It’s time for the awards ceremony at the headquarters of the Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti, the Miramonti Majestic Grand Hotel in Cortina d'Ampezzo, after the Tour dei Sestieri took place this morning, which saw the victory of the Passanante-Moretti crew, followed by Sisti -Gualandi and Diana- Bellante.
The ceremony opens with the usual speech by the President of the Automobile Club d’Italia and ACI Storico President, Angelo Sticchi Damiani, who recalls the difficulties faced this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, for the organization of an international event of such importance. He then congratulated Lucio De Mori, President of the Automobile Club Belluno which with ACI Sport organizes the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti. "The added value of this race is his deep knowledge of the race mechanisms and the territories, this is his home race, he made us discover beautiful areas." he then continues with thanks to all those who worked on the organization, then a comment with his keen eye as a competitor: "perfect, impeccable road signage".
This weekend was for the President of the Automobile Club d’Italia a race between big names, car manufacturers who have created real pieces of art in the past, which finally thanks to these events are back in action on the most beautiful roads in the world.
At the opening of the awards ceremony, the Concorso di Eleganza which saw the triumph of the 1929 Lancia Lambda of Tommaso Bianchini and his wife Federica Borghini, a the Lancia Lambda model will this year celebrates its 100th anniversary. "I didn't expect it, mine is a car built for racing, it has participated in several Italian and foreign races ... now it's back in Italy" commented the driver.
For the overall winner of the 2021 Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti, Mario Passanante, paired with Dario Moretti in the 1937 Fiat 508C, it was undoubtedly an exciting weekend: "I haven't been in these territories for 10 years, this is my third victory, after a spectacular race” this his excited comment in receiving the prize after the demanding two days of competition. Alessandro Gamberini, who finished second with the Fiat 514 Mille Miglia is equally happy with his race "We didn't start too determined, but we were facilitated by the technical trials and we got an excellent result". Happy but not completely satisfied is Sergio Sisti, who competed at the wheel of a 1929 Lancia Lambda “I always dream of the first place! the Lambda is a demanding car, but what bothers the most are the 3 cents on the Sestieri” he jokes, emphasizing the rivalry with Passanante who this morning took away the victory of the Tour dei Sestieri for a few hundredths of a second. Healthy rivalry, the one that animates the competition, also shared by the Pastore sisters, Martina and Giulia, alternating at the wheel of the 1957 Porsche 356 with a specific goal: to beat their parents in the race. “We wanted to best them, but we didn't succeed, they are better than us”, the two took home the Coppa delle Dame.
The awards ceremony extended during lunch, a last chance for conviviality before saying goodbye, certainly making an appointment next year. In fact, many crews have already promised to come back again after the great fun, including Roberto Rossoni and Mariangela Ramona Bernini, winners of the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti Legend on a 1973 Fiat X1 / 9.
In addition to the very welcome returns, the hope is to meet next year with many new fans of this specialty, this is the case of Fabio Vergamini and Annamaria Fabrizi, who took home the victory among the modern car of the Tribute to the Coppa d’Oro delle Dolomiti with a Ferrari 488: "A year ago we wouldn’t have the idea of doing this, not even remotely, we started to do regularity races recently" but theirs is by no means an unexpected victory, given the great results obtained in this discipline despite not having a great experience.
This concludes the 2021 edition of the Coppa d'Oro delle Dolomiti, an event with an important sporting and social value, with the certainty of being back again in these magnificent places in the next edition and, the hope, of being able to do so in absolute freedom, no longer burdened by the restrictions of the pandemic still in place.
