“DISABILITY AND MOTORSPORT: FOR BARRIER-FREE MOBILITY”
1000 Miglia and Waze along with Scuderia del Portello to support barrier-free mobility
Also this edition of the famous 1000 Miglia came to an end, despite the problems and the organizational difficulties caused by Coronavirus. The race gave huge emotions both to the crews (the cars were around 400) and to the public which witnessed the passage of the cars through many roads and streets of Italy.
Mattia Cattapan, who is a disabled driver as well as the founder of the association “Crossabili”, lived an extraordinary experience at the wheel of the guest car no. 500 (Alfa Romeo 1900 TI from 1954) of Scuderia del Portello, driven in 2002 at the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico by Clay Regazzoni. This was his comment: “Taking part in the 38th edition of the legendary 1000 Miglia was an outstanding experience. I had the honor to be at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo 1900 driven by Clay Regazzoni, the former F1 driver who was the first disabled driving a historic racing car. In this way, I caught the extraordinary chance to spread a message to support a barrier-free mobility. Thanks to 1000 Miglia and Waze, along with Scuderia del Portello and other prestigious brands of the Made in Italy, we “spoke” on behalf of the most vulnerable people, by showing that also the ones with disabilities can enter the world of the historic races and participate in important events. I am grateful for this experience because it allowed me to witness and to be the spokesperson of all this and to meet wonderful people, full of passion and, in my opinion, heroes from a different time. The participation in the 1000 Miglia was arduous, both for the weather conditions and for the several hours at the wheel of the car, but we accomplished our mission and gave continuity to the legacy of Clay Regazzoni. This mission will be pursued with other initiatives”.
This was the comment of the President of Scuderia del Portello, Marco Cajani: “The emotion given by what we were able to achieve through this experience with the Alfa 1900 of Clay, thanks to 1000 Miglia, Waze and the other companies who ‘adopted’ the car, such as Camozzi Group, Dell’Orto Motorsport, Bosch Italia and AFRA, was deeply moving. Almost twenty years after the Carrera Panamericana which took place in 2002, when we were the assistance crew of Clay in an outstanding race which unfortunately ended with an accident which damaged the car a lot, having the chance to see again on the road the Alfa 1900, restored and driven by a young and dynamic disabled driver such as Mattia Cattapan, deeply moved not only me, but also our team of preparers who have lived through the years the history of this car. Being an exceptional proof of Regazzoni’s legacy, this 1900 will write many other important pages in the history of Scuderia del Portello and will give continuity to the message aimed at supporting a barrier-free mobility”.
70 YEARS OF THE ALFA ROMEO 1900, “THE FAMILY CAR WHICH WINS IN THE RACES”: two crews of the Scuderia del Portello’s Sezione Benelux took part in the race with two Alfa 1900 TI Super cars, from 1954 and 1956
Also this year, Scuderia del Portello Alfa Romeo participated in the 1000 Miglia, which is considered “the most beautiful race in the world”. The association from Arese chose to pay homage to the 110th anniversary of the Alfa Romeo brand and to the 70th anniversary of the Alfa 1900, the first car to be mass produced in the plants of the Portello, Milan, in 1950, baptized “the family car which wins in the races” for the outstanding performances with which the beautiful sedan of the “Biscione” has been writing, since the very beginning, important pages in the history of the automotive industry.The crews which took part in the race were 356; with the number 366, G. Simons (B) and P.P. van Cleef (NL), with an Alfa 1900 TI Super from 1956, ranked 125th; with the number 272, K. Hensgens (NL) and W. van Thoor (NL), with an Alfa 1900 TI Super from 1954, ranked 203rd.
Foto:
Massimo Campi
Adrenaline 24H
Cinemalfa
Stile Alfa Romeo
www.scuderiadelportello.org
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