Press Release n. 1, 2011 March 01

Press Release n. 1

03/01/2011

ENROLMENTS FOR THE GRAN PREMIO NUVOLARI 2011 ON CALENDAR FROM 15TH TO 18TH SEPTEMBER ARE OPENED

From 1st March, it is possible to enter the historic event dedicated to the “Flying Mantuan” for vintage cars lovers.
The coast-to-coast route has been confirmed, with two new passages through the best cities and most fascinating routes of Italy.

Mantua, 1st March 2011 - since today the enrolments are opened for the 21st edition of Gran Premio Nuvolari, in program from Thursday 15th to Sunday 18th 2011, organized by the racing stable Scuderia Mantova Corse in collaboration with the Tazio Nuvolari Museum and the Automobile Club of Mantua.

During the Techno Classica Essen, the biggest festival of classic cars in the world which will take place from 30 March to 3rd April, the organizers will officially present the news of the next edition to visitors, media and pilots. It is hoped to repeat the success of last year edition, which has seen the presence of 300 teams - half of the entrants come from abroad - fighting for the title over a distance of a thousand kilometres.

The coast-to-coast route is confirmed also for the 2011, with stages in Pisa and Rimini but also new passages through Viareggio, San Marino and during the third and last day through Castel D’Ario, the hometown of the Great Tazio.

The image of Gran Premio has been presented: "Mantuan whim", the work of the painter Gianni Del Bue, will be the new icon of the historic race. In the fantastic image, it is possible to distinguish some typical strokes of Mantua: the dome of Saint Andrea’s Basilica, a patch of the Clock’s Tower and the unmistakable Rotunda of Saint Lorenzo, on which Nuvolari rushes with the legendary Auto Union, while a coloured hot-air balloon dominates from above and greets the year of the new edition.

The enrolments’ requests will be opened until July 31th and can be filled in only online, on the web www.gpnuvolari.it. Only cars made between 1919 and 1969 can be admitted, holding the F.I.V.A. passport or F.I.A. Heritage certificate or A.S.I. certification or C.S.A.I. certificate or they have to belong to a brand historical register.

The 2011 edition will be characterized by a close collaboration with the Police, which will follow the entire event with a deployment of men and appropriate vehicles.

The initiative will be early under the patronage of the local councils of Mantua, Parma, Pisa, Livorno, Arezzo, Siena, Rimini, Ravenna and Rimini, as well as the Provincial Council of Mantua, the Regional Council of Lombardy and the Senate of the Republic.
The three main sponsors Audi, Eberhard & Co. and Etiqueta Negra has confirmed their participation.

For enrolments and information you have to connect with the official and completely renewed website www.gpnuvolari.it

Brief history
There is a long list of appellations attributed to the great mantuan pilot Tazio Nuvolari. He was called in so many ways: The musketeer of the risk, Nivola, Campionissimo, The ace driver, The master. Enzo Ferrari simply defined him “the best”, Ferdinand Porsche “the biggest racing car driver of past, present and future”. Today what honours him in the best way is the inscription above his tombstone: “You will run faster along heaven’s streets”. His death (August 11th 1953) shocked all the world: he had won 141 races and five international speed records and he had a thirty-years career. Most shocked were Mille Miglia’ s protagonists: Renzo castagneto, Aymo Maggi and Giovanni Canestrini. They had created “the most beautiful race in the world” with Franco Mazzotti.
Traditional run of Mille Miglia was modified and the race started to pass trough Mantua in the name of Tazio. And so Gran Premio Nuvolari was born and became the most important race in the heart of Pianura Padana. Today it is a reliability trial, a sort of world championship that the best specialists dream.
“When Nuvolari runs – an old Lucio Dalla’s song says – trees along the street bend, pieces of bottles along the walls are reduced to pulp, all the dust is swept away”.
It’s a song dedicated to speed that we remember every time we talk about the Son of the wind.