Santino and Giovanni.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photographer unknown).
By James Lanoway
Of all the drivers who raced with Balduzzi-prepared cars, it appears that Duilio Ghislotti of Italy and Sead Alihodzic of Yugoslavia were the most successful, with the most victories and podiums achieved. Duilio Ghislotti had his most successful season in Italy in 1974 finishing second in the Campionato Italiano di Turismo (the national championship) and received Alfa Romeo’s coveted Targa d’Oro for his efforts.
He was in good company with the others receiving that award, with Mario Andretti, Andrea de Adamich, Carlo Facetti, and Arturo Mezario being recipients that year. Sead Alihodzic, in his four years (1972 to 1975) racing with Balduzzi-prepared cars, was the national champion in Yugoslavia for both 1972 and 1975. Antonin Tvrdy, during his two years while racing with a Balduzzi-prepared engine in 1974 and 1975, arguably would have won the national championships in Czechoslovakia in those years if the communist authorities had not rigged the system against him in favour of the state-owned Skoda cars. The following results show the podium finishes of Ghislotti in 1974, Alihodzic in 1972 and 1975, and Tvrdy in 1974 and 1975:
Duilio Ghislotti:
Duilio Ghislotti, after winning the first British Truck Grand Prix at Doningtion, 1984. Photo courtesy Fondazione Pirelli.
3rd Grp 2 1300, GTAj, Coppa Sport, Gara Nationale, Autodromo Di Casale, Casale Monferrato, 17 Mar 1974.
2nd (2nd OA) Grp 2 1150-1600, GTAj, Gara Nationale, 4 Ore Di Monza, 24 Mar 1974.
1st & fastest lap Grp 2 CL 1300, GTAj, Coppa Petrobelli, Varano De Melegari, 5 May 1974.
1st (1st OA) Grp 2 CL 1150-1600, GTAj, Gara Nationale, Vallelunga Autodromo 19 May 1974.
1st (1st OA) Grp 2 CL 1300, GTAj, Trofeo d’Estate, Varano de Melegari, 23 Jun 1974.
1st (1st OA) & fastest lap Grp 2 CL 850-1300, GTAj, Primo Trofeo “Mugello Corse,” Gara Nationale, Autodromo del Mugello, 29 Jun 1974.
1st (1st OA) Grp 2 CL 1300, GTAj, #186, Primo Trofeo Mare Pulito, Gara Nationale, Autodromo di Santa Monica, Misano Adriatico, Emilia-Romagna, 15 Aug 1974.
3rd Grp 2 CL 1300, GTAj, Trofeo Scuderia Citta dei Mille, Gara Nationale, Autodromo Santa Monica, Misano Adraiatico, 25 Aug 1974.
1st & fastest lap Grp 2 CL 1300, GTAj, Trofeo AC Parma, Varano De Melegari, 1 Sep 1974.
2nd Grp 2 CL 1300, GTAj, Trofeo Vallecamonica, Malegno-Borno hillclimb, 8 Sep 1974.
2nd (4th OA) Grp 2 CL 1150-1300, GTAj, Coppo Autodromo, Vallelunga, 29 Sep 1974.
1st (3rd OA) Grp 2 CL 1300, GTAj, 2 Ore Turismo Trofeo Citta Di Pescara, Vallelunga 27 Oct 1974 (co-driver Luigi Colzani).
1st & fastest lap Grp 2 CL 1300, GTAj, Second Trofeo Pro Loco, Gara Nationale, Autodromo dell’Umbria, Magione, 3-4 Nov 1974.
Sead Alihodzic:
Alihodzic at Sarajevo, 1974.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photographer unknown).
1st CL up to 1300, GTAj, Letnja liga I, Usce in Belgrade 4 June 1972.
1st CL up to 1300, GTAj, Letnja liga III, Usce in Belgrade 18 June 1972.
1st CL up to 1300, GTAj, Oslobodjenje Zagreba, Zagreb 25 June 1972.
1st CL up to 1300, GTAj, Kup Petroluniona, Usce in Belgrade 13 Aug 1972.
1st CL up to 1300, GTAj, Trka Sarajeva, Butmir in Sarajevo 9 Sep 1972.
1st CL up to 1300, GTAj, Oslobodjenje Kragujevac, Kragujevac 1 June 1975.
1st CL up to 1300, GTAj, Nagrada Slavonska Pozega , Pozega 27 Jul 1975.
1st CL up to 1300, GTAj, Nagrada Kraljeva, Kraljevo 24 Aug 1975.
1st CL up to 1300, GTAj, Oslobodjenje Beograda, Usce in Belgrade 21 Sep 1975.
Antonin Tvrdy:
Tvrdy in his GTA Junior.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photographer unknown).
1st Class A2-1300, GTAj, #23, Mistrovstvi CSSR Harirov-Senov, Harirov, 19 May 1974.
1st Class A2-1300, GTAj, #23, Mistrovstvi CSSR Most, Most, 1 Sep 1974.
1st Class A2-1300, GTAj, #23, Mistrovstvi CSSR Most, Most, 27 Apr 1975.
2nd Class A2-1300, GTAj, #23, Mistrovstvi CSSR Harirov-Senov, Harirov, 11 May 1975.
3rd Class B5-2500, GTAj, #23, Mistrovstvi CSSR Piestany, Piestany, 14 Sep 1975.
It could be said that Drago Regvart and Robert Lang’s win at the 4 Ore Di Monza in 1973 in their Balduzzi-prepared GT Am was the most sensational of all the wins by Balduzzi drivers, so you would think that their car would be the most treasured of all. Unfortunately, it has never been found. Two articles recently rediscovered by automotive historian Nebojsa Djordjevic help to clarify its whereabouts in 1973 and 1974. The first article from the March 20, 1974 issue of Sportske novosti [Sports News], written just 4 days before the 4 Ori Di Monza of 1974, contains an interview with Regvart’s co-driver for the race, Miroslav Nosse, in which he confirms the car for this 1974 race was the same one that Regvart used in the 1973 Monza race, but slightly modified and still as hugely competitive as when he drove it the previous year. This story couples nicely with the second article from Auto. Jugoslovenska revija za automobilizam [Auto: Yugoslav Motor Review] of September 19, 1973, that told of Nosse winning the over 1600 cc class while driving Regvart’s “earlier car – Alfa Romeo 2000 GTA” in the race in Kraljevo, Yugoslavia on Aug 29, 1973.
Regvart (right) with Santino Balduzzi (center) and Monza GTA Junior, 1972.
From the Balduzzi Archive (photographer unknown).
Nosse was very impressed with the performance of the 1973 Monza winning car during that race in Kraljevo, and this led him to agree to co-drive with Regvart the same car at the Monza race in 1974. After that 1974 Monza race, the trail for Regvart’s GT Am starts getting blanketed in fog. For the remainder of 1974, Regvart raced in Yugoslavia driving a Fiat 128 until he was banned from the national races for one year due to fisticuffs with Alihodzic in the pits after the Letnja liga #1 race on July 14, 1974, in Belgrade. His sparring partner Alihodzic also received a similar national ban but was banned from international events as well for his on-track aggressive driving during that race. Some sources in Serbia claim that Regvart passed his GT Am on to Josip Hrestak who raced it unsuccessfully for the remainder of 1974 (best result: a third place). In 1975, the 2000cc class was dropped from the national races in Yugoslavia, and then Regvart’s car seemingly disappeared into a black hole somewhere in the far nether reaches of the galaxy. Either that or it has been sitting in someone’s shed somewhere in the former Yugoslavia all this time, patiently waiting to again see the light.
Regarding all the other Balduzzi-prepared cars, at the time of this writing there are only four confirmed Balduzzi cars whose chassis numbers are known: Ghislotti’s GTA Junior #775202 as driven in Italy in 1974; Regvart’s GTA Junior #775358 as driven in the Salzburgring ETCC race as well as in the 4 Ore di Monza with co-driver Antonio Invernizzi in 1972; Trvdy’s GTA Junior #775505 as driven in Czechoslovakia from 1972 to 1979; and the Ponno-Alihodzic GTA Junior #775818 as driven in Italy by Ponno in 1971 and 1972 and by Alihodzic in Yugoslavia from 1972 to 1975. Identifying more chassis numbers of Balduzzi-prepared cars in the future will take a concentrated effort, made more difficult with each year’s passing as those who were involved with them inevitably pass on.
As for the main protagonists of the Balduzzi story, Giovanni Balduzzi, after living a long, satisfying life, passed away suddenly on June 20, 2005, at the age of 86 after falling due to illness, leaving a large void in the daily environment of the Balduzzi workshop. Santino carried on without his partner, with the help of his wife and two children, into the next decade with the same energy and passion as always. Santino later developed health problems and had a coronary bypass and later pacemaker implantation to help him maintain his voracious work habits, but a stroke and more coronary problems eventually slowed him down. By sheer willpower and determination, he was able to finish his last engine in November 2017, just a couple of months before passing away on Jan 30, 2018, after 75 years of an equally satisfying life.
Ombretta and Cesare in the Balduzzi workshop.
From Ombretta Granata Balduzzi.
Today, Santino’s son Cesare and daughter Ombretta carry on the passionate work of their father at Autofficina Balduzzi S.N.C., still in the same building at Via del Contarico 33 (39 0371 421976) in Lodi, in the region of Lombardy.
Bibliography:
1. Ombretta Granata Balduzzi personal communication, 2024.
2. Djordjevic, Nebojsa. Grand Prix of Belgrade 1967-1969, European Touring Car Challenge and Races with Yugoslav Drivers 1964-1974. Belgrade: Akting, 2010, [Serbian and English] http://touringcarracing.net/Pages/shop.html
3. Renc, Marcel. Alfa Romeo GTA in the CSSR, AR 775505. Augsburg, 2024. GTA1300Junior775505@gmail.com
4. Adriaensens, Tony, Patrick Dasse, and Martin Ubelher. Alleggerita, 2nd ed. Hamburg: Dingwort Verlag, 2012.
5. Tipler, Johnny. Alfa Romeo Giulia Coupe GT & GTA, 3rd ed. Dorchester: Veloce Publishing Limited, 2013
6. Borgeson, Griffith. The Alfa Romeo Tradition. Sparkford, Somerset: Haynes Publishing Group, 1990.
7. Jelavic, Ante. “Regvart obradovao Nossea” [Regvart delighted Nosse]. Sportske novosti, March 20, 1974.
8. Nikolic, Miroljub. “Na pravom autodromu. Visoke klase u krizi” [At the real racing circuit: Higher classes in crisis]. Auto. Jugoslovenska revija za automobilizam, no. 20 (1973): 36-37.
For the 3 Czechoslovakian Alfa GTA, the full story is available in English r in German
content:
In the midst of the Prague Spring, the Czechoslovakian tractor factory Zetor set up a racing team with three Alfa Romeo GTAs in 1968, to promote its products at home and abroad. The story of an exciting decade of car racing in the Eastern Bloc, the political hurdles involved and the people behind it. After 30 years in oblivion, the book tells of an unexpected find, a hair-raising restoration and curious experiences in a second life.
156 pages, many pictures. Each book comes with a Zetor Racingteam sticker
Available at:
GTA1300Junior775505@gmail.com
Instagram: gta1300junior_775505
I was very happy to read the Balduzzi story, with so many interesting details. I made a small contribution and I believe more interesting details on Alfa Romeo GTA participation in the ETTC Belgrade races can be found in my book “1967-1969 Grand Prix of Belgrade” (208 pages, colour and b&w photos, in Serbian and English). The book also covers another 13 races with ex-Yu drivers 1964-1974.
If anyone is interested my contact is n.d@eunet.rs