscar Championship, disappeared in 1992, before being reborn in 2012 under the name of World Endurance Championship (abbreviated as WEC). The prototype category was initially reserved for cars meeting the LMP1 regulations, but as these demanded increasingly substantial budgets, Audi and Porsche left the series amid Dieselgate, with only Toyota remaining loyal. Since 2021, a new regulation, called Hypercar, has been in force and was designed to reduce costs and attract new manufacturers.

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Imola WEC 6 Hours, LMGT3

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Valentino Rossi, as much acclaimed in Italy as Ferrari, made the mistake of attempting an over-optimistic pass on the #21 Ferrari, causing the latter to retire. A stop-and-go penalty followed. Without this, the #46 would have undoubtedly won.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

The Endurance category has always seen a mix between prototypes and Grand Touring cars. This particularity still exists today. It allows for full starting grids, for some manufacturers to participate based on their standard GT car without having to build a more expensive prototype, and for wealthy gentleman drivers to take part in legendary events such as Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring or the WEC. It should be noted that in the GT category of the WEC, each crew can only have one professional driver, the other two having amateur status. It is often the latter who provide the financing for the car.

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Road & Track, the Bond Years

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The Bonds in front of the R&T offices with their Ferrari 330GT, 1964.* Courtesy Marilee (Lee) Bond Nudo

By Pete Vack with Jim Sitz, John R. Bond, Jr. and Marilee (Lee) Bond Nudo

From the VeloceToday Archives, April 2021

John Bond took over a distressed Road and Track in the fall of 1952, but always admitted that Elaine was the brains of the outfit. David E. Davis wrote (C&D Nov 1990) that she “…was the ramrod that turned R&T into the magazine it was in the Sixties and Seventies.” [Read more…] about Road & Track, the Bond Years

Techno Classica Essen Part 1

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Mille Miglia participant in 1955 and 1956, this Fiat 1100/103 TV was the sports variant of the popular Fiat 1100.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt

For the 35th time, the Techno Classica show was held in Essen, in the Ruhr Valley, in western Germany. Created in 1989, this show has become over the years the German equivalent of the Retromobile show in Paris or Auto Moto d’Epoca in Italy. Even larger than the Paris show, the Essen show contains fewer exceptional vehicles, with foreign dealers, particularly British ones, being less present. However, there are always interesting discoveries to be made there, and that’s what we’ll see below.

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Goodwood Members Meeting Part 1

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Freddies, as in Freddie March, located just in front of the Members Market at the event, the Members market being a food hall selling street food, all very Goodwood!

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

We begin with shots from the ever-interesting Paddock, then move on to what we call the ‘Centenarian’ events. The only other time you see 100-year-old plus cars racing is at VSCC (Vintage Sports Car Club) events and Hill Climbs so racing these is probably a British thing. In fact, while some events in Europe and the U.S. have pre-WWII cars on their grids, it is much more common in the U.K. and pre-WWI cars are almost impossible to see elsewhere.

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